[telecom] New State Proposal Grants Access To The Deceased's Email

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New State Proposal Grants Access To The Deceased's Email

When U.S. Marine Justin Ellsworth was killed in Iraq in 2004, his parents sought to gain access to his Yahoo email account. Yahoo refused, but after a highly-publicized legal battle, the parents were eventually given a copy of their son's digital correspondence.

The case cast a light on the fast-growing and often complex world of the digital afterlife. As we conduct more and more of our lives online, much of our legacy will be represented in 0's and 1's. That raises questions about how that legacy will be preserved - if at all

- and who will have access to it.

Perhaps you have never considered what happens when you sign-off for that very last time. But there's legislation making it's way through Beacon Hill that might make you want to start. A bill that passed the Senate last week would require email providers to grant access to the relatives or representatives of the deceased.

Guests:

Evan Carroll, co-author of "Your Digital Afterlife: When Facebook, Flickr and Twitter Are Your Estate, What's Your Legacy?"

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