With our digital assets growing with each new online account opened, many social media websites have created policies on how to memorialize or close an account of the deceased. Twitter clearly states that it will not give you access to a deceased user’s account regardless of your relationship to the user, but it will accept requests to deactivate the user’s account from either an immediate family member or a person authorized to act on the behalf of the estate. To request that someone’s account be deactivated, you will need to use Twitter’s privacy form. After you submit the form, Twitter will send a confirmation email with further instructions. You will need to provide proof of your relationship to the deceased, including your ID and a copy of their death certificate.
Twitter also allows immediate family members and other authorized individuals to request the removal of “images or video of the deceased from when critical injury occurs to the moments before or after death,” by sending a request to via their privacy form. However, Twitter states, “When reviewing such media removal requests, Twitter considers public interest factors such as the newsworthiness of the content and may not be able to honor every request.” I found this aspect of Twitter’s policy troublesome. The newsworthiness of a gruesome photo of someone’s last moments shouldn’t be more important than the emotional pain of the deceased loved ones. With respects to the family, Twitter should take down the photo regardless of its “public interest factor.”
If you want someone to be able to take over your account when you die and want to avoid this process, you’ll need to provide someone with your login information. Users can also use SecureSafe. This site has a feature called data inheritance that allows you to pass on important passwords and files to chosen beneficiaries in the case of an emergency or fatality. The transfer will happen automatically and securely. With the amount of data people have, this is something everyone should consider using.
JillianBerardi 
I like how Twitter will not give permission to anyone to use the individuals account. I think it shows respect to the individual who has passed away, and makes me respect Twitter a little bit more. I also like how Twitter will take requests of deactivation. I think it is a good policy that more platforms should use in creating their own policies.
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I think the SecureSafe feature is really important. Especially with everyone getting their information stolen online. But I agree, the person taking over the account should have access to which posts they want up or taken down, not based on the newsworthiness of the content.
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I definitely like that Twitter will not allow access to the account for any reason. I think our privacy to our digital accounts should be secured unless we otherwise state so. However, I also think it is super troubling to know that Twitter is allowed to keep content up based on its newsworthiness.
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