If we don't respect dead peoples' privacy, then living people won't expect their privacy to be respected when they die. This can cause people distress and resul

If we don't respect dead peoples' privacy, then living people won't expect their privacy to be respected when they die. This can cause people distress and result in changed behavior, which are real negative outcomes on living people. Currently living people care about their legacies and don't want embarrassing communications to become public after their deaths. If you're really not concerned about the privacy of the dead and think that time scale is just a quibble, would you be ok with a policy that nude photos and 3d models of all dead bodies, together with personal identifying information, be uploaded to a public searchable website as soon as possible after death? After all, some people might be interested in seeing that. Not many people are upset about the privacy implications of reading an ancient clay tablet, so this is not as big a concern. The time scale thing isn't just a quibble, it's central to how living people are affected.