In a landmark case, a German court ruled Thursday that the parents of a dead girl can legally have access to her Facebook account and private messages.

Judge Ulrich Herrmann at the country’s highest civil court ruled that such digital data was no different from diaries or letters left behind, so the parents of the deceased have every right to access the account.

The case itself involved the death of a 15-year-old in Germany who was hit by a train in Berlin. Following her death, the parents wanted access to her account to try and ascertain if their daughter had committed suicide.

The parents had their daughter’s login details, but Facebook Inc. quickly changed the privacy settings of the girl after finding out she had been killed. This prevented the parents from accessing most of the private data on the girl’s Facebook page. In most cases, if someone dies who has a Facebook account the relatives of the deceased have two choices: Create a memorial account or ask for the account to be deleted.

The parents took Facebook to court last year and lost, with the court stating the information was protected by the fact that “privacy in telecommunications is guaranteed by Germany’s Basic Law.” That decision was overturned last week, while the issue of “digital inheritance” remains controversial.

“Today’s verdict also affects other social media accounts, not just Facebook but Instagram and so on,” a court spokesman said. “So it’s a verdict with very far-reaching consequences.”

In a statement, Facebook said this was one of the toughest issues it has to deal with: how to protect someone’s privacy as well as that of all third parties involved and also help the relatives.

“We empathize with the family,” Facebook said. “At the same time, Facebook accounts are used for a personal exchange between individuals, which we have a duty to protect. While we respectfully disagree with today’s decision by the FCJ, the lengthy process shows how complex the issue under discussion is.”

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