A new initiative from the Japanese government may also be interesting to study in other countries, since the problem it tries to address is common in all countries where Internet use is widespread.
In response to a growing number of incidents related to online subscriptions that remain active after their owners have died, the National Center for Consumer Affairs in Japan has issued a recommendation to its citizens: include information about their accounts, users and passwords on networks or online services in the will, so that their relatives or close people can exercise the rights of the deceased after their death.
And the reasons why this is a good idea go beyond the complications that may arise in relation to subscriptions to online platforms or services that continue to be charged after a person dies. Access to the platforms of someone who died would make it easier for their relatives or friends to delete or privatize their social media accounts if the deceased person so desired, as well as review their emails for possible important information.
Likewise, on networks or platforms there may be valuable content that, if there is no other person to take charge after the death of the user, could remain adrift on the Internet without the possibility of management, remuneration or downloading. We are talking, for example, about blog posts, works of digital art, videos, etc.
In this context, the four recommendations that the Japanese government has launched are the following:
- Make sure your family members can unlock your smartphone or PC in an emergency.
- Keep a list of your subscriptions, user IDs and passwords.
- Consider putting those details in a document that will be available when your life ends.
- Use a service that allows you to designate someone to have access to your smartphone and other accounts once your time on Earth is over.
With respect to digital subscriptions, the fact that family members can know all the subscriptions that a person had active can help prevent the collection of these subscriptions from reducing the amount left in that person’s bank account, reducing the amount that their heirs would receive.
A growing business
Some digital entrepreneurs have identified a business opportunity in this matter of managing the online rights of deceased people, or simply in relation to the digital services that someone could benefit from after their death. That is why we already have applications in the Play Store such as “Dead Man’s Switch”, which serves to notify an emergency contact or contacts in the event of death, something that the app would be able to detect when spend a certain amount of time without opening it. This notice, in the form of emails, would also serve to transmit relevant information that we want someone to know after our death.
On the other hand, Facebook also allows you to assign a “legacy contact” to whom ownership of the account will be transferred after its owner dies.
