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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has signed off on a bill that would allow residents to pass down their social media and email accounts to relatives as easily as they do their belongings after they die.
The law, which was approved on Wednesday, allows a person to give their heir or trustee power to oversee their digital accounts if they die or are incapacitated.
Herbert's office announced the signing Friday.
Bill sponsor Republican Rep. Lowry Snow has said digital property has become very valuable, so it should be protected just like physical property.
He has said that both Google and Facebook have told him they support the law.
More than a dozen other U.S. states have enacted similar proposals.
Utah's Republican governor has signed 19 bills this week, following the recently completed legislative session.
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This story has been corrected to note that the bill was signed Wednesday, not Friday.
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