(Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) — A new bill has been proposed to allow the inheritance or deletion of digital assets according to a deceased person’s specified method before their death.
Digital assets refer to information that users create, send, and store, such as photos and posts uploaded on social media or blogs.
Under the proposed revision bill by Rep. Heo Eun-ah of the ruling People Power Party, in case of a user’s death, the service provider must set the account to a dormant state and process the user’s assets in accordance with their specified method before death.
In other words, users will be able to designate the inheritance of their digital assets, including the beneficiaries, through the terms and conditions.
The bill mandates businesses to obtain users’ consent and set retention periods appropriate to their services’ nature.
The bill also eliminates the risk of abuse by preventing heirs from writing or distributing new information under the name of the deceased.
Until now, relevant legislation has only allowed users to access their services, making it challenging for bereaved families to obtain the user’s data in the event of their death.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
