Facebook after death: an evolving policy in a social network

This article examines the current policies and the factors which shaped the policy and procedures that define Facebook after death. Examination of these policy choices helps to place earlier scrutiny of Facebook’s deceased user policies in context, while also incorporating more recent developments including case law and legislative proposals that deal with digital remains and legacy. The early impact of internal factors, in particular, pressure from users of the social network, who were bound together by technical and contractual limits, set many of the parameters for later changes. External factors driven by families of the deceased, the media, privacy regulators, the estate planning industry and legislators eventually became more impactful on policy decisions and are analysed. This analysis draws out gaps in Facebook’s policies and helps test the impact of proposed legislation. Ultimately, the article looks to the future and makes recommendations which will be useful for social network service providers and legislators with respect to the digital remains of deceased users.