An e-mail account can contain sensitive personal information. What happens to this information when the owner of the email account dies? Is an email account part of the estate of the deceased? With almost everyone having an email account, and this being a fairly new means of communication, these are questions that will no doubt be in question in the near future. I will discuss both the utilitarian and deontological considerations in an attempt to determine the “right” thing to do regarding the legal battle involving Justin Ellsworth.
Justin Ellsworth was a marine that was killed in combat. His parents sought possession of his email account after his death, however the email provider (Yahoo) refused due to their contractual obligations to Justin.
The utilitarian consideration is determined by actions that produce the most “happiness” for the greatest number of people. In this particular situation, there are four groups. There are the parents of Justin, there is Yahoo, the company who managed Justins’ email account, there is Justin who is deceased, and there is the general public.
Justin’s parents wanted possession of his e-mail account because they sought to “Know his thoughts and feelings in the last week of his life”.(Bebow) According to Justins father John Ellsworth, he and Justin had agreed to keep a copy of their e-mail correspondence and together make a scrapbook when Justin came home. This would be a way for John to complete that project for his son.
Justin had his e-mail account through Yahoos website. Yahoo specifically has an agreement with its members that state “Any rights to your Yahoo ID or ...