Post-Mortem Data Protection in the Digital Age: A Necessity for Human Dignity?

Abstract

The rise of digital society raises new questions about the status of the digital remains of deceased individuals. Recent literature argues that such remains require protection similar to that afforded to bodily remains, due to their connection to personal identity. By framing post-mortem privacy as an essential component of human dignity, we show that protecting the digital remains of the deceased is necessary both to uphold informational self-determination and to ensure respect for the person beyond death. Drawing on recent developments in the domestic laws of several EU Member States, we argue that data protection law provides a particularly suitable framework for safeguarding human dignity in relation to digital remains. The issue is timely, as it is currently under consideration within the European “Digital Decade” policy programme.