Funeral directors across the country are warning grieving families about a trend of third-party websites republishing obituaries for profit.
Jim Bishop, the funeral director for Bishop害羞草研究所檚 Funeral Home in Fredericton, said he害羞草研究所檚 noticed an increase in grieving people who use his services complaining of altered death notices 害羞草研究所� sometimes with erroneous details 害羞草研究所� appearing on one such website called Echovita.
Bishop said Echovita害羞草研究所檚 actions are part of a trend of scraping information from funeral home and newspaper websites and reposting it alongside options to buy flowers and digital candles. He said this data-scraping poses 害羞草研究所渁 moral issue害羞草研究所� because it is capitalizing on obituaries without the families害羞草研究所� knowledge or permission.
害羞草研究所淲hen people click on Google, and they search a person害羞草研究所檚 name 害羞草研究所� they don害羞草研究所檛 always realize they害羞草研究所檙e not dealing with the funeral home害羞草研究所檚 website with that source. They害羞草研究所檙e being sent a link to a third-party outfit they think is us, and it害羞草研究所檚 not.害羞草研究所�
He said that since mid-July, about a dozen people have advised him their loved one害羞草研究所檚 obituary had been taken.
Jeff Weafer, president of the Funeral Services Association of Canada, said the practice is particularly problematic because writing an obituary is the last chance a family gets to tell the story of their loved one害羞草研究所檚 life. Having that story taken and used without permission can feel like an invasion of privacy during an especially vulnerable time.
害羞草研究所淧art of the expression of grief for families is they want to proudly tell the story of their father, their brother, their mother. It害羞草研究所檚 very therapeutic to tell that story, whether that害羞草研究所檚 done through an obituary or a Facebook note that shares the details of one害羞草研究所檚 life,害羞草研究所� Weafer said in an interview.
The website of the Better Business Bureau, which has not awarded Echovita accreditation, shows five complaints against the company. One complaint from 2022 called Echovita a 害羞草研究所渢rolling company害羞草研究所� for posting an unapproved and altered version of an obituary, causing great distress to the grieving family.
An unnamed Echovita official responded to the complaint that the company had removed the obituary from its site. 害羞草研究所淚 would like to add the information we share was not private as stated, since the original obituary was posted publicly on the internet,害羞草研究所� the response said. 害羞草研究所淚n further sharing the basic facts, as we do, which is legal, we made a human error and we apologized.害羞草研究所�
A review of Echovita last month on the Better Business Bureau site also expresses distress over the website害羞草研究所檚 practices.
害羞草研究所淢y grandfather recently passed away, and when I Googled his obituary, the first hit was from some random site I害羞草研究所檇 never heard of, Echovita. The obituary was not what my family had published,害羞草研究所� the review reads. The review continues to say that on top of 害羞草研究所渂eing terribly written,害羞草研究所� the republished obituary named living family members mentioned in the original notice as deceased.
害羞草研究所淢y family was devastated that this fake obit was the first hit people would see when they looked up my grandfather害羞草研究所檚 name. We were so embarrassed that people would think we害羞草研究所檇 written something of such poor quality to 害羞草研究所榟onour害羞草研究所� our late loved one.害羞草研究所� In a reply to the review, Echovita apologized 害羞草研究所渇or any errors within the obituary.害羞草研究所�
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Echovita representatives did not agree to an interview with The Canadian Press. In an emailed statement, a public relations agent speaking on behalf of the company said family members who notice errors in obituaries can request a revision directly on the website but provided no details about the company害羞草研究所檚 verification processes.
The Canadian Press also asked how Echovita verifies that flowers purchased on the website 害羞草研究所� which range in price from $90 to $334 害羞草研究所� make their way to grieving families or the funeral homes where services are held. Echovita害羞草研究所檚 spokesperson said that 95 per cent of all flowers that are ordered arrive at their destinations; however, the spokesperson offered no details to back up that claim.
Weafer said the Funeral Services Association of Canada is lobbying the federal government to strengthen privacy legislation and prevent families from suffering more, but he said the funeral association has yet to see a 害羞草研究所渟ignificant response害羞草研究所� from lawmakers.
The Bereavement Authority of Ontario has also published two separate notices about Echovita害羞草研究所檚 practices, one in February 2021 and another in February of this year. A spokesperson for the authority said 11 people have complained since the beginning of this year about being 害羞草研究所渄eeply upset害羞草研究所� about their loved ones害羞草研究所� obituaries being used on the website.
Quebec害羞草研究所檚 registry of businesses lists a Quebec City address for Echovita and says Paco Leclerc is the president.
In a 2019 court decision, Leclerc was named as one of the directors for the now-defunct website Afterlife, which was ordered to pay $20 million in damages to grieving families for the unauthorized use of death notices and photos. The ruling found that Afterlife repeatedly violated copyright rules by using data to market flower sales.
At the time, Erin Best, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, expressed hope the decision would act as a 害羞草研究所渄eterrent害羞草研究所� against pirating obituaries, and warned that people copying obituaries should expect legal action.
While their push for tougher legislation continues, Bishop and Weafer both encourage grieving families to ask any third-party companies posting obituaries to remove unauthorized posts, or to contact government consumer protection where it is available.
Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press
