Absurdism corner

Why?


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Perhaps dead people can get on similarly dead ISPs like demon internet.
There is a problem with people being declared dead when they are very much alive. It is a known problem in India, and I know of a case of a lady living in France who is officially dead and campaigning to have her status reversed. In both countries it is apparently bureaucratically impossible/exceedingly difficult. Perhaps the USA is ahead of the rest of the world in being able to reverse these administrative mistakes.

Unfortunately real life isn't as funny as Hitchhiker's
 
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There is a problem with people being declared dead when they are very much alive. It is a known problem in India, and I know of a case of a lady living in France who is officially dead and campaigning to have her status reversed. In both countries it is apparently bureaucratically impossible/exceedingly difficult. Perhaps the USA is ahead of the rest of the world in being able to reverse these administrative mistakes.
The title of the webpage suggests it's a portal to apply for a death certificate, not the reversal of one.

Edit: At least that was my assumption. Perhaps it's a way to search for death certificates, but in that case I'd have thought it just needs a name, and doesn't need to distinguish between the user and someone else.
 
The title of the webpage suggests it's a portal to apply for a death certificate, not the reversal of one.
I kind of remember this story (just hearsay, urban legend?) that the traditional procedure in Andorra to certify a death was for the official to ask aloud to the corpse:
"Mort, qui t'ha mort?", ("Dead, who killed you?") And if they didn't answer, then they were declared dead.
Edit: At least that was my assumption. Perhaps it's a way to search for death certificates, but in that case I'd have thought it just needs a name, and doesn't need to distinguish between the user and someone else.
But death status is health information, therefore protected personal data, so only the interested person can search, or the legal tutor, so they need to know whether the user is the dead himself, right? If it's not they need to ask for proof of further permissions. They don't want to leak death certificates around. :p
 
But death status is health information, therefore protected personal data
Depending on jurisdiction, not necessarily.

For example, the GDPR does not apply to a dead person's personal information, BUT other national legislation may well do so.

GDPR recital 27: “This Regulation does not apply to the personal data of deceased persons. Member States may provide for rules regarding the processing of personal data of deceased persons.".

Thomsen Reuters Practical Law: Is a deceased person a data subject for the purpose of GDPR?

In the UK it is "the Access to Health Records Act 1990 (AHRA) that remains the current legislation in relation to the release of a deceased patient’s medical records."

Medical Protection: Disclosures after death

So, as ever, it is complicated, and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. One of the benefits of the GDPR is that it sets a baseline for the protection of personal data across the EEA, so businesses can worry less about differences between national legislation. Minimising administrative bureaucracy is a good thing: just ask anyone who operates in multiple US states about filing taxes. US sales taxes can vary by county.
 
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