Facebook new terms of service have some members fuming that the company now asserts permanent rights to anything they create or upload, even if the member removes it from the site.
A post on Consumerist Sunday called out the changes in the legalese that most users never bother to read:
Facebook's terms of service (TOS) used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire. Not anymore. Now, anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later.
Needless to say, Twitter is outraged.
There hasn't been a mass revolt on Facebook yet. There are a couple of sparsely attended groups and pages about the new terms of service, but I couldn't find one with more than 18 members. It's Monday morning, though, and its the Presidents Day holiday for many Americans.
Facebook's public relations firm, OutCast Communications, is closed for the holiday. So I won't get an answer to the obvious question: Why did Facebook make this change?
My guess is this isn't a content-grabbing move by Facebook. It's overzealous legalese meant to protect the company against copyright claims if Facebook uses content that has since been removed by a member. But if you've ever posted a photo of a friend who then asked you to take it down, you can see the potential for trouble.
I predict the old clause will be restored by Wednesday.
Update 1: Facebook has released a statement about the updated TOS. See Facebook: "We have never claimed ownership" of members' content.
Update 2: Facebook TOS protest spreads, Zuckerberg responds
Update 3: Facebook reverts to old terms, promises to craft new TOS with user input
Comments
There are also a lot of us on Facebook who could care less. I don't upload things anywhere online that I want to control the dissemination of.
Regardless of whether or not you upload anything that you wouldn't want disseminated, it is still wrong. And frankly, it's that kind of "could care less" attitude about privacy that will ultimately affect everyone as companies and governments become more emboldened to take what they want.
I've never posted anything important enough to haggle over but, I do think that Facebook is usurping more control than necessary. If I inadvertently posted something that a friend wanted me to remove, I would feel that Facebook should NOT retain ANY kind of control over it. All of us make mistakes from time to time.
This just shows the ignorance of millions of people who use the internet every day. ANYTHING you post online is NEVER going away. As soon as you post it you lose control of it. If you are even slightly concerned about the content, don't post it.
Could not care less. The correct phrase is could not care less. If you are going whip out "dissemination", at least get your level of caring correct.
Seth, I could care less what you think, but it's not incorrect. It's a sarcastic back formation. See http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ico1.htm
As for the change in the TOS, yeah, big foulup on FB's part.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=77069107432&ref...
5,800 users and growing.
Three words:
Class
Action
Lawsuit.
Go ahead, try your stupid grab.
Binding arbitration, my a$$.
Nice try, weasels.
Group "People Against the new Terms of Service (TOS)" has over 24,000 members and growing....
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=77069107432
This is a disastrous policy for Facebook to follow. If they are concerned for their safety then they should devise other wording that holds them harmless. That is simple enough. This is something far more sinister in intention, and is tantamount to nothing less than public theft. This could spell the endgame for Facebook if they don't rescind asap.
Agree with the reaction to the new TOS, but felt the response by Zuckenberg was good. I posted about it on my blog yesterday, along with some tips for Facebook and other companies who may be involved in managing CGM. We've done a lot of work in this area, and these companies need to learn to trust their user community a bit more, if they do they can even be leveraged to keep moderation costs down etc.
Post here: http://www.tomhcanderson.com/2009/02/18/we-the-people-of-facebook/
Tom H. C. Anderson
Managing Partner
Anderson Analytics, LLC
Facebook does not anything. They are going to strangle their own company. We are who we are.
im thinking this vote will mean nothing as so many people are losing there accounts at the moment there will be few left to vote there is nothing that angers people more than the insulting warningless
disapearances two of the admins from my mafia wars group have been disapeared along with all they had written in the group witch caused chaos we were left with a very real feeling of loss like they had died and so i am forced to conclude that the ceo of that site is a sociopath a smiling killer
souless and amoral look deep into his smiling face and watch the warmth drain from his empty eyes.
i shall enjoy watching face book wither horrible colour any how
im thinking this vote will mean nothing as so many people are losing there accounts at the moment there will be few left to vote there is nothing that angers people more than the insulting warningless
disapearances two of the admins from my mafia wars group have been disapeared along with all they had written in the group witch caused chaos we were left with a very real feeling of loss like they had died and so i am forced to conclude that the ceo of that site is a sociopath a smiling killer
souless and amoral look deep into his smiling face and watch the warmth drain from his empty eyes.
i shall enjoy watching face book wither horrible colour any how