数字身份退出管理：用户视角下账号退役与信息自决消除的决策机制

Digital Identity Exit Management: Decision Mechanisms for Account Retirement and Self-Determined Information Elimination from the User Perspective

摘要: 随着数字技术深度融入社会生活，个体在网络空间构建的数字身份已成为其人格与社会关系的重要载体。然而，当生命走向终点或用户决定退出网络时，这些数字身份的处置问题，即数字身份退出管理日益凸显。本文聚焦于用户视角，系统探讨了网络账号退役与信息自决消除的决策机制。首先，本文在梳理“数字身份终结”相关概念的基础上，构建了数字身份退出管理的理论框架，界定了其内涵与研究范畴。其次，本文深入剖析了现行法律规制与平台协议在信息自决消除授权与执行层面存在的困境，揭示了个人意愿、法律授权与商业利益之间的紧张关系。再次，本文从心理与行为维度，系统分析了影响用户进行账号退役与信息消除决策的关键因素，包括情感依恋、决策惰性等心理障碍，并初步探讨了跨文化背景下的意愿差异。进而，本文考察了从平台功能到标准化规范的技术实现路径，评估了现有技术手段的有效性与局限性。最后，本文在整合法律、心理、技术等多维因素的基础上，构建了一个以用户为中心的数字身份退出管理决策模型。

Abstract: As digital technologies become deeply integrated into social life, the digital identity constructed by individuals in cyberspace has become an important carrier of their personality and social relations. However, when life comes to an end or users decide to withdraw from the network, the disposition of these digital identities—namely, digital identity exit management—has become increasingly prominent. This paper focuses on the user perspective and systematically explores the decision-making mechanisms for online account retirement and self-determined information elimination. First, based on a review of concepts related to “digital identity termination”, this paper constructs a theoretical framework for digital identity exit management, defining its connotation and research scope. Second, it analyzes in depth the dilemmas existing in current legal regulations and platform agreements regarding the authorization and implementation of self-determined information elimination, revealing the tensions among individual will, legal authorization, and commercial interests. Third, from psychological and behavioral dimensions, it systematically examines key factors affecting users’ decisions to retire accounts and eliminate information, including emotional attachment, decision inertia, and other psychological barriers, and preliminarily discusses cross-cultural differences in willingness. Furthermore, it investigates the technical implementation pathways from platform functions to standardized norms, assessing the effectiveness and limitations of existing technical means. Finally, on the basis of integrating legal, psychological, and technical factors, it constructs a user-centered decision-making model for digital identity exit management.