UAE: Social media platforms should allow users to set legacy options
In today's world where human lives are more deepening into the technological spheres, the discussion about social online accounts after the extermination of its owner has come out in the focus. Jurists note that there is a necessity to recognize social media accounts as digital assets because there is a need to set up legacy features for the users.
Roman Dolbey, a Wills and Inheritance Lawyer from James Berry and Associates Legal Consultants stated that there is need to view social media accounts as more than licenses granted to access a service. “The main challenge is that most platforms do not recognize accounts as ownership,” he said. “They are licensed to their users which makes the exchange of these accounts very problematic. If something is not owned, one cannot inherit it.”
Dolbey drew a clear line between the two concepts - digital identity and digital property, stressing that platforms work in many jurisdictions where different property and inheritance laws prevail. “There should be well laid down rules to explain the status of the digital accounts with regards to whether they should be inherited as property or part of an estate.”
This controversial issue received a lot of attention during a modern debate at The Federal Supreme Court, Abu Dhabi on 20th November. The speakers sought to know whether the online account assets we create and leave behind can be transmitted to the owners’ successors by law.
Defining consent, digital heirs
Due to the fact that social media accounts can contain sensitive information, Dolbey noted that there is a requirement for them to clearly define their concepts of consent and virtual heirs. “It is imperative that the wills address the issue of how the digital accounts of a deceased person will be handled after his death, so that the private information of the deceased person can only be accessed when authorized by him,” he stated.
Furthermore, he discussed the necessary amendments to laws in the UAE that would ensure such a passing of assets occurs legitimately. “We need to change people’s perception of what an asset even is,” Dolbey explained, likening it to the Latin expressions of ‘Res Nullius’ which is something owned by none or ‘Res Derelictae’ which is an abandoned property. He also placed emphasis on the need to clarify – what ‘tangible’ or ‘intangible’ means – in the context of the local legislation.
With regard to the question on the practical application of the laws on the succession of the digital assets, Dolbey suggested that a bi-focal strategy which incorporates both platform features and legal elements would work best. “Users of social networking sites should be given the option of designating legacy contacts, or otherwise neutralize the account, delete the account or transfer the account,” he said. He also supported the idea of including provisions in the will for such assets and entrusting their transfer to the digital will executor.
Challenges in digital inheritance
“One of the main legal problems is the question of privacy,” added Byron James, who is a partnered lawyer at Expatriate Law and is also an international family law specialist. “In many cases, the terms of service on social media accounts will prevent successors from accessing or transferring accounts.”
James put emphasis on the importance of better development of the rules regarding digital inheritance. “Law may require social networks to enable setting up digital heirs or at least provide better options for next of kin inheritance,” he argued. He said that though the UAE enjoys greater inheritance legal practices, it requires some laws concerning the forums about information possession and inheritance.
Looking to international practices, James cited Germany’s Federal Court of Justice ruling that social media accounts belong to the user in the same regard as one’s personal letters or diary, establishing a standard for whether digital content could be inherited. “The UAE would benefit from such cases while maintaining local law customs,” he said.
Technical perspective
While delving into the potentials of social media and other similar services, a digital asset management expert, Mousa Sayed, who is also familiar with a number of legacy options, stated that “many platforms already possess the means with which to assist users in managing their data. We only need to reorient those features. Many of these features only need to be oriented for legacy purposes facilitating this process. For example, users can set up which of their contacts will inherit their legacy.
Sayed also remarked that it is possible to allow users to ‘e-inherit’ other accounts and possess this information without exposing such privileges generations in the future. When a dead user’s account or any content on it needs to be managed somehow and that person does not have any close relatives who can approach with such a request, “features regarding privacy for the dead have to be implemented. All features concerning the history of deceased users have to be turned off by default.” He is confident that if the necessary technical infrastructure is put in place, so-called e-death will be the last cause of worry, as digital platforms would be able to preserve e-legacies safely.
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