According to ABC News on Feb. 4, New Hampshire and other states are attempting to figure out how to deal with Facebook after death. What the states want to know is who has the rights to the Facebook pages of deceased people and State Rep. Peter Sullivan wants to introduce legislation that would pass on control of Facebook pages to the executor of the person's estate after their death.
Many pages online remain dedicated to the passing of the individual long after their deaths. Some cases, including suicides and tragic accidents, find friends and family moving in to make the site a memorial to their loved ones. In other cases, the sites just remain dormant, a reminder of the friend that no longer remains with them after their passing.
One thing that Sullivan believes will happen after a person's death if the family takes over the Facebook pages is the curtailing of bullying. Too many people, especially those who take their own lives after constant bullying at school, sees hateful people continue to posts hurtful comments about the deceased, proving that in some cases bullying lives on even after the person's death.
Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana and Connecticut have also introduced legislation in accordance to this belief. This is very important. The one thing that families need more than almost anything is closure, even if their child takes their own life after acts of bullying. Opponents call for federal laws to deal with this, while others say Facebook after death laws are unenforceable.
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