Death, secrecy and online assets
PEOPLE are advised and rightly so to ensure tight protection of their online data and other personal information held in electronic format. Protecting data helps against unauthorised access and criminal activities. However, few people consider the disadvantages of being overly secretive with personal information. Security technology has advanced so much that electronic data and devices are impregnable with the use of biometric means like fingerprints, eye scans, face scans etc. However, all the secrecy and protection of data in the world can be detrimental in death if the user wants to pass on their digital assets. Valuable digital assets are often lost forever due to failure to access them.
It is important for people to plan for their electronic data acquisitions after they die, otherwise they will all simply go to waste. Shona people say “akafa nezvinhu zvake’’ meaning the person died with their things. In addition to planning for the distribution of physical assets, people must also start planning for their digital estates. Even if it means only telling a trusted person what they own online it may be helpful. Some things acquired online can be of such high value that they should not be left to just disappear, although they often do. It is not just about social media and email accounts but what they hold that may need to be preserved for posterity. This morbid conversation is ever more relevant in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic because the probability of death for every internet user has increased. One can be happily surfing the internet today collecting and posting photos and transferring money between their online bank accounts and be dead before the end of the week.
Portraz data shows more than half of Zimbabwe’s population is connected to the internet. In 2018, 62,9% of the population had internet access but dropped to 57,2% in June 2019. Numbers are always steadily rising despite temporary dips. Many Zimbabweans are connected to the internet which they use for various purposes. They are all accumulating highly valuable digital assets such as mobile bank and savings accounts, medical records, funeral policies — even virtual currencies such as Bitcoins
Digital assets include online bank accounts, books, films, music, photographs, insurance policies, email accounts, blogs etc. Intellectual prop
WHY would they call for an illegal meeting? If they are saying no consultations were made, that is not true. The national council met and we had a quorum, we made resolutions — MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora erty may include blogs, articles, unpublished manuscripts, drawings, designs and musical compositions. Internet users spend years investing in digital assets which should not be left to merely vanish in cyber space. With the world increasingly going paperless, people are doing most of their work on their electronic gadgets and save it on the internet or on their devices. Even if assets are saved on the internet, it does not help if they cannot be accessed when the user passes on. For valid security reasons, online data and gadgets are protected with personal identity numbers (PINs) or passwords or encryption. The only other way to access protected data is to use sophisticated illegal hacking methods. It is a double-edged sword — the vital need for data security and the need to make it accessible posthumously. There is no easy prescription and for this reason, valuable online assets vanish into oblivion every single day worldwide. The best advice is to write a will and include directions on the distribution of valuable digital assets. However, passwords and PINs cannot be disclosed in wills and in any event they change at anytime so the discussion remains a grey area for which there are no easy answers.
After a person dies, their digital footprints live on eternally in the form of computer files and online data. If not closed, social media accounts live on indefinitely as dormant
IT is a fact that the said individuals broke the law in that we have lockdown regulations that prohibit demonstrations. So these individuals are wanted by the police so that they can be interviewed on why they broke the law. — JUSTICE minister Ziyambi Ziyambi accounts. They may eventually fade away due to non-use and be forgotten to the annals of cyberspace, but they remain accessible nevertheless. Some service providers delete accounts upon notification of a user’s death or after defined periods of non-use. Account holders should educate themselves about their particular account’s death policies written in the fine print when opening the account.
Facebook has clear death policies. More than five million inactive Facebook accounts are attributed to death. To preserve the integrity of deceased users and avoid automatically generated posts, accounts are put into legacy mode if Facebook has been properly notified.
Accounts are closed or memorialised upon request from the executor or family members. Facebook users can appoint caretakers to administer their accounts though caretakers will have limited powers. Caretakers of legacy accounts can be appointed through a will or through an option provided by Facebook. Only the deceased’s Facebook friends will be able to view memorialised accounts and share memories on the deceased’s wall but all other functions and public posts will cease. Only authorised people can download material from deceased accounts in terms of a will or a court order. Authorised people can inherit and download photographs, books, games, videos, films or music collections from the memorialised Facebook account.
The law regarding the inheritance and distribution of digital assets is still developing worldwide. In Zimbabwe for now it can only be dealt with within the existing law of administration of estates. In developed countries, the preservation and inheritance of digital assets has spawned a new branch of law and a new industry.
The United States passed the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act or RUFADAA in 2015 and it is still under trial in many states. However what is certain is there should be some legal framework in place and personal awareness and action to deal with the preservation and access of the valuable digital assets of deceased persons.
Miriam Tose Majome is a lawyer at Veritas and she writes in her personal capacity. She can be contacted on mtmajome@gmail.com and Twitter @MajomeMiriam.
Over a thousand (returnees) are docked in Namibia on their way back here. But they are our people, they are welcome. We can try to provide for them (returnees), but we cannot provide five-star facilities like hotels. That we can’t. — President Emmerson Mnangagwa
THE proclamation or the announcement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of God the Father to the world. It's often referred to as the preaching of the cross. This entails the suffering of Jesus, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and sitting on the right hand of God the Father in heaven. Many times we hear of the death and resurrection. Here and there ascension is mentioned in passing. However to enjoy the full benefits, we need to understand that Christ Jesus is seated on the right hand of God the Father. This brings closure to Jesus' total victory over evil which victory is the believer's victory.
Please allow me to explain some few terms first. The cross is a symbol of the message of Christ. It's not a physical moulded or carved out image lest you fall into worshipping an image which is idolatry. There are many who put images of the cross under their pillows but still dream nightmares. You can even put it on as jewellery or as necklace while the devil is feasting on you and attacking you left right and centre. The new covenant is spiritual not physical. Please remember that God is spirit. John 4:24 reads, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” It's a spiritual matter. The Gospel of Christ has to be believed and the Grace of God received. It's not a decoration but an internal faith system.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (Amplified) record, “(19) And (so that you can know and understand) what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, (20) Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His (own) right hand in the heavenly (places),” The sitting of Jesus Christ on the right hand of God speaks of His finished or accomplished work. The right hand isn't a geographical matter but it refers to authority, honour, glory, majesty and power. Knowledge of this brings liberty or freedom. Hebrews 1:3 teaches, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This is refreshing because our forgiveness is eternal and remission of our sins final. We seat in authority and power.
Where Christ is, that’s where the believer is. Apostle Paul tells us in
Ephesians 2:5-6, New King James, “(5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” Jesus rose to life and you are eternally alive because His life is in you. Because of His sitting on the right hand of God the Father, we reign in life. This is the testimony of Romans 5:17, “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” Since we are guiltless in Christ, we live as victors and not victims. Revelation 5:10 buttresses, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” We are above not beneath and head not the tail.
You are not a beggar or scavenger aimlessly wandering in the earth realm. Colossians 3:3, Amplified, comforts us, “For (as far as this world is concerned) you have died, and your (new, real) life is hidden with Christ in God.” Your authority comes from on high and therefore you dominate the circumstances and situations of your life. We therefore don’t pray for victory but from victory. Believers don’t pray for power but from power. Let me emphasise this. We have the power inside us. What may be lacking is knowledge. Let’s look at it again in Ephesians 1:18-19, “(18) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,” You have exceeding and surpassing power. It's a spiritual reality. All you need is to know and walk accordingly. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.
All Bible quotations are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.
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