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Hermes

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limits on privacy?
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My husband and I were discussing the following story about a deceased Marine's family fighting for access to his e-mail account.  On one hand, I can understand the family wanting the e-mails, but on the other hand, maybe there's some stuff in his e-mail that the Marine would have preferred to keep private - I know I wouldn't want my family to have access to my e-mail - not that there's anything horrible, but it's my private communications... So at this time, I'm on Yahoo's side - if they set the precedent of letting this Marine's family have access to his e-mail account that will open the door to a multitude of similar requests... this may end up going to the supreme court... Do you think the family should be given access or not?


WIXOM, Michigan (AP) -- The family of a Marine killed in Iraq is pleading with Internet giant Yahoo! for access to his e-mail account, which the company says is off-limits under its privacy policy.


Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth, 20, was killed by a roadside bomb on November 13 during a foot patrol in Al Anbar province. The family wants the complete e-mail file that Justin maintained, including notes to and from others.


"I want to be able to remember him in his words. I know he thought he was doing what he needed to do. I want to have that for the future," said John Ellsworth, Justin's father. "It's the last thing I have of my son."


But without the account's password, the request has been repeatedly denied. In addition, Yahoo! policy calls for erasing all accounts that are inactive for 90 days. Yahoo! also maintains that all users agree at sign-up that rights to a member's ID or contents within an account terminate upon death.


"While we sympathize with any grieving family, Yahoo! accounts and any contents therein are nontransferable" even after death, said Karen Mahon, a Yahoo! spokeswoman.



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Andrea Julia


Coach

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I don't think they should get access to his account.  I also wouldn't want my family having access to my e-mail account after I die.  His parents say they want to remember him in his words.  They should remember him in the words he wrote or said to THEM, not to others.  For all they know, they may find something that would disturb them and damage their pristine view of their son.  There may be sexually explicit e-mails or even e-mails saying something bad about them.  You never know.  Although I feel sympathy for his parents for their loss, I think that it is ridiculous for them to even try to get access to the account.  Surely there are other things to remember their son by.  Also, Yahoo has a policy and they must enforce it.  Other members may stop using their many services if they know it is not completely private.  I have a Yahoo account and would think twice about using it if I knew that others can sue for the right to access my account.

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Maddie


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I completely agree with both of you.  This family is being ridiculous.

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missbean


BCBG

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I agree, families should not be able to access a deceased member's email account. That sounds outrageous. The dad says that it is the last thing left of his son? Right, I'm sure the guy would have really wanted his parents to access his email. I feel for the family, but this is beyond reasonable.



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