ETHICAL ASPECTS OF DIGITAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT: CONFIDENTIALITY, RESPECT FOR WILL, AND NORMS OF INHERITANCE LAW
Keywords:
Digital estate, ethical aspects, confidentiality, deceased's will, inheritance law, legal regulation, digital assets, digital rightsAbstract
This article is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of key ethical issues arising in the management of digital estates. Digital estate comprises a variety of digital assets belonging to the deceased, including social media accounts, email, digital currencies, and other virtual items. The research identifies several important questions related to defining rights to digital assets and the process of transferring them to heirs. The authors note that current legislation in many countries does not fully account for the specificity of digital assets, leading to legal uncertainty and potential conflicts of interest in inheritance. The key ethical issues addressed in the article include: balancing the deceased's data confidentiality with the heirs' right to access the digital estate; respecting the deceased's will regarding the disposition of their digital assets; and aligning with the norms of existing inheritance law.
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