Don't erase it... Twitter "dormant account" deleted What is the treatment of the deceased? June 6 at 1:5

"I've been deleting inactive accounts for years,"

tweets from Twitter entrepreneur Elon Musk.

"The account is my deceased brother himself, and I want him to keep what he can,"

said a woman who looks back on her brother's tweets every day after he died of illness.

I heard his thoughts.

My brother's days of fighting illness through posts

Yuri (pseudonym), 53 years old, lives in Osaka Prefecture.

I lost my brother Haruhiko (then 56 years old) to cancer three and a half years ago.

There are six differences, and Haruhiko says he used to play a lot when he was a child.

When he grew up, he got a job in Tokyo and lived alone.

The cancer was discovered in November 2018.

At that point there was a metastasis.

On Twitter, a detailed record of the battle with the disease is posted.

2019/6/12
"This is the third treatment with endoscopic ultrasound and 3 cool, and if there is no effect, life expectancy of several months"

2019/7/21
"I was sick from the morning and couldn't eat until the afternoon, so I ate and took medicine while almost throwing up a piece of bread and a biscuit around 14 p.m. It's not that hot, but my face is sweaty."

After more than 10 months of battling illness, Haruhiko passed away.

Yuri often looks back at tweets.

This post was made shortly after cancer was discovered.

2018/11/25
"I came to Rikugien Garden, which is open at night due to the illumination, and 5 stamps were collected, so I got a calendar GET Next year's calendar is encouraging"

The autumn stamp rally in the Tokyo Metropolitan Garden was Haruhiko's favorite event.

I used my hobby camera to take pictures of the scenery during the autumn foliage season and often post images.

When Yuri's condition worsened and she moved to Tokyo to stay overnight to take care of her, the two had this conversation.

"Let's go to the stamp rally together when the maple turns red this year, because I will push the wheelchair."

He was looking forward to putting a notice pamphlet next to his bed, but it didn't come true.

This year, Yuri went around the stamp rally alone and tweeted while quoting her brother's tweet.

2019/10/27
"Let's go around the autumn leaves stamp rally together with my brother's soul this year And get next year's calendar GET!!"

Yuri:
"I still like and comment on my brother's past posts. I'm glad I had Twitter. If you can keep it, I want you to keep it."

Has the deletion begun?

Last December, Twitter owner Elon Musk announced that he would release 12.15 billion usernames and delete inactive accounts.

In May, the company announced that it was in the process of deleting accounts that had not been used for several years.

As a result, "the number of followers may decrease."

On the other hand, on Twitter
, there are voices that express understanding, such as "It is necessary as a countermeasure against hijacking dormant accounts"
and
"I am happy that you can delete accounts that you can no longer log in because you forgot your password",

while others want you not to delete them.

One of the most prominent is the opinion that they want the deceased's account to be retained, like the woman introduced at the beginning.

Has the deletion of the deceased's account begun?

The operating company has not revealed, but there is also a view that there are not so many of them at the moment.

Yusuke Furuta, a journalist who is familiar with the issue of the deceased's Internet content, regularly checks the abandoned accounts of the deceased and others.

Yusuke Furuta
: "We have compiled a database of items that have not been used for nearly 10 years, but from what I have seen, none have been deleted so far. However, deletion depends on the judgment of the operating company, so there is a possibility that it will be deleted in the future."

He then points out that these moves are aimed at reducing operational risks.

Yusuke Furuta
: "The increase in unused accounts means that the risk of managing a huge amount of personal information increases.

The "deletion" policy has been in place in the past.

In fact, the operator announced a policy of deleting inactive accounts about four years ago, but has since withdrawn.

At that time, it said that it would not delete the deceased's account until we created a new way to protect it, but so far there is no such mechanism.

In a series of posts in May, Elon Musk suggested that deleted accounts will be archived, but there is no specific information about how the data will be stored or whether users will be able to see it.

Yusuke Furuta
: "For example, Facebook has a system called a 'memorial account,' which allows you to leave a post as a record after death if your family or friends request it. Twitter has also said that it will create such a mechanism in the past, but it seems that the announcement that it is proceeding with deletion this time without realizing it is causing user upset. First of all, if a family member, acquaintance, or other person with a connection makes a request, it may be necessary to take measures such as temporarily suspending deletion and protecting the data."

How is the deceased's account protected?

Professor Kenmichi Yuasa of Meiji University's Graduate School of Public Policy, who is an expert on information security issues, points out that it is necessary to establish a legal system for the handling of the deceased's accounts, not just Twitter.

Professor
Yuasa Kenmichi: "The handling of the accounts and data of deceased people is often difficult to deal with under conventional laws, and the current situation is that it is left to the terms of use of each company.

For example, personal information in the Personal Information Protection Law is information about "living people". SNS account information cannot be freely used by the business operator while the user is alive, but it can be done freely if the user dies. In most cases, the rights of the account belong to the business operator according to the terms of use, and problems such as unilateral deletion and not giving out the ID and password to the bereaved family will occur."

On the other hand, Professor Yuasa points out that some of the data left behind is related to personality and privacy, and some people do not want their family members to have access to their accounts after they die.

Professor
Yuasa Kenmichi: "To what extent is access to the information of deceased people allowed, but on the other hand, is there a problem with the business operator handling it freely? I think it is necessary to develop legislation to solve these issues."

What we can do

So far, there have been no tweets that Musk has changed course.

Mr. Furuta, who is familiar with the issue of digital data of the deceased, points out that it is important for each user to be prepared in case of emergency.

Yusuke Furuta
: "We recommend that you use an ending note to write down various passwords and other information for your family.

I was taught a relatively simple and security-friendly method.

1. Write the password on a business card-sized card with a pen that is difficult to erase, and erase it with correction tape.

2. Keep it with valuables such as passbooks and passports

You can't know the password unless you peel it off like a scratch, so you can notice it if you see it without permission.

Yusuke Furuta
: "Services such as SNS change drastically, and things on the Internet can disappear at any time, so it is important to have options for self-defense, such as discussing them with your family in case of an emergency, and printing out what you really want to keep."

Good morning Japan director
Ryusuke
Nakamura joined the bureau in 2022.
Now in its second year.
During the interview, the words of the bereaved family that "my brother will die twice due to account deletion" left an impression on me.

Network News Department reporter
Souya
Sugimoto joined the bureau in 2015.
After working at the Kumamoto Bureau, he assumed his current position.
I've been using Twitter since I was a student, but my account at the time was "dormant."

Keisuke
Matsubara, a reporter in the Network News Department,
joined the bureau in 2011.
After working at the Toyama Bureau, Osaka Bureau, and Kyoto Bureau, he assumed his current position. He has covered mainly universities and the medical field. She is struggling to raise three children.