A couple from Wisconsin, USA, have obtained a Court order requiring Facebook to give them access to the accounts and online assets of their late son, but the social media company has so far refused to comply.
Benjamin Stassen committed suicide in 2010, without leaving a note. As with most young people, most of his personal communications had been done through the Internet. His parents Jay and Helen tried to search his accounts for an explanation of his suicide.
However, Facebook and Google, which held most of Benjamin’s records, refused to reveal them citing client confidentiality, even though the Stassens are clearly the heir to their son’s estate.
Eventually the Stassens (one of whom is a lawyer) resorted to legal action. They obtained a Court order, ordering Google to hand over all of Benjamin’s email records. Google complied. They also now have an order from a local Court directing Facebook to give them access to their son’s account, along with any digital assets or records.
At the time of writing, Facebook was still considering how to react. Its policy is not to allow survivors access to a deceased person’s account. A Court order releases a company from its client confidentiality obligations, but it could still appeal to a higher state Court or even a federal Court.
