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Last week’s Facebook dilemma was the issue of the new policy that essentially makes your content property of Facebook forever.
This week, Facebook has a new dilemma.
Over at the Consumerist, Ben Popken received a letter from a woman whose brother recently died unexpectedly. According to her letter, Facebook refuses to remove the man’s profile, as per policy.
When William Bemister’s sister requested his profile be removed she received this response from Facebook:
“Per our policy for deceased users, we have memorialized this person’s account. This removes certain more sensitive information and sets privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or find the person in search. The Wall remains so that friends and family can leave posts in remembrance.”
I think we’ve all stumbled upon internet ghosts, be it former Livejournals, Myspace pages, or even mydeadspace.com, where people can input your old myspace account and discuss your death in a forum-like setting. It’s always chilling to read the words of someone who was once alive and now is dead. Especially when the internet is so alive and organic.
I think Facebook drops the ball once again with this denied request. The request of the family should be honored, but it sounds like Facebook is exercising their right to keep content that can no longer be taken down by the owner. Revised policy indeed!
I’m tempted to write a note on my own user profile: “In case of death, please remove any and all traces of my profile from this website.”
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Comments
02.23.09
While I believe that Facebook should probably be honoring the wishes of the family, I wonder if they realize the opportunity that Facebook provides to remember someone's life. I actually had a close friend from high school pass away recently. His Facebook profile was a way for friends to share their memories of him and I still go back to it every once in a while. As a result, I was able to see his accomplishments since we had lost touch. I would have never learned this otherwise.
02.23.09
I had a similar experience to Dale a few years ago when a high-school friend of mine passed away. Many of us had lost touch and if her Facebook page weren't still active many of us wouldn't have know about the wake and the funeral from her sister's messages on her wall. It seems kind of perverse to say, but Facebook brought all her friends closer when she was lost.
With that said I think it's pretty bogus for Facebook not to honor the wishes of the surviving family members. They definitely dropped the ball, but I'm sure with enough backlash they'll have to remedy the issue.
02.23.09
This is an interesting discussion point. It makes me wonder about my own death and if I'd like it (or if my family would like it) that comments I make on Facebook remain after I kick the bucket.
I gotta say that, it's sort of like a public journal and my opinions/comments/rants/posts all sort of belong to the organic public that I choose to associate with. If the profile and posts are deleted, it's kind of like deleting a part of other people's lives as well, since this is about a conversation. It would be silly to have all my stuff suddenly deleted from a conversation, as there would no longer be a reference point for the people left in the discussion after I'm gone.
I say leave my stuff after I check out. I gave the words freely when living - they should remain, if only as reference, after I'm dead.
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