We all know the saying: nothing is certain except death and taxes. But in today’s digital world, there’s a third certainty—data. In this episode of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we ask a big question: what happens to your digital footprint after you die?

💬 From personal anecdotes to platform policies, we explore:

• ⚰️ The default “limbo” state of accounts on Google, Facebook, and Apple

• 🛠️ Practical tools like Google’s Inactive Account Manager & Apple’s Legacy Contacts

• 📜 Estate planning laws (like RUFADAA) that give loved ones digital access

• 📉 The risks of doing nothing—and letting outdated Terms of Service decide for you🔑 Why password managers might be your unsung digital heirs

This episode is a wake-up call (and a gentle nudge) to take action while you can. 👀 Tune in, reflect, and maybe even update your password vault.

Approximate timestamps:

00:00 🎙️ Intro – Death, Taxes... and Data?

01:45 🧠 What Happens to Our Data After We Die?

04:10 👵 A Generational Shift in Digital Footprints

06:30 🗃️ Google Drive & Inactive Account Manager

10:45 📨 Setting Up a Digital Legacy with Google

13:15 📘 Facebook Memorialization & Legacy Contacts

17:40 💔 A Real Example: Remembering a Friend on Facebook

20:30 ❓ Who Can Request Memorialization (and How)?

23:20 ⚖️ The Legal Void Around Post-Mortem Data

26:00 📜 Estate Planning, RUFADAA & Digital Assets

28:40 🛠️ Tools to Prep: Password Managers & Account Access

30:15 🍏 Apple’s Legacy Contacts – Pros & Limitations

33:00 🎶 Why Digital Purchases Don’t Really Belong to You

34:50 🧩 Recap – 4 Things to Do Before You Die (Digitally)

35:45 📝 Disclaimer & Next Episode Preview

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While this video's content is based on our own thoughts and professional opinions, it was also made possible through the consultation of the following resources:

• Benjamin Franklin’s last great quote and the Constitution: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/benjamin-franklins-last-great-quote-and-the-constitution
• What Happens to Your Social Media Assets After You Die?: https://www.cccba.org/article/what-happens-to-your-social-media-assets-after-you-die/Facebook Legacy Contact Settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=memorialization
• Report a deceased person’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=memorialization

In this episode of Privacy Chats, we explore the growing global momentum behind comprehensive privacy regulations.

With over 140 countries that have embraced laws inspired by the GDPR, Rachel and John zoom in on four frameworks in particular: GDPR (EU), LGPD (Brazil), APPI (Japan), and PIPA (South Korea) — highlighting how they align (and diverge) across key areas including:

• Scope and extraterritorial reach

• Lawful bases for processing

• Data subject rights

• Sensitive data definitions

• DPO and DPIA requirements

• Breach notification rules

• Enforcement, sanctions, and international data transfers

Along the way, we analyze which countries are still lagging, where U.S. state laws fit into the picture, and how global organizations can navigate compliance across borders.

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This episode was inspired by the following publications and resources:

• European Commission: GDPR

• • https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/legal-framework-eu-data-protection_en?utm_source=chatgpt.com

  • https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection_en

• ANPD Brazil: LGPD

• • https://iapp.org/media/pdf/resource_center/Brazilian_General_Data_Protection_Law.pdf

• South Korea PIPC: PIPA

• • https://www.pipc.go.kr/eng

• Japan PPC: APPI

• • https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/2616/en

Visual Artifacts Here!

On Episode 33 of Privacy Chats, we revisit the United States’ evolving approach to AI governance, breaking down the latest policy mandates and exploring what they mean for responsible AI procurement, innovation, and public trust.And for a bit of perspective, we rewind the clock—comparing today’s AI frontier to past regulatory turning points, like the rise of the FDA.

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This episode was informed by the following publications:

- https://learn.g2.com/eu-ai-continent-action-plan

- https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence/

- https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence

- https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24348504/donald-trump-ai-safety-executive-order-rescind

This is a 3-part episode, so see below for the time-stamps discussing each topic:

🇪🇺 Europe’s AI Ambitions: 00:00-25:00

The EU is stepping up with new announcements aimed at accelerating its AI strategy. But is it too late to compete with the US and China, and how might this shape their positioning as key global privacy regulators? We unpack the optimism, the funding, and the political will behind Europe's AI push.

🧬 23andMe’s Identity Crisis: 25:00-40:50

Once a pioneer in consumer genomics, 23andMe is now navigating a very public privacy backlash and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We explore what went wrong—and what it signals about trust in data-driven health companies.

🧠 Chat Memory Is Here: 40:50-55:44 OpenAI just launched a game-changing “memory” feature that remembers your preferences and builds continuity across chats. Helpful or a little too close for comfort? We dive into the privacy implications and use cases.

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This episode was informed by the following publications:

Europe’s AI Optimism:

• European Commission's latest AI initiatives look to drive competitiveness, broader integration: https://iapp.org/news/a/european-commission-s-latest-ai-initiatives-look-to-drive-competitiveness-broader-integration

• Shaping Europe’s leadership in artificial intelligence with the AI continent action plan: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/ai-continent_en

• GDPR Simplification (LinkedIn post written by Stephan Geering): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gdpr-simplification-wish-list-stephan-geering-lnbge?utm_source=chatgpt.com

23andMe:

• Congress has questions about 23andMe bankruptcy: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/19/congress-has-questions-about-23andme-bankruptcy/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

• How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/1247139353/23andme-data-genome-bankruptcy-privacy-customer-data?utm_source=chatgpt.com

• What will happen to your 23andMe data — and can you delete it?: https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/what-happen-23andme-data-how-delete-tfjn5lfmx?utm_source=chatgpt.com®ion=global

ChatGPT Memory Updates:

• ChatGPT can now remember and reference all your previous chats (Ars Technica): https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/04/chatgpt-can-now-remember-and-reference-all-your-previous-chats/

• Memory FAQ - OpenAI: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8590148-memory-faq
  

HIPAA is a critical piece of the nuanced privacy puzzle in the US, but it’s often misunderstood — frequently reduced to just a medical form or mistaken for a blanket privacy law. On Episode 31 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we bring you a HIPAA “crash course” - who it’s for, data in scope, and the consequences of non-compliance.

And, just for fun, here are some silly HIPAA puns brought-to-you by ChatGPT:

"HIPAA-chondriac" – Someone who constantly worries about privacy breaches.

"HIPAA-ly ever after" – What you hope for after a successful compliance audit.

"HIPAA-crite" – Someone who preaches privacy but doesn’t follow the rules.

"HIPAA-critical situation" – When someone is taking compliance a little too seriously.

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This episode was directly informed by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ dedicated HIPAA page and by publications from the HIPAA Journal:

• https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html

• https://www.hipaajournal.com/new-hipaa-regulations

On Episode 30 of Privacy Chats with Rachel and John, we take a look back at the eventful-ness of 2025 thus far, including DeepSeek’s shake-up of the global AI tech sector and continuous policy implications of the new US Presidential Administration peeling back previous AI safety mandates. Have AI acceleration priorities eclipsed AI safety priorities? If so, how long will it take for the greatest harm to be felt? Would greater enforcement pressure lead to more compliance?

This episode was informed by the following sources:

• "Congressional Committee Kickstarts New Federal Privacy Law Dialogue"​

• "Why AI Lawyers Need a New Ethical Code"​

• "DeepSeek’s Popular AI App Is Explicitly Sending US Data to China"

• "DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in"​ - Reuters

• "A view from DC: The price of privacy enforcement"​

• "A view from DC: US House Republicans organize a privacy working group"

• "A view from DC: The first few days of Trump’s AI and privacy agenda"

• Sean O’Brien on Privacy Safe Social

• Jen Easterly On The Future of Cybersecurity and Her Agency's Survival

• Foreign Hackers Are Using Google’s Gemini in Attacks on the US

Decentralized social media is gaining traction, but is it really the future of online discourse?

Many users are begging for a paradigm shift in how social media platforms are governed today. This stems from growing concerns about mainstream, centralized platforms’ impact on privacy, democracy, mental health, and public discourse.

In episode 28 of Privacy Chats, we investigate the rise of platforms like BlueSky, exploring how they work, their privacy implications, and whether they truly offer an alternative to centralized giants like X and Threads. We succinctly break down the AT Protocol, content moderation models, and the broader challenges of balancing user control with accessibility.

Tune in for an insightful discussion and decide for yourself whether decentralized social media platforms will indeed represent a new paradigm shift for social media —or if it's destined to remain a trend.

This episode was informed by the following sources:

• ⁠Bluesky Privacy Policy⁠ - last updated May 22, 2024
• AT Protocol Quickstart Guide, Glossary of Terms
• Embedded.Substack.com: Seizing social media for the people- by Kate Lindsay on Januray 29, 2025
• DustyCloud.org: How decentralized is Bluesky really? - By Christine Lemmer-Webber on November 22, 2024
• TheWrap.com: Bluesky’s Momentum Rolls on, as Daily Users Surge 45% Since Thanksgiving by Sean Burch on December 20, 2024