Dubravka Klasiček, Tomislav Nedić: THE POWER OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS (ISPS) OVER DIGITAL LIFE – CIVIL LAW INSIGHT
Scientific paper
Dubravka Klasiček, Associate Professor, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Law Osijek, Chair of Civil and Family Law
Tomislav Nedić, Assistant, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Law Osijek, Centre for Integrative Bioethics / Chair of Civil and Family Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59014/LQJG2908
Keywords:
digital assets, inheritance of digital assets, Internet Service Provider – ISP, use of digital assets, Terms of Service (ToS)
Abstract
In this paper, the issue of the power the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have over
people’s digital lives is examined through the following examples: inheritance of
digital assets, users’ rights over digital content and their inability to transfer it after
purchase, and implicit consent to unexpected clauses found in ISPs’ Terms of Service
(ToS). This paper draws attention to the rules most people accept daily, without even
noticing them or knowing what the consequences of their acceptance are.
1) In the context of inheritance, after users die, ISPs will usually not allow their heirs
to access their digital assets and accounts, even if users stated the opposite in their
wills. This can pose problems, both for the heirs because many of those assets have
a real monetary and emotional value, but also to ISPs, because many of them have
faced lawsuits from heirs wanting access to deceased’s accounts.
2) The issue of the rights users hold over digital content polemicizes those situations
in which a person, after purchasing certain digital content, does not become its owner,
but acquires only the right of use, until death. Therefore, he/she cannot transfer
those assets to anyone, both during his/her life and after death. If he/she would do so,
it would, in case of most digital content, constitute copyright infringement.
3) In terms of consent, users often accept various clauses that ISPs put in their ToS,
some of which are not expected to be a part of ToS. Some of them have little or nothing
to do with the purpose that the users intended to achieve on ISP’s websites. In a
hurry to use ISP’s services, a person may accept many conditions that he/she might
not accept in the physical world, which, in turn, might lead to court proceedings
after the user becomes aware of what he/she has consented to.
The authors methodologically deal with the stated issue using analysis, compilation,
and case methods, trying to reach valid (civil) legal conclusions. In this regard, the
basic problems of the paper will be elaborated analytically, by using valid domestic
and foreign civil law literature. Stated conclusions are supported by concrete examples
that appear in the (IT) practice.
Copyright (c) 2023 European Realities – Power
This paper is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.