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by PeterisP 2055 days ago
The laws and principles of privacy protection are generally built from the perspective that people have privacy interests that need protection, but dead bodies aren't people anymore and have no privacy rights. We do have certain restrictions about the deceased, but those are designed to protect the interests and privacy of their surviving family, relatives and friends, not the deceased themselves.

For example, we can read and even publish the private diaries and intimate correspondence of dead people, and the only privacy that needs to be accounted for is the interests of other parties in that correspondence and the (living) people talked about in these messages - but the dead don't care about anything any more, or at least that's the general assumption.
2 comments
nitrogen 2055 days ago
we can read and even publish the private diaries and intimate correspondence of dead people

Subject to copyright, of course.

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throwaway2245 2055 days ago
>we can read and even publish the private diaries and intimate correspondence of dead people

the rules around publishing (and reading) private diaries are the same for dead people as they are for living people, aren't they?

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PeterisP 2055 days ago
No, that's kind of my point that they are not the same - I won't translate my local laws, but that's pretty much a general principle, if you're in USA then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-mortem_privacy#United_Sta... would be relevant.

If I somehow legally obtain your diary and publish juicy exerpts and facts from it (publishing all of it would be restricted by copyright), then you may have grounds to sue me for violations of your privacy. If you're dead, your heirs can't do that, they can protect their rights (e.g. the inherited copyright), but not your privacy. It's similar for defamation; after you're dead, defaming you does not violate the rights of anyone - anyone living, that is.

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throwaway2245 2055 days ago
ah - thanks.

In my local jurisdiction, I would not necessarily expect that to be protected by privacy law even if I was living (you may have grounds, but good luck!) - and it would be protected by copyright either way.

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