Late lawmaker posts raise questions about digital life after death
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A boy looks at a iPhone screen showing various social media apps including TikTok, Facebook and X on February 25, 2024. Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Social media users were stunned last week when Rep. Gerry Connolly's (D-Va.) social media accounts shared a post — weeks after his death.
- But he's far from the only public figure whose online presence doesn't rest in peace.
The big picture: The ethical questions stretch beyond Washington, underscoring important cybersecurity and legal considerations about what happens to our digital legacies after we die.
- It's not just Democrats whose accounts have seemingly posted from beyond: In 2020, conservative businessman Herman Cain's Twitter posted a story questioning the mortality rate of COVID-19 — the month after he died due to coronavirus complications.
- There's no official process for handling lawmakers' social media accounts if they die in office, Politico recently reported.
- Private citizens share that difficult and relatively novel question of how to handle social media accounts after their loved one dies — and how to safeguard them from being hacked or compromised by scammers.
Zoom out: When someone dies, they leave behind a web of assets, which include their digital legacy, but the process of shutting down or preserving accounts varies by platform.
- On Facebook, individuals can submit the account owner's death certificate and documentation confirming they are an immediate family member or executor to have an account deleted. Accounts can also be memorialized, in which case they can be looked over by "legacy contacts."
- Instagram will also memorialize accounts with a valid request, which requires proof of death, and says it will delete accounts if requested by verified immediate family members with proper documentation.
- X will work with individuals authorized to act on behalf of the estate or with a verified immediate family member to have an account deactivated in the case of the user's death.
By the numbers: A 2019 study from Oxford researchers projected that if Facebook continued to attract new users at the rate it was some six years ago, 4.9 billion users will have passed away before 2100.
State of play: Most states have enacted a law that governs how fiduciaries can manage the digital lives of deceased or incapacitated people.
- But typically, to get those rights, it has to be affirmatively assigned in the will, said Retirement Watch editor Bob Carlson, who has written about protecting digital estates from hacking.
- "It's just like any other asset, and if you don't lay out the rules for it, then either someone else is going to set out the rules, or there aren't going to be any rules at all," he said.
Threat level: Cybercriminals may prey on people's identities after they die, a process known as "ghost hacking," by compromising a deceased individual's social media accounts, which are less likely to be consistently monitored.
- Hackers can alert friends or family of the deceased person with spam or scams — but they're often also after personal information that can be used to obtain access to other accounts.
- "It can lead to just a big stockpile of information for the thieves," Carlson said.
The bottom line: For public officials and private citizens alike, there is no clear-cut answer on how to handle someone's social media presence after they die.
- But experts on protecting digital assets say planning ahead is key.
Go deeper: Dead congressman promotes candidate for his seat on social media
