Have you ever thought ,who gets your digital assets after you?your selfies , your e-books, your social communication on Facebook, the taunting and trolling on twitter, and those priceless e-mails with million dollar ideas that did not fructify immediately but in future could become worth millions .
All these digital staff or rather digital property of yours , now can be bequeath to your dear or near ones.
The US state of Delaware has passed a landmark legislation that allows its residents to bequeath their digital property to their heirs , just as they would their financial and physical assets .This was a grey -and -evolving area so far. and several other states are looking at the Delaware law.
The primary purpose of the law , is to give executors access to information , post death, that many tech companies , , including twitter and Facebook , often withhold.
There have been instances of dependents and legal heirs being denied access to online accounts of deceased member due to terms of service of the company .
Facebook too prohibits one from even sharing a password or allowing anyone access to your account, so technically family members and friends will be in violation of policy even if they sign in(assuming you have given them your password) to let every one know you are no more.
Essentially , the new law , titled the "Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Account Act," gives a person's digital assets the same status as tangible assets where inheritance laws are concerned.
But some privacy advocates have warned that it is not as good as it seemed ,saying that the law takes no account of minimizing intrusions into the privacy of third parties who communicated with the deceased.
For instance , if the deceased is a psychiatrist or a priest , should his legatees have access to communication they may have had with patients or confidants ?
Some states considering similar laws ,notably California are expected to fine - tune the law.
But, one thing is clear ,over the past decade,humankind's digital assets have multiplied rapidly with little assessment of its value , substance , and fallout , in terms of inheritance.
YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS
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All these digital staff or rather digital property of yours , now can be bequeath to your dear or near ones.
The US state of Delaware has passed a landmark legislation that allows its residents to bequeath their digital property to their heirs , just as they would their financial and physical assets .This was a grey -and -evolving area so far. and several other states are looking at the Delaware law.
The primary purpose of the law , is to give executors access to information , post death, that many tech companies , , including twitter and Facebook , often withhold.
There have been instances of dependents and legal heirs being denied access to online accounts of deceased member due to terms of service of the company .
Facebook too prohibits one from even sharing a password or allowing anyone access to your account, so technically family members and friends will be in violation of policy even if they sign in(assuming you have given them your password) to let every one know you are no more.
Essentially , the new law , titled the "Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Account Act," gives a person's digital assets the same status as tangible assets where inheritance laws are concerned.
But some privacy advocates have warned that it is not as good as it seemed ,saying that the law takes no account of minimizing intrusions into the privacy of third parties who communicated with the deceased.
For instance , if the deceased is a psychiatrist or a priest , should his legatees have access to communication they may have had with patients or confidants ?
Some states considering similar laws ,notably California are expected to fine - tune the law.
But, one thing is clear ,over the past decade,humankind's digital assets have multiplied rapidly with little assessment of its value , substance , and fallout , in terms of inheritance.
YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS
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