A Facebook spokesperson has shared with us an updated statement:
We have designed the memorialization process to be effective for grieving families and friends, while still providing precautions to protect against either erroneous or malicious efforts to memorialize the account of someone who is not deceased. We also provide an appeals process for the rare instances in which accounts are mistakenly reported or inadvertently memorialized.
An issue that lingers when a loved one passes may be how to handle their social media presence. Facebook dealt with this issue by providing a 'memorialisation facility' (see left: Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images).
Memorialization
When someone’s Facebook account is “memorialized”, the page becomes inaccessible, meaning that you cannot view any of their photos, videos, Timeline postings, or anything. It’s frozen so that no one else can take the account. The problem here is that anyone can do it to one of their friends or family members — if they’re still alive.
Facebook has a special form for those interested in having an account memorialized. You will need the name of the deceased person, their email address on record, profile URL, your relationship to the individual, and what your proof is that they’re no longer here.
False Reports
However in come instances this has led to individuals who are alive being locked out of their feed. Facebook however can still get into the account. Facebook have stated that “We try to take all necessary precautions when processing user requests and provide an appeals process for any possible mistake we may make.” Those who have found their accounts to have been mistakenly memorialized can fill out a form on the site, but it will most likely take a while before access is restored.
We have designed the memorialization process to be effective for grieving families and friends, while still providing precautions to protect against either erroneous or malicious efforts to memorialize the account of someone who is not deceased. We also provide an appeals process for the rare instances in which accounts are mistakenly reported or inadvertently memorialized.
An issue that lingers when a loved one passes may be how to handle their social media presence. Facebook dealt with this issue by providing a 'memorialisation facility' (see left: Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images).
Memorialization
When someone’s Facebook account is “memorialized”, the page becomes inaccessible, meaning that you cannot view any of their photos, videos, Timeline postings, or anything. It’s frozen so that no one else can take the account. The problem here is that anyone can do it to one of their friends or family members — if they’re still alive.
Facebook has a special form for those interested in having an account memorialized. You will need the name of the deceased person, their email address on record, profile URL, your relationship to the individual, and what your proof is that they’re no longer here.
False Reports
However in come instances this has led to individuals who are alive being locked out of their feed. Facebook however can still get into the account. Facebook have stated that “We try to take all necessary precautions when processing user requests and provide an appeals process for any possible mistake we may make.” Those who have found their accounts to have been mistakenly memorialized can fill out a form on the site, but it will most likely take a while before access is restored.
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