Draft data protection rules include deletion of social media accounts upon death, unless relatives are nominated
Social media profiles of deceased persons may be deleted after prolonged inactivity under the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025; the parent Act provides users with nomination facility in the event of death This essentially means that social media companies, e-commerce firms, and online gaming companies — the three types of enterprises outlined specifically in the Rules — will have to proactively delete inactive accounts. A key provision of the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 could lead to the disappearance of the social media accounts of the deceased. According to Rule 8(1) of the draft Rules, which have been issued for public comment, “A Data Fiduciary … shall erase such personal data, unless its retention is necessary for compliance with any law … if, for the corresponding time period … the Data Principal neither approaches such Data Fiduciary for the performance of the specified purpose nor exercises her rights in relation to such processing.” This ess...