Computers, Privacy & the Constitution

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YukoKawaiFirstPaper 4 - 14 Jan 2015 - Main.IanSullivan
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Dead Men Floating through Internet


YukoKawaiFirstPaper 3 - 26 Apr 2013 - Main.YukoKawai
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Dead Men Floating through Internet

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Introduction

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As we learned during classes, our posts, comments, photos, etc. on Internet (especially SNS such as Facebook, Twitter and blog) can be intentionally gathered by someone and will form our personal information. By exposing some information on Internet, we can be identified, even if each post, comment or friendship seems to be insufficient for identifying person. Therefore, it is very important for us to control disclosure of personal information through SNS. In my opinion, when a person can control his/her information at its own will, such “control” means both (i) non-disclosure of certain information and (ii) deleting previously-disclosed information as needed. Then, what if a person suddenly lost ability to control his/her information? Particularly, what will be happen on SNS pages after a member of the SNS passed away? His/her Facebook pages, tags, blog pages, posts, comments would continue exposing to public (or friends), without any updates and deletion. The situation would be worse if he/she had not set screening rule – his/her SNS pages might float through internet for years (until the SNS suspends its services) accompanying bunch of inappropriate comments including advertisements and abuses. Would family members be able to do anything effective after a person’s death? Or could we prepare by ourselves in advance to avoid unintentional floating through Internet after death?
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Generally, people are represented in society through everything we do, everyone we've known, everywhere we've left our influences of any kind. When people pass away, some of those representations change, while some do not. Some fade away, while some last forever. Although these outcomes differ from types of representations and deceased person’s situation, at least, people cannot manage them at all, after passing away.
 
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Personal information on Internet

 
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Why are "we" conceived of as "on the Internet" through only one service of this kind? People are represented in society through everything we do, everyone we've known, everywhere we've left our influences, our language, our teaching, our human love. When we die, some of those representations change, some do not. Some fade away, some last forever. Why is it necessary or desirable to say that "on the Internet," it's somehow different. Bits on storage devices, like photos in albums, both change and stay the same because the people who put them there, or are depicted there, are dead. So what?

But if this is a problem, it can't be much of a problem, can it? The executor, or other legal representative of the deceased, can do with whatever the deceased has stored in publicly-accessible locations whatever the deceased's wishes are. Parties who can help to facilitate that effort will do so, because, if the representatives need them to, the courts will give the same legal powers to them that the deceased had.

Can family members completely maintain all pages, comments and relevant information of a deceased person?

There are some possible ways for family members of a deceased person to maintain his/her pages, comments and relevant information. If a SNS company has terms of use that allows family members to log in or remove the deceased member’s account after verification, family members can maintain the deceased person’s account. By way of examples, Facebook is accepting requests from verified immediate family members to remove a deceased person’s account from Facebook site. In addition, in Japan, some famous people’s blogs have been maintained and updated by their families or relevant even after their death so that their fans can visit the page. (It is said such maintenance is not based on company’s terms but just a kind of special treatment.) However, there are several concerns here. In my opinion, family members cannot completely maintain all accounts and information of a deceased person. First, generally speaking, most of family members do not have a complete list of deceased person’s SNS accounts. In such cases, perhaps it is almost impossible for family members to grasp all relevant accounts, all comments, and all posts of the deceased person. Second, the policy with respect to removal, closure and maintenance of deceased member’s account seems to vary among SNS companies. Family members can remove, close or maintain several accounts in accordance with the terms of use of Internet companies, which allow family members to do so after verification if necessary; however, as for other accounts that do not have such terms, family members can’t do anything. Third, family member’s actions might not accord with the deceased person’s intention or preference. For instance, in Facebook, the account of a deceased person can be “memorialized.” When a Facebook member passes away, after necessary procedure, his/her timeline will continue existing as a virtual memorial place. This system would provide a good place for people who miss the deceased person but none of them would know whether the member wished such continuous exposure to public after death.

People differ in the extent to which they want to have others act for them after they are dead. When these matters are important to people, they will do what they need to secure that their agents have the necessary instructions and powers. Where the whole matter is of no concern to the decedent, why should we care more than she or he did?

Can we control all pages, comments and relevant information of ourselves in advance of death?

We may try to set a timer which automatically works after passing away and which controls our own information; we may also record accounts information and passwords in one place so that we secure our accounts to be properly updated, closed, deleted or maintained after death. There are several services that help us to control our information in advance, such as Legacy Locker and Life Ensured. In Japan, as far as I know, there are service companies that (i) update the member’s blog or (ii) send out an email to people designated by the member, if the member did not timely respond to some status confirmation emails sent by the service company. By this service, we can prepare a farewell message to others in advance. However, I think there are some concerns here as well. First, we can’t 100% assure that our accounts info and passwords will be kept in secret forever until our death. Letting others know all of my accounts and passwords means, potentially and reluctantly help someone to do a data mining. For example, when I have revealed all of my accounts and passwords to such service entity, and if such information was somehow leaked to a third party, such party can completely impersonate me, at least in the realm of Internet. It would mean a collapse of my identity. Second, even if such information has not been leaked yet, there is no guarantee that these companies continue to exist until we die. Company might quickly make a decision to end their business and delete all secured information. I think we should not rely on these companies’ eternality. Third, even if these companies continue existing and securing our information until our death, it is still unsure whether all accounts are updated, closed, deleted or maintained properly in line with deceased person’s previous intention. We do not have any established systems to ask for governmental power implementing such intention.

In "the cloud," users of services that store and provide data have these problems at all times. Hence the interest in providing individual users ways to deploy personal servers. You might try to imagine not some immense legal structure designed to manage all these risks in a global economy where the decedent in Australia might use a cloud storage service in Sweden, but rather a small technical solution, involving storing our data in our own houses.
 
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As for personal information on Internet, such as online photo albums, Facebook pages and blogs, it would be worth considering that people properly manage such information in advance, i.e., before passing away. Since these information exist remotely (i.e., not physically stored in deceased person’s apartment unlike diary book) and since these are protected by IDs and passwords (i.e., even if successors could open deceased person’s computer, they might not able to reach the Facebook page or blogs), such information cannot always be found and managed by successors of deceased person, while irrelevant people can easily see it online as if the writer is still alive.
 
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Conclusion

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In a case where deceased person had not set appropriate measure before death and successor could not find her online photo albums, Facebook page and blog, the person will float through Internet as if she is still alive, accompanying bunch of unfavorable comments including advertisements and abuses, as the case may be.

In order to avoid unintentional floating through Internet after death, we can prepare by ourselves in advance.

Possible ways of control

There are several possible ways to control personal information and to prevent us from unintentional floating through Internet after death.

Set a timer

We may try to set a online timer which automatically works after passing away and which controls our own information on Internet. In Japan, there are service providers that (i) update the member’s blog automatically in accordance with previous request by the member or (ii) send out emails to people specified by the member, when the member did not timely respond to some status confirmation emails consecutively sent by the service provider. By using these services, we can not only manage our personal information on Internet but also prepare a farewell message to others in advance. However, we should note that there is no guarantee that these companies continue to exist until we die. Company might quickly make a decision to end their business and delete all secured information. I think we should not rely on these companies’ eternality.

 
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As stated, while there is not a perfect and definite way to completely control information on Internet, I believe that we could use combination of several possible ways for a better control. At the same time, I strongly hope that Internet companies have discussion and set a voluntary guideline regarding this matter.
 
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Record accounts information in one place

 
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-- YukoKawai - 04 Mar 2013
 
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We may also try to record accounts information (such as URL addresses, IDs and passwords) in one place so that our successors can properly find, manage and close our online photo albums, Facebook pages and blogs. Several websites such as Legacy Locker and Life Ensured are providing such kind of services. However, we should note that it is not totally assured that our accounts information will be kept in secret forever until our death. Letting others know all of my accounts and passwords means, potentially and reluctantly help someone to do a data mining. For example, when I have revealed all of my accounts and passwords to such service entity, and if such information was somehow leaked to a third party, such party can completely impersonate me, at least in the realm of Internet. It would mean a collapse of my identity.

Store personally

As mentioned, there are several concerns when we store personal information on Internet. In addition, as we learned during classes, our posts, comments, photos, etc. on Internet can be intentionally gathered by someone and will be identified, even if each post or comment itself seems to be insufficient for identifying person. As such, we may shift to using non-internet devices, such as personal servers and USBs, to the extent possible. Even if our successor could not find or use devices, at least, personal information contained in these devices will not unintentionally flow on Internet after death. However, we cannot avoid storing some of our personal information on Internet, such as Facebook pages.

Conclusion

 
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As stated, there is not a perfect and definite way to control personal information on Internet completely after death; however, the best way would be a combination of possible ways stated above. In order to properly manage personal information, we should think about need and effect of each post before doing it online.

YukoKawaiFirstPaper 2 - 23 Apr 2013 - Main.EbenMoglen
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---+ Dead Men Floating through Internet
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Dead Men Floating through Internet

 
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---++ Introduction
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Introduction

 

As we learned during classes, our posts, comments, photos, etc. on Internet (especially SNS such as Facebook, Twitter and blog) can be intentionally gathered by someone and will form our personal information. By exposing some information on Internet, we can be identified, even if each post, comment or friendship seems to be insufficient for identifying person. Therefore, it is very important for us to control disclosure of personal information through SNS. In my opinion, when a person can control his/her information at its own will, such “control” means both (i) non-disclosure of certain information and (ii) deleting previously-disclosed information as needed. Then, what if a person suddenly lost ability to control his/her information? Particularly, what will be happen on SNS pages after a member of the SNS passed away? His/her Facebook pages, tags, blog pages, posts, comments would continue exposing to public (or friends), without any updates and deletion. The situation would be worse if he/she had not set screening rule – his/her SNS pages might float through internet for years (until the SNS suspends its services) accompanying bunch of inappropriate comments including advertisements and abuses. Would family members be able to do anything effective after a person’s death? Or could we prepare by ourselves in advance to avoid unintentional floating through Internet after death?

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---++ Can family members completely maintain all pages, comments and relevant information of a deceased person?
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Why are "we" conceived of as "on the Internet" through only one service of this kind? People are represented in society through everything we do, everyone we've known, everywhere we've left our influences, our language, our teaching, our human love. When we die, some of those representations change, some do not. Some fade away, some last forever. Why is it necessary or desirable to say that "on the Internet," it's somehow different. Bits on storage devices, like photos in albums, both change and stay the same because the people who put them there, or are depicted there, are dead. So what?

But if this is a problem, it can't be much of a problem, can it? The executor, or other legal representative of the deceased, can do with whatever the deceased has stored in publicly-accessible locations whatever the deceased's wishes are. Parties who can help to facilitate that effort will do so, because, if the representatives need them to, the courts will give the same legal powers to them that the deceased had.

Can family members completely maintain all pages, comments and relevant information of a deceased person?

  There are some possible ways for family members of a deceased person to maintain his/her pages, comments and relevant information. If a SNS company has terms of use that allows family members to log in or remove the deceased member’s account after verification, family members can maintain the deceased person’s account. By way of examples, Facebook is accepting requests from verified immediate family members to remove a deceased person’s account from Facebook site.
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 Second, the policy with respect to removal, closure and maintenance of deceased member’s account seems to vary among SNS companies. Family members can remove, close or maintain several accounts in accordance with the terms of use of Internet companies, which allow family members to do so after verification if necessary; however, as for other accounts that do not have such terms, family members can’t do anything. Third, family member’s actions might not accord with the deceased person’s intention or preference. For instance, in Facebook, the account of a deceased person can be “memorialized.” When a Facebook member passes away, after necessary procedure, his/her timeline will continue existing as a virtual memorial place. This system would provide a good place for people who miss the deceased person but none of them would know whether the member wished such continuous exposure to public after death.
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---++ Can we control all pages, comments and relevant information of ourselves in advance of death?
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People differ in the extent to which they want to have others act for them after they are dead. When these matters are important to people, they will do what they need to secure that their agents have the necessary instructions and powers. Where the whole matter is of no concern to the decedent, why should we care more than she or he did?

Can we control all pages, comments and relevant information of ourselves in advance of death?

  We may try to set a timer which automatically works after passing away and which controls our own information; we may also record accounts information and passwords in one place so that we secure our accounts to be properly updated, closed, deleted or maintained after death. There are several services that help us to control our information in advance, such as Legacy Locker and Life Ensured. In Japan, as far as I know, there are service companies that (i) update the member’s blog or (ii) send out an email to people designated by the member, if the member did not timely respond to some status confirmation emails sent by the service company. By this service, we can prepare a farewell message to others in advance. However, I think there are some concerns here as well.
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 Second, even if such information has not been leaked yet, there is no guarantee that these companies continue to exist until we die. Company might quickly make a decision to end their business and delete all secured information. I think we should not rely on these companies’ eternality. Third, even if these companies continue existing and securing our information until our death, it is still unsure whether all accounts are updated, closed, deleted or maintained properly in line with deceased person’s previous intention. We do not have any established systems to ask for governmental power implementing such intention.
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---++ Conclusion
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In "the cloud," users of services that store and provide data have these problems at all times. Hence the interest in providing individual users ways to deploy personal servers. You might try to imagine not some immense legal structure designed to manage all these risks in a global economy where the decedent in Australia might use a cloud storage service in Sweden, but rather a small technical solution, involving storing our data in our own houses.

Conclusion

 As stated, while there is not a perfect and definite way to completely control information on Internet, I believe that we could use combination of several possible ways for a better control. At the same time, I strongly hope that Internet companies have discussion and set a voluntary guideline regarding this matter.

YukoKawaiFirstPaper 1 - 04 Mar 2013 - Main.YukoKawai
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Added:
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META TOPICPARENT name="FirstPaper"
---+ Dead Men Floating through Internet

---++ Introduction

As we learned during classes, our posts, comments, photos, etc. on Internet (especially SNS such as Facebook, Twitter and blog) can be intentionally gathered by someone and will form our personal information. By exposing some information on Internet, we can be identified, even if each post, comment or friendship seems to be insufficient for identifying person. Therefore, it is very important for us to control disclosure of personal information through SNS. In my opinion, when a person can control his/her information at its own will, such “control” means both (i) non-disclosure of certain information and (ii) deleting previously-disclosed information as needed. Then, what if a person suddenly lost ability to control his/her information? Particularly, what will be happen on SNS pages after a member of the SNS passed away? His/her Facebook pages, tags, blog pages, posts, comments would continue exposing to public (or friends), without any updates and deletion. The situation would be worse if he/she had not set screening rule – his/her SNS pages might float through internet for years (until the SNS suspends its services) accompanying bunch of inappropriate comments including advertisements and abuses. Would family members be able to do anything effective after a person’s death? Or could we prepare by ourselves in advance to avoid unintentional floating through Internet after death?

---++ Can family members completely maintain all pages, comments and relevant information of a deceased person?

There are some possible ways for family members of a deceased person to maintain his/her pages, comments and relevant information. If a SNS company has terms of use that allows family members to log in or remove the deceased member’s account after verification, family members can maintain the deceased person’s account. By way of examples, Facebook is accepting requests from verified immediate family members to remove a deceased person’s account from Facebook site. In addition, in Japan, some famous people’s blogs have been maintained and updated by their families or relevant even after their death so that their fans can visit the page. (It is said such maintenance is not based on company’s terms but just a kind of special treatment.) However, there are several concerns here. In my opinion, family members cannot completely maintain all accounts and information of a deceased person. First, generally speaking, most of family members do not have a complete list of deceased person’s SNS accounts. In such cases, perhaps it is almost impossible for family members to grasp all relevant accounts, all comments, and all posts of the deceased person. Second, the policy with respect to removal, closure and maintenance of deceased member’s account seems to vary among SNS companies. Family members can remove, close or maintain several accounts in accordance with the terms of use of Internet companies, which allow family members to do so after verification if necessary; however, as for other accounts that do not have such terms, family members can’t do anything. Third, family member’s actions might not accord with the deceased person’s intention or preference. For instance, in Facebook, the account of a deceased person can be “memorialized.” When a Facebook member passes away, after necessary procedure, his/her timeline will continue existing as a virtual memorial place. This system would provide a good place for people who miss the deceased person but none of them would know whether the member wished such continuous exposure to public after death.

---++ Can we control all pages, comments and relevant information of ourselves in advance of death?

We may try to set a timer which automatically works after passing away and which controls our own information; we may also record accounts information and passwords in one place so that we secure our accounts to be properly updated, closed, deleted or maintained after death. There are several services that help us to control our information in advance, such as Legacy Locker and Life Ensured. In Japan, as far as I know, there are service companies that (i) update the member’s blog or (ii) send out an email to people designated by the member, if the member did not timely respond to some status confirmation emails sent by the service company. By this service, we can prepare a farewell message to others in advance. However, I think there are some concerns here as well. First, we can’t 100% assure that our accounts info and passwords will be kept in secret forever until our death. Letting others know all of my accounts and passwords means, potentially and reluctantly help someone to do a data mining. For example, when I have revealed all of my accounts and passwords to such service entity, and if such information was somehow leaked to a third party, such party can completely impersonate me, at least in the realm of Internet. It would mean a collapse of my identity. Second, even if such information has not been leaked yet, there is no guarantee that these companies continue to exist until we die. Company might quickly make a decision to end their business and delete all secured information. I think we should not rely on these companies’ eternality. Third, even if these companies continue existing and securing our information until our death, it is still unsure whether all accounts are updated, closed, deleted or maintained properly in line with deceased person’s previous intention. We do not have any established systems to ask for governmental power implementing such intention.

---++ Conclusion

As stated, while there is not a perfect and definite way to completely control information on Internet, I believe that we could use combination of several possible ways for a better control. At the same time, I strongly hope that Internet companies have discussion and set a voluntary guideline regarding this matter.

-- YukoKawai - 04 Mar 2013

 
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Revision 4r4 - 14 Jan 2015 - 22:44:39 - IanSullivan
Revision 3r3 - 26 Apr 2013 - 21:33:29 - YukoKawai
Revision 2r2 - 23 Apr 2013 - 19:43:44 - EbenMoglen
Revision 1r1 - 04 Mar 2013 - 02:44:15 - YukoKawai
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