bookworm
02-17-2009, 08:17 PM
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/7839/facebookcartoon0480758yj2.gif
Your FaceBook Data is FaceBooks' Too, and Forever...
A recent revision to Facebook's Terms of Service has many observers up in arms, and I don't blame them. Here's the interesting passage:
'You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your web site and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. You represent and warrant that you have all rights and permissions to grant the foregoing licenses.'
So they get to use whatever you post, or license 3rd parties to do so, even after you quit.
According to The Consumerist, the terms used to include a clause that said Facebook's license to use your content expired when you quit the service. The rest of the "we own your content" stuff was there before too. The most recent version of the TOS that I can find on the Internet Wayback Machine is from October, 2007. Here's the relevant passage from then:
'By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.'
I'd call that less evil, but not by much.
The Consumerist piece has many other surprising quotes from the TOS; for instance, you agree to binding arbitration with them.
A blog entry by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg claims that they're not trying to own your content, they're just trying to legally protect themselves. Personally, I don't think this position can be defended based on the TOS language. They could have written something far less onerous into the TOS if they were just trying to protect themselves. Facebook may claim that "We have never claimed ownership" of members' content, but look up at the TOS language again: that's exactly what they are claiming.
But the moral of it all is that when you post something on Facebook you have to assume it's not yours anymore and that it could be used anywhere and by anyone.
Your FaceBook Data is FaceBooks' Too, and Forever...
A recent revision to Facebook's Terms of Service has many observers up in arms, and I don't blame them. Here's the interesting passage:
'You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your web site and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. You represent and warrant that you have all rights and permissions to grant the foregoing licenses.'
So they get to use whatever you post, or license 3rd parties to do so, even after you quit.
According to The Consumerist, the terms used to include a clause that said Facebook's license to use your content expired when you quit the service. The rest of the "we own your content" stuff was there before too. The most recent version of the TOS that I can find on the Internet Wayback Machine is from October, 2007. Here's the relevant passage from then:
'By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.'
I'd call that less evil, but not by much.
The Consumerist piece has many other surprising quotes from the TOS; for instance, you agree to binding arbitration with them.
A blog entry by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg claims that they're not trying to own your content, they're just trying to legally protect themselves. Personally, I don't think this position can be defended based on the TOS language. They could have written something far less onerous into the TOS if they were just trying to protect themselves. Facebook may claim that "We have never claimed ownership" of members' content, but look up at the TOS language again: that's exactly what they are claiming.
But the moral of it all is that when you post something on Facebook you have to assume it's not yours anymore and that it could be used anywhere and by anyone.