Digital data erasure is essential for the deceased to prevent their information from being further utilized in artificial intelligence contexts, according to a legal professional.
In the digital age, the question of what happens to our online presence after death is becoming increasingly important. While social media platforms like Facebook allow for the memorialization of deceased users' accounts, keeping posts online, there is currently no specific U.S. law granting deceased individuals or their estates the right to delete their digital data to prevent its use, including in AI recreations.
Legal scholar Victoria Haneman, Chair of Fiduciary Law at the University of Georgia School of Law, has been a prominent advocate for creating a time-limited right for estates to delete a deceased person's digital data. This right, she argues, would prevent unauthorized AI-generated recreations of their voice, likeness, and personality.
Current U.S. laws, including the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), do not adequately protect digital remains or address AI risks. Haneman proposes a deletion right (e.g., within 12 months after death) that balances societal interests and privacy to prevent exploitation of digital remains.
The existing legal framework generally lacks provisions for the deceased's digital privacy or deletion rights. Most protections end at death, leaving digital assets under the control of tech companies or handled inconsistently depending on whether there is a will. The "right to be forgotten" concept from Europe, while valuable, is not easily translatable to the U.S. due to First Amendment concerns, so a new, tailored approach is needed for deceased individuals.
The proposal mainly stems from concerns about AI companies and services offering posthumous digital clones that use deceased persons' data, which families often cannot control under current laws. As of mid-2025, no federal or state legislation has yet been passed specifically granting deceased individuals or their estates the right to delete digital data for AI or privacy reasons.
In Europe, laws such as the right to be forgotten and the extension of the right to access and potentially erase a dead relative's personal data in France and Italy are providing a framework for digital legacy management. However, in the U.S., data protection for the deceased is largely absent in terms of privacy law, property law, intellectual property law, or criminal law.
The emergence of generative AI allows for the recreation and revival of a person's digital presence even after death. This raises ethical and legal questions about the use of personal data and the need for clear regulations. As the debate continues, Haneman's "right to delete" represents an important emerging legal initiative seeking to provide estates limited power to delete digital data post-mortem to prevent unauthorized AI resurrection or exploitation.
This issue is gaining mainstream and industry attention but remains an open area for legal development. The Aspen Tech Policy Hub, a think tank, supports the extension of the Delete Act to cover the dead, which would provide a significant step towards addressing the digital legacy of deceased individuals. As the Stargate AI infrastructure project struggles to get off the drawing board, the need for clear, ethical guidelines for AI use becomes increasingly urgent.
- The emergence of AI and cloud technology in the digital age has brought forth the need for a time-limited right for estates to delete a deceased person's digital data, as argued by legal scholar Victoria Haneman, to prevent unauthorized AI-generated recreations of their voice, likeness, and personality.
- Despite the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) and other existing laws, the legal framework generally lacks provisions for the deceased's digital privacy or deletion rights, leaving digital assets under the control of tech companies or handled inconsistently.
- As the debate about digital legacy management continues, the "right to delete" proposed by Haneman is an important emerging legal initiative seeking to provide estates limited power to delete digital data post-mortem to prevent unauthorized AI resurrection or exploitation.
