Personal responsibility is needed for a digital afterlife
Last month Google announced its plan to delete personal accounts that have remained inactive for over two years and all photos, emails, and documents attached to these inactive accounts will be removed. However, Google clarified that accounts with YouTube videos will be exempt from deletion because of the potential loss of historically significant videos. Certain aspects of Google’s policy, such as exceptions for inactive accounts due to legal issues, incarceration, or medical incapacitation, remain unclear.
Twitter published a similar policy last week when the company stated that it would purge accounts that have remained inactive for several years. The decision triggered concern among the bereaved about their deceased loved ones’ accounts being erased. Other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have implemented features that enable users to grieve for the deceased and have given the option to deactivate or memorialize their accounts.
Tamara Kneese, author of Death Glitch: How Techno-Solutionism Fails Us in This Life and Beyond, warns that these policy changes serve as a reminder of the fragility of our digital lives and the limited control we have over their preservation when big tech companies can pull the plug at any time. There is a significant risk of losing entire historical archives and valuable personal memories.
Although Google cited security concerns as the reason for this new policy, experts say that cost also played a role. There is considerable demand to expect tech companies to indefinitely host our data. While the cost of storage per unit has significantly decreased over the past decade, the vast amount of it still requires ever-increasing units of storage each day. Other factors include the environmental impact of powering the computers that store this data and the escalating risk posed by maintaining data indefinitely and securing it from cybercriminals.
Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, says that it is crucial to abandon the assumption that tech companies will indefinitely store our data. Graham advocates for individuals to take responsibility for archiving their digital lives, rather than relying on tech companies. Inactive accounts often contain friends and family photos and videos, personal correspondence, unpublished research, and notes that document daily life experiences. If you were to die tomorrow, eventually your digital doppelganger would cease to exist.
Kneese suggests that we may witness more companies implementing “Use it or lose it” policies as data usage and storage requirements expand. Individual users will need greater responsibility for their data, both during their lifetime and into their digital afterlife. Google has the option to transfer files to designated individuals, so it is up to users to take action while they are alive.
Will big tech companies designate experts (and pay for them) to serve as data legacy stewards and will they have the legal and ethical framework necessary to fulfill this role? The balance between providing security, managing costs, and preserving the digital artifacts of our digital remains is still up for debate.
Ginger Liu is the founder of Ginger Media & Entertainment, a Ph.D. Researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an author, journalist, artist, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast.
