Heeding Outcry, Facebook Dumps New "Terms of Use" Policy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 18, 2009 - 8:33am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Reacting to an uproar over a recent change in the way it handles user information, online social network Facebook announced late Tuesday that it will return to its previous "terms of use" policy. The company earlier this month had quietly changed its terms, allowing it to keep users' personal information and content in perpetuity, even if they decided to cancel their accounts. The decision sparked outrage among many users, who threatened boycotts of the service.

"Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago," Facebook posted on its site.

"Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

Under those terms, the company's rights to the information expire when users leave the service.

"Going forward, we've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote. "We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now."

The company said that it has created a new group, called "Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities," where its more than 175 million users can post questions, comments and requests regarding the issue.

Related Links:
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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69048030774

Published in DMW Daily, February 18, 2009

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Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on February 19, 2009 - 1:25am.

Digital is no longer the "under dog" of the marketing world, campaigns and strategies are now built around digital media with digital media becoming the centre piece of any activity, so a digital agency really needs to work at that strategic level with their clients.

Facebook

Submitted by coffee (not verified) on February 22, 2009 - 7:54am.

the fact that Facebook change their TOS back so quickly is an indication that they knew they were wrong in the first place