Twitter recently added a new policy addressing possibilities for the Twitter accounts of deceased users. Since I recently went through the rest of Twitter’s policies for Fine Print Friday, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly lay out the important points in their new new policy…in case you die.
1. Accounts can be removed or left up, and Twitter can assist with a backup of the account for the family of the deceased.
2. Anyone who wants to either the account removed or backed up will need to contact Twitter with his/her name, address, and relation to the deceased, the account name, and proof of death via an obituary.
3. There is nothing in the policy explaining how Twitter determines that a person is actually a relative, and whether any double-checking is done to ensure there is no unauthorized deletion or copying of the account.
4. Relatives will not be allowed access to the account, or to any other personal (non-public) information associated with or stored in the account.
And that’s it. It’s pretty straightforward for now, although not all that helpful. I expect it will be updated in the near future, especially given the comparison of this policy to that of Facebook for the same situation. See this article from CNN for a brief rundown on the differences between Twitter and Facebook with regard to deceased users, which is worth a look.
About Graham Martin
Graham Martin is a solo practitioner focusing on Contract law (including drafting, review, and litigation). He operates Martin Legal Services, LLC in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
