Opinions mixed on retaining or deleting online history after death
(LIANG LUWEN / FOR CHINA DAILY)
In November, Apple released a new feature in its latest operating system update. The program, Digital Legacy, allows users to pass on personal information to family members and friends in the event of the user's death.
A maximum of five "Legacy Users" can be added to a person's iCloud account, so that when that individual dies, these contacts can obtain his or her details through an access key.
Also in November, a picture created by an online painter circulated widely on social media platforms.
The majority of personal accounts do not have real economic value — at most, some non-material value. Based on the current law, there is no legal basis to state whether these are legal properties.
Zhao Zhanling, legal adviser for the Internet Society of China
The picture introduces a new product concept, "the smart coffin", with users collating their personal details on a flash drive and then following pop-up instructions. After a user dies, the "smart coffin" publishes an obituary, notifies close contacts, transfers passwords to personal accounts, or deletes data, according to the deceased's wishes.
All the user's data is stored in the "smart coffin", which requires password access. In the event of death, the "coffin" can be switched to "dead" status by entering the deceased's death certificate number. Artificial intelligence then takes care of the other procedures required.
Digital Legacy and the "smart coffin" have triggered heated online discussion about arrangements for online inheritance.
Some netizens welcomed the "smart coffin", saying such a product is necessary, while others said they had a considerable amount of data they did not wish family members to see.
As digitalization penetrates further into daily lives, netizens have become increasingly concerned about personal details left on the internet－and how to deal with them properly after death. Young people comprise the group most concerned about digital inheritance, with many of them drawing up wills.
A white paper released by the China Will Registration Center in March, shows that in 2020, nearly 11 percent of the post-'80s generation and just over 21 percent of the post-'90s generation mentioned virtual assets in their wills. They have accounts with Alipay, WeChat, QQ and with video game providers.
Among the post-'90s generation who have made wills, virtual assets ranked third in importance, after bank deposits and real estate.
Wu Wanzhen, a member of the younger generation who recently planned for her digital afterlife through the China Will Registration Center in Shanghai, said that if she died unexpectedly and didn't make plans in advance, there was a good chance that her digital history would be seen by her parents.
However, the planning process wasn't easy－requiring far more time and research than she expected. From initially consulting the center's professionals, including lawyers, to final approval of her will, the entire procedure took the 26-year-old media worker nearly two months.
The first problem Wu encountered emerged as she was sorting through her digital assets. Currently, there is no law clearly defining virtual property, so Wu didn't know what she could put in her will.
After consulting a lawyer, she divided her accounts into two categories, based on whether they had any real economic value.
For example, her accounts with Alipay and WeChat Pay, as well as for video games, were categorized as economic assets. Social media accounts, on the other hand, were considered non-material assets.
But without a specific judicial interpretation of digital inheritance, the handling of these assets is mainly based on user agreements signed with network providers, which have different rules depending on the service.
Alipay's service agreement states that "property interests" with the online payment platform can be inherited by law. Close family members of the deceased can inherit the balance deposited with Alipay by providing a death certificate, identification card and proof of kinship. WeChat Pay also allows such balances to be passed on.
Dispute has arisen over inheritance of social media accounts. The majority of such providers state in user agreements that an account is for personal use only and cannot be transferred, loaned or inherited.
Provisions lacking
Zhao Zhanling, a legal adviser for the Internet Society of China, said that as there are no legal provisions for virtual property, it is debatable whether social media accounts can be considered virtual assets. Most network service providers only grant the right to use, rather than own, their accounts, and the issue depends entirely on how the internet companies set up such agreements.
"The majority of personal accounts do not have real economic value－at most, some non-material value. Based on the current law, there is no legal basis to state whether these are legal properties," Zhao added.
Chen Kai, director of the China Will Registration Center's management committee, said such accounts should be defined as digital assets, adding that the agreements are designed for the companies to make a profit, but are unfair to consumers.
Due to privacy protection concerns, Tencent, which owns WeChat, does not allow personal accounts to be inherited.
Chen said, "Personal privacy must be protected, but the argument that inheritance is not allowed due to privacy protection reasons is invalid."
He said each personal account is the result of a large amount of time and effort spent by the user, and therefore has value.
Many people use WeChat to run a business, Chen said. Sales staff members at some enterprises use it to form a customer base and they also devote much time and energy to maintaining this base. "Such labor generates value," he added.
Although Tencent does not charge for use of WeChat, the company has gained huge economic benefits from the data collected from its vast pool of users, Chen said, adding, "So there is a trade-off here and WeChat accounts should be considered digital property."
He also said that because of technological advances and innovation of business models, it is difficult to draw up a detailed legal definition of what constitutes a digital property and what does not, as the law always lags behind reality, and reality keeps changing.
"But there is no doubt that digital property is formed, because the person concerned has devoted time and thought to it," he added.
Zhao said relevant legislation is certain to be introduced in the future, giving clear provisions for the definition of digital assets, as well as defining how the value of these assets is measured.
The newly adopted Civil Code, which took effect on Jan 1, marked the first step in protecting virtual property by law.
It states, "Where particular laws are provided for the protection of data and virtual assets online, such provisions shall be followed". The Civil Code also expands the scope of inheritance to "personal lawful property left by a person upon death", replacing the original listing of inheritance items, including income, real estate and copyrights.
"Although there has not been any movement on this front, the Civil Code leaves room for legislation in the future. This is an area that needs to be further explored and improved," Chen said.
He added that privacy protection is one of the difficulties with legislation involving the inheritance of digital assets.
"If the law believes privacy protection should take precedence over the protection of digital assets, it would probably stipulate that if a user does not include the inheritance of his or her digital accounts in a will, then the accounts cannot be inherited," Chen said.
China Will Registration Center clients can include their arrangements for social media accounts in a will as they desire, but the wording does not cover direct inheritance of accounts, stating, "The rights to inherit via a will are allowed if they are provided for by law or agreement."
Chen said, "This is to ensure that once a relevant law or adjustment of user agreements is in place, wills can take effect to protect people's rights."
Plans outlined
Wu, the young woman, who is one of the center's clients, stated her inheritance wishes for Baidu Wangpan, a cloud service provided by Baidu, as well as her account with the online game Honor of Kings.
As the game allows "skins and equipment purchased by players" to be transferred, Wu decided to pass on her character in the game to a friend.
Baidu Wangpan has no plans for dealing with the accounts of users who have died, but Wu said she wanted her will to serve as a reference should relevant legislation be introduced in the future.
"No one could tell me how to plan for Baidu Wangpan, where I have stored a considerable amount of valuable resources," she said. "I'm sure that in the future, the policy or the rules will be improved. What I need to do now is make my personal wishes clear."
Network service providers worldwide are looking for answers to the problem of digital inheritance.
According to a study published by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute in 2019, the number of deceased Facebook account holders could reach 1.4 billion by 2100.
Facebook is one of the first social networks to introduce "memorialized accounts". In 2009, it launched memorial profiles of deceased users, while six years later, it introduced a feature to allow users to designate "legacy contacts" for their accounts after they die.
According to Sina Weibo, as of March, the number of monthly active users on the platform reached 530 million, while WeChat had 1.25 billion such users by June 30. Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics puts the number of deaths in China in 2020 at about 10 million.
To prevent accounts of the deceased being stolen or interfered with, Sina Weibo launched a site in September 2020 to give such accounts "protected" status. This means that they cannot be accessed, items can't be posted on them, or contents deleted.
Three months later, the videosharing site Bilibili also launched functions providing for deceased users. It said it had heard of the deaths of several users in recent years, and the move was aimed at "commemorating those who existed in the same world as us, saw the same scenery, and rejoiced or voiced sorrow over the same things".
Netizens have different views on whether they want their accounts to be retained or removed after they die.
In August, the online news platform Toutiao carried out a survey based on netizens' microblogs and comments. Topics included "How to deal with social accounts after death "and "Should I delete my WeChat when I die". The survey found that 20.5 percent of respondents wanted to delete their digital history, while 79.5 percent chose to retain it.
People who opted to retain their history believed it could serve as a memory for the living, while those who chose to delete it said they did not want their privacy to be exposed.
Wu wants to retain her digital history. She said the idea of writing her will came after she learned of the deaths of some online influencers in recent years, prompting her to think about how netizens should deal with their online history.
"Our generation has bonded very tightly with the internet, where I have stored a lot of data. It feels as if there is a digital version of myself online. If I were to die, someone could still see me in the virtual world, which I think is amazing," Wu said.
"My grandfather died many years ago. When I read his notes, I feel as if he is standing right in front of me.
"But my generation rarely writes in notebooks or diaries, but more in the cloud. If I were to leave this world, future generations would still understand me and have access to the resources I have cultivated on the internet. I think this is very meaningful."
