There has been an uproar in recent days about Facebook’s recent changes in their Terms of Service. The gist is that there is a concern that Facebook not only owns the rights to all information posted by users on their platform including photos, videos, etc….but also owns them even after the user has closed his/her account. This article was posted on the site of the New York Times yesterday. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/technology/internet/17facebook.html?_r=1
I suppose the question most of us have is what Facebook will do with the information. There is a fear that in the event someone with a Facebook account makes something of his or herself, previously posted embarrassing pictures or videos posted might be used or sold even if taken off the site. While there is obviously a possibility that the terms could be exploited as such, I really doubt that Facebook are the “evil” that Google envisaged. More probably, Facebook intends to use information derived from user interactions and sell it as marketing information. Much more lucrative and legal than outright blackmail.
That said, their ownership to the rights to pictures and videos posted on their platform is somewhat curious. It would be reasonable for Facebook to own certain rights to reproduce it in their marketing collateral, but their current direction seems more extreme than that.
As of now, Facebook has issued a statement denying their intention to exploit this information, but more pertinently, they have not agreed to amend the terms as yet. It remains to be seen what is going to happen if this issue blows to the extent where large numbers of users start to close their Facebook accounts. I for one will refrain from posting more pictures on their platform for the forseeable future till things are clearer.
Tong Hsien-Hui
Some Meowsings...... 