Facebook account for Joanne MacLean's dead son still online
The last few years haven't been good for Joanne MacLean of New Waterford.
Her father died in 2013, followed quickly by her sister and then her 32- year old son Anthony Craig Farrell killed himself in November of the same year.
MacLean is trying to heal, but when she logs onto Facebook, she's confronted with suggestions that she add her son as a friend.
"All of a sudden his picture is there and it hurts, it really hurts. No one has any idea unless they're in this position. It's not good, it doesn't make for a good day," she said.
MacLean wants to have family photos from Anthony's account and then she wants to shut it down.
"The photographs are wonderful memories. It's really important to hold those memories because that's all you have" she said.
She's emailed and messaged Facebook several times to close the account, but has never received a response.
MacLean keeps trying to get into her son's account on her own using different email addresses and passwords, but has never succeeded.
"I've tried to take it down and I can't, there's no way humanly possible. I'm not a hacker," she said.
Tanya Butler, an estate lawyer with the law firm Stewart McKelvey in Halifax, said this kind of thing is happening more and more often.
After the death of a loved one, people realize they have no control over the person's digital life. Social media accounts, email and sometimes online banking information are all inaccessible.
Butler has had clients try to get photos off social media with little success.
"Some of them have tried to contact service providers and will often give up because they end up going through an awful lot of red tape. And there's a lot on the plate of an executor or family member dealing with a death already," she said.
Facebook responds
Butler said the law in Canada is still in flux when it comes to handling digital material once someone dies.
"Nobody really knows what an executor's obligations are or what their rights are," she said.
A spokesperson for Facebook says it will get in contact with Joanne MacLean and shut down her son's account.
Facebook also recently added a legacy contact feature which allows a person to name someone they wish to have access to their account after they die. The feature became available in Canada at the end of April.
