There are an estimated 30million Facebook profiles of people who have died

Virginia debating a change to privacy laws today to allow parents greater access to the online accounts of deceased minors

Eric Rash, 15, took his own life in January 2011 in a field next to his family's Virginia farm

Parents of a teenage boy who committed suicide are fighting Facebook over privacy laws which block grieving families from accessing minors' accounts.



Eric Rash, 15, took his own life in January 2011. His body was found by his father Ricky in a field close to the family's farm in Nottaway County, Virginia.



Following his shocking death, the grieving parents wanted to check Eric's Facebook profile in the hope of shedding some light on why the teenager took his own life.



However Facebook does not allow parents to access their children's account because of federal and state privacy laws - a matter which is being debated today in the Virginia Senate.



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Searching for answers: Eric Rash, 15, took his own life in a field next to his family's Virginia farm in January 2011. His parents battled Facebook to access his account to look for clues

Distraught: Ricky and Diane Rash fought Facebook to gain access to their son's account following his suicide and are now supporting a change in privacy laws in Virginia

Eric's death left his family reeling as to why the teenager, who was a straight-A student with dreams of going to Virginia Tech and Harvard Law School, would take his own life.

Their son left letters for his parents and sisters telling them he was 'sorry' but gave little clue as to why he would want to kill himself.

His mother Diane told WTVR : 'He just said if life after high school was worse than high school, then he didn’t want to be in it.'

Ricky and Diane Rash hoped that there may be clues on his Facebook account but when they went to log-on, they were not allowed access to his password. Their son had changed his details in the days before his death.



Questions: Mrs Rash has hoped that accessing her son's Facebook account might shed some light on his tragic suicide

The social network finally allowed the couple limited access to information from Eric's account in April 2012, more than a year after his death.



His parents are now fighting for a change in legislation which will help other families whose children tragically take their own lives.

Mr Rash told the Washington Post : ' We were just grieving parents reaching out for anything we could. Our issue with Facebook and social media is, we should have access.'

The Virginia Senate was expected to vote today on a bill which will allow parents and legal guardians in the state to access Internet accounts of deceased children.

Tragedy: The teenage boy took his own life in January 2011 close to his family's Virginia farm

At the moment, Facebook will deactivate pages or turn profiles into a memorial wall when loved ones provide proof of death.



Facebook has grown to more than a billion members since its launch in 2004. Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana and Connecticut have passed legislation which allows parents greater access to a minor's online accounts.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FACEBOOK PROFILES OUTLIVE THEIR USERS?

Since 2009, it has been Facebook policy to memorialize the account of a person who has died.

If a close family member reports to the company that a loved one has died - and provides proof in the form of a death certificate or published obituary - Facebook switches the account to a memorial page. An immediate relative may also request to have the page taken down entirely. It is estimated that there are 30million Facebook profiles for people who have died.



A Facebook spokesman told MailOnline: 'These are tragic situations and Facebook always tries to be as helpful to families as possible while still complying with federal and state law.



'The Uniform Law Commission is currently drafting model legislation to guide states in addressing these complicated situations. We appreciate and support the ULC's efforts.'

Facebook allows friends and family to post remembrances about loved ones who have died but also protect the privacy of the deceased.

They also honor requests from immediate family members to deactivate the account, which removes the profile and related information from Facebook.



The social network says that in individual cases when the family wants to have access to a dead relative's Facebook account, then they will allow it, if they are covered by law.



It is not the first time that Facebook has run into a legal issue with grieving parents.



When University of Wisconsin student Benjamin Stassen, 21, committed suicide in 2011, his parents Helen and Jay Stassen were in a similar situation as they tried to gain information from his Facebook account.



The Stassens got a court order to demand access to Benjamin's account but the social media firm denied it.

The Stassens were able to successfully gain access to their son's Gmail account after they obtained a court order to force Google to turn the account over.