Not quite Family History but related is the case where a PG student dies and
the next of kin request all the son's files be sent to him, including his
e-mails. Some of the latter may be personal as the College permits limited
use of its network for private communications.
Is the College obliged to hand over all the son's electronic and manual
records irrespective of any Data Protection Issues, or is the next of kin
required to submit an SAR with the consequent need for the College to weed
out any third party data relating to living persons before acceeding to the
request? Do the files legally belong to the College or to the former
student, and hence his estate? What if the e-mails or personal letters
reveal a lover to an already-distraught wife? If the next of kin is entitled
to all the documents (unexpurgated), does this point to the need for
institution's policies/CoPs/terms of employment to warn those who use its
network for private communications that this is yet another example of the
web not being a secure medium for the transmission or storage of personal
data?
Keith Fisher
IS Security Co-ordinator
Imperial College
London SW7 2AZ Tel. 020-7594-6585
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