When a loved one dies, laws cover how their houses, cars, and other property are passed on to relatives. But the rules are murkier – and currently far more restrictive – when it comes to pictures on Facebook, emails to friends or relatives and even financial records stored in online cloud accounts.

Google, Facebook and other companies have said a federal privacy law approved decades before digital storage became common prevents them from releasing electronic memories or records unless the account owner grants permission – even if the person is dead.

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