Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has signed into law a measure giving estate attorneys and other fiduciaries more control of their deceased clients’ digital data.
The law, which takes a novel approach, deals with the sensitive issue of what to do when people are outlived by their email and social media accounts, sometimes to the dismay of loved ones who lack access. The law extends access to executors authorized to carry out the instructions of a person’s will. The executor can then transfer email and other data to a family member but isn’t required to.
The statute could conflict with a federal law passed by Congress in 1986 that forbids consumer electronic-communications companies from disclosing content without its owner’s consent or a government order, according to DLA Piper partner Jim Halpert, who co-runs the firm’s global data protection, privacy and security practice.
About 10 states have considered versions of the legislation approved in Delaware, said Mr. Halpert, who is also the general counsel of the State Privacy and Security Coalition, an industry group that includes Google Inc. and Facebook.
Mr. Halpert, whose coalition had opposed the bill, said it raises privacy concerns.
The executor of an estate already has access to letters that belonged to the deceased. The bill, though, removes hurdles an estate attorney or other fiduciary may have when they want to search through emails and deal with old debts or accounts that need to be closed.
Mr. Halpert said an email archive might contain sensitive personal information, such as correspondence with clergy or a doctor, that the deceased might not have wanted disclosed.
“People send a lot more emails than letters, and emails are often more unfiltered than letters,” he said.
Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.