By Jim Hu, 24 December 2004 10:50
NEWS The family of a US Marine killed in Iraq was denied access to the soldier's Yahoo email account due to the company's policies, raising questions of whether businesses should balance privacy with special requests.
The Marine, Justin Ellsworth, 20, was killed in November by a roadside bomb in Falluja while assisting civilian evacuations before the large-scale military offensive against insurgents in the city, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. But when Ellsworth's father John tried to recover his email account, he was barred due to Yahoo's policy of not giving email passwords to anyone besides the account holder.
A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company's terms of service require the company not to disclose private email communications for its users. Yahoo will turn over the account to family members only after they go through the courts to verify their identity and relationship with the deceased. After 90 days of inactivity, Yahoo deletes the account.
Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said: "Emotionally, this is very difficult for all involved. However, there are important reasons why we feel it is important to uphold the preferences that are part of the agreement we have with our users regarding their privacy. What all of us are looking for is a path that upholds individual privacy and also fully respects a family's request."
John Ellsworth's battle against Yahoo raises the issue of whether companies should depart from their policies under certain circumstances. Some email providers, such as America Online, allow next-of-kin to access email accounts of the deceased by submitting documents proving the relationship and by faxing a copy of the death certificate. AOL does not require family members to go through the courts.
An EarthLink representative said the company also has policies in place for special circumstances involving the death of a family member similar to AOL's. A Microsoft representative could not immediately comment.
The Marines have a system of returning personal items to families and next-of-kin. The families receive the soldier's possessions at the time of death, as well as items in storage at his or her base in the United States, ranging from cars to crates of personal possessions left behind before shipping out. All letters destined for mail are sent to their recipients, and received mail, including opened letters, are sent to their families.
Marine spokesman Brian Driver said: "Each Marine gets a crate or large boxes to pack stuff in. Whatever's in there gets sent back. Period."
Because infantry on the front lines do not get a Marine email account, many soldiers turn to the couple hundred internet cafes set up around Iraq and send correspondences through web mail providers such as Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft's Hotmail.
Only officers outside the front lines get official Marine email accounts used for interoffice communications. If the officer is killed, the Marines delete the accounts after retrieving messages that could be important for planning.
Email has become a source of information about soldiers on the front lines. Images of the war and correspondences to loved ones have helped paint a picture of life in Iraq and Afghanistan, while helping families stay in touch with loved ones serving abroad.
Soldiers killed in action may also have important information in their email accounts to help families settle personal matters, such as closing out accounts or other housekeeping matters.
Ray Everett-Church, a legal expert on privacy issues, said companies should adhere to strong privacy policies, up to a point. In certain cases such as this, email providers should make exceptions, he said.
"Any well-run organisation should be capable of designing policies that adapt to unique and difficult circumstances," Everett-Church said. "In this case, I think that while it's good to have a consistent policy, it's not good to slavishly follow it in all circumstances, particularly one as sensitive as this."
Justin Ellsworth's father was hoping to access his son's email account as one reminder of his son's life.
"I want to be able to remember him in his words," Ellsworth told the Associated Press. "I know he thought he was doing what he needed to do. I want to have that for the future. It's the last thing I have of my son."
Comments
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1. Full Name
"The Marines have a system of returning personal items to families and next-of-kin. The families receive the soldier's possessions at the time of death, .... All letters destined for mail are sent to their recipients, and received mail, including opened letters, are sent to their families."
Not really "all". Graves Division normally will remove any superfluous items that would cause embrassment (read: porn) before shipping personal items back to the family. A lot of times these items are also removed in the field.
When I was in the service it was recommended that we quitly leave a letter with the next of kin. These days it should include any passwords to accounts they want to be accessed by others. The fact is the deceased might not want anyone ever accessing these accounts and that should be respected.
2. michael saint grey
what, he didn't leave enough embarrassing shit in unpassworded space, these people have the right to paw through his underwear drawer now that he's dead and gone?
3. Sean McPoland
NTL have a similar policy to AOL's, when my father died last year it was easy to get into his account after providing the correct 'evidence' i.e. the faxed copy of the death cirtificate.
I helped my mother a lot.
4. David D. Snider
This confirms my judgement in not using AOL. Such rigid adherence to "the rules" is mindless, heartless and incredible! To force the bereaved family to go to court, an expensive route, adds insult to injury.
5. Doug
Tough one. I'm inclined to think that access should be denied. His words and thoughts are already contained in e-mails home. Important legal/financial information should have been left at home "just in case". If the account is to be opened by others it should be an informed and elected choice when setting up the account in the first place, allowing the account owner the opportunity to have an alternate, private, account that dies with him.
6. anonymous
Of course it's not "Privacy gone mad". Would you expect all recordings of private conversations had by yourself with others to be made public after your death? Heaven forbid the possible existence of such a law.
7. Steve Farkas
To David Snyder,
We all have reasons to like (great for kids) or dislike AOL (that browser is awful) but you really need to read and understand before you respond!
The article is about Yahoo! being overly cautious and how AOL has a BETTER policy...
8. anonymous
What if information in the deceased persons' account would cause caos and embarrassment to anyone other than the author or recipiant. The answer to this could be solved by having each account owners' request for privacy filed in the form of a will. This would grant access to a specified party or request that all information be deleted. This is based on the insight that any information that I wish someone to read I send It to them. And anything in my account is for my own viewing,and therefore would be greatly offended if anyone entered;like a personal diary. Or scenero such as this, say I'm a priest or some such person who receives information from many sources based on my abiliy to keep such data private. If access were granted to anyone, even family, there would be a gross breach of trust to those parties still living. And depending on my occupation, the information could put lives at risk. In another Senerio,I could have a very ultra-conservative family and my path in life takes me domn avenues which I know would not be looked upon as socialy,religeously,or politically,etc. correct by them. I would wish them not to be subjected to my choices after my death, had I not shared my views with them while I were alive. In conclusion thanks Yahoo for standing your ground on this issue of the little privacy that is afforded us today.
9. anonymous
My daughter passed away on May 25, 2005. MSN told us that all we had to do was fax a death certificate to them to obtain the passwords to her email accout. That was more than 6 weeks ago. I faxed them 3 times and have yet to hear from them. I turned it over to my atty. who had to supeona (sp) them and we have YET to hear from MSN. Luckily I found the passwords in a notebook. There needs to be some system in place and people who are willing to listen to reason.
10. anonymous
When my daughter died in San Francisco in May 2005 we spent 6 weeks trying to find the passwords to her Hotmail accounts. I was originally told that I needed to fax a death certificate. I did - three times. I got NO response. I had my attorney make an attempt and they told him he would have to suppeona the passwords. Fortunately I found the passwords among the things that we shipped home to Kentucky. By the time I found the passwords all the sent & read email was gone deleted after a month. Very frustrating for the parents to deal with in addition to a very sudden death
11. anonymous
My daughter passed away on May 25, 2005. MSN told us that all we had to do was fax a death certificate to them to obtain the passwords to her email accout. That was more than 6 weeks ago. I faxed them 3 times and have yet to hear from them. I turned it over to my atty. who had to supeona (sp) them and we have YET to hear from MSN. Luckily I found the passwords in a notebook. There needs to be some system in place and people who are willing to listen to reason.