Social Media Site Legislation Pending in Nebraska

A bill pending in Nebraska would treat Facebook, Twitter, email accounts, and other social media accounts as digital assets that appointed representatives could manage following a user’s death. If Nebraska passes the bill, it would become the second state to pass legislation that grants estate representatives the power to manage a decedent’s social media and online accounts.

The Nebraska bill is modeled after Oklahoma’s similar law that was enacted last year. The Nebraska bill aims to “clarify the right of personal representatives in the new digital age.” Facebook’s currently policy states that the social media site will put a deceased user’s account in a “special memorialized state,” unless a family member of the decedent requests that the page be taken down.    

See Debra Cassens Weiss, What Happens to Your Facebook Page After Death? Nebraska Bill Gives Say-So to Estate Representative, ABA Journal, Mar. 19, 2012.