Who Owns Your Social Media Account After You Die?

Oklahoma law makes deceased person%u2019s social media account part of their estate. At first blush, the probate lawyer in me says that any intellectual property you own when you die becomes the property of your estate. That should include all content you create in your blog, your social media accounts and creative writing and art. However, while your blog content seems pretty clear cut as to ownership, social media accounts are murkier. While I am pretty certain that the social calendar and dinner choices of many people are not going to have a lot of probate value, what if the creator of the content is the subject of defamation litigation, or is a famous celebrity? Facebook and other social media companies generally don't claim ownership of data in the user agreements. However, the actual statement of this is really murky, and Facebook really only allows that claim while the data is still in Facebook's control. What kind of ownership is that? And, access to Facebook after the death of a user has come under criticism in the past.  Now, Oklahoma has passed a statute specifically making social media content part of a decedent's estate. The conflict will likely create a lot of discussion in legal and tech circles; which is just what the statute's author, Rep. Ryan Kiesel (D-Seminole), intended. At any rate, it is a safe bet that you should read the contract before placing any original work on Facebook. (By the way, a message to my Personal Representative managing my probate estate: this post is being published on my blog, which is my property. However, it is also being posted on Facebook and Twitter. So, if Facebook tells you it is not "exportable data", just go to my blog and get it there.)