I have received many emails and other comments to my previous posts about the perils of death in the digital age. Many have reported the problems of closing Linkedin or Facebook accounts when relatives have died. Then there is the problem of accessing other accounts – not just bank accounts but utilities, subscriptions etc. I have probably a 100+ of these and it would be a nightmare for those I left behind. Even if I leave details of my passwords, technically they would be breaking the law (or at least the T&Cs) if they used them to access after my death.
Then I wrote about my digital archive – in particular my photo collection - which is all stored in the cloud. Great as long as I (or my relatives) pay the subscription. Not so good if I don’t, the account lapses and my photos are deleted. So I have kept a local drive with them all on. I even fear for that as most of my Apple Mac discs from the 1980s are now unreadable.
Same applies to my iTunes account. I’m a bit unique in that mostly I still buy CDs and then put them onto my iPod/iPad. My elder daughter has already bagged my vinyl collection when I die! But I do have a growing number of downloads.
That’s why I was particularly interested in the news that Bruce Willis is taking Apple to Court in the US for the right to bequeath his iTunes collection – which he says he has paid tens of thousands of dollars for – to his kids. Action has been started in several US States. I really hope it is successful. This should extend to ebooks as well as any other digital matter.
There really should be more rights for downloaders.