Facebook Withdraws Changes in Data Use
After a wave of protests from its users, the Facebook social networking site said Wednesday that it would withdraw changes to its so-called terms of service concerning the data supplied by the tens of millions of people who use it.
The about-face was made known to many users in a message posted on the Facebook home page saying : “Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.”
The posting invited users to click on a link to get more details.
Terms of service generally outline appropriate conduct and grant a license to companies to store users’ data. Unknown to many users, the terms frequently give broad power to Web site operators.
Earlier this month, Facebook deleted a provision from its terms of service that said users could remove their content at any time, at which time the license would expire. It added new language that said Facebook would retain users’ content and licenses after an account was terminated.
Last Monday, the company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said in a blog post that the philosophy “that people own their information and control who they share it with has remained constant.” But, at that time, he did not indicate the language would be revised.
The changes in the terms of service had gone mostly unnoticed until Sunday, when the blog Consumerist cited them and interpreted them to mean that “anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later.”
Given the widespread popularity of Facebook — by some measurements the most popular social network with 175 million active users worldwide — that claim attracted attention immediately.
The blog post by Consumerist, part of the advocacy group Consumers Union, received more than 300,000 views. Users created Facebook groups to oppose the changes. To some of the thousands who commented online, the changes meant: “Facebook owns you.”
In a Facebook posting on Wednesday, Mr. Zuckerberg said: “A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.”
The posting said the decision to return to previous terms was “the right thing for now.”
Mr. Zuckerberg added that Facebook’s next revision of terms would reflect “a new approach” and would be “a substantial revision from where we are now.”
He promised Facebook users “a lot of input in crafting these terms.”
“Our terms aren’t just a document that protect our rights; it’s the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world,” the posting said. “Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service.”
“You have my commitment that we’ll do all of these things, but in order to do them right it will take a little bit of time,” he said. “We expect to complete this in the next few weeks.”
