Tech & Rights

German Court Grants Parents Rights to Dead Daughter's Facebook Account

After parents were initially denied access to their dead daughter’s Facebook account, the highest court of Germany has now ruled that, under inheritance law, they have the rights to her Facebook account. Judges...

by LibertiesEU

After parents were initially denied access to their dead daughter’s Facebook account, the highest court of Germany has now ruled that, under inheritance law, they have the rights to her Facebook account. Judges concluded online data should be treated the same as private diaries or letters that pass to heirs. The parents, whose 15-year-old daughter was killed by a train in 2012, hope to be able to determine whether the death was suicide based on her Facebook account details. Facebook originally refused to grant access to the account, citing privacy concerns about the girl's contacts.

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