Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has overturned a decision to prevent the parents of a dead teenager from accessing her Facebook account, stating the parents inherited the right to their child’s social media data.
Facebook wanted to prevent the parents from accessing the account, arguing it would breach the privacy of the teenager and her online contacts.
The parents sued Facebook for access to the account after their 15 year old daughter died from being hit by a subway train.
They argued the access to the Facebook account might assist in determining if her death was an accident or suicide; likening her social media data to diaries or letters.