Isn’t that comforting to know?  Kind of gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside, yes?

A woman wrote into The Consumerist, reporting that Facebook has denied her request to have her deceased brother’s Facebook account closed down.  The sister sent Facebook a copy of her brother’s death certificate, but Facebook refused, citing it was against their policy to close down deceased members’ accounts.

Facebook’s reply? 

“Per our policy for deceased users, we have memorialized this person’s account. This removes certain more sensitive information and sets privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or find the person in search. The Wall remains so that friends and family can leave posts in remembrance.”

This policy is fine, but when the deceased’s next of kin specifically requests the account be closed, Facebook should stop spouting off policies and simply and quickly honor their request.

Not doing so seems pretty cruel, don’t you think?