FACEBOOKTerms of Use and Privacy Policy

By Brendan Crake

Net303 Internet Politics and Power

When signing up for Facebook, did you take a minute to read the terms of use?

You would need a bit more than just a minute to read through it all …

“Its terms of service, data use and cookie use policy span more than 14,000 words over eight separate pages.” (Smith, 2013)

So what did you miss by not reading all of these terms of use?

Facebook Terms of Use states:

“For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.” (Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

This allows Facebook to “to use, copy, publicly perform or display, distribute, modify, translate, and create derivative works of” your content(Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

What does this mean for your Intellectual Property?

Well you are allowing Facebook to use your Intellectual Property for as long as the content is on Facebook

Which means…

“…content is only released from this license once all other users that have interacted with the content have also broken their ties with it (for example, a photo or video shared or tagged with a group of friends).” (Smith, 2013)

Facebook may use your content…

…but how does Facebook handle your privacy?

Privacy is described as “control over knowledge about oneself.” (Fried, 1968)

So what information about you is publicly available?

“Anyone can see your public information, which includes your name, profile picture, cover photo, gender, username, user ID (account number), and networks” (“How do I control who can see what's on my timeline?”, 2013)

More information can be made public depending on your privacy settings…

It is important to check your privacy settings…

Unless you wish all of your information be known by anyone who searches for it…

Like a perspective employer?

“56 percent of employers said that they were likely to check out the social media presence of potential employees” (Protalinski, 2012)

So how secure is your information?

By creating a Facebook account, you agree to…

“…having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.” (Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

This means that your information falls under the jurisdiction of the United States

“Federal law gives government the authority to demand data without specific warrants, and while companies can fight requests in secret court hearings, it's an uphill battle.” (Apuzzo, 2013)

For example…

“The National Security Letter (NSL) is a form of administrative subpoena that the FBI and other US government agencies can use to obtain certain records and data pertaining to various types of government investigations” (Lakatos, 2012)

Which is concerning because…

“the FBI may issue NSLs on its own initiative, without the authorization of any court” (Lakatos, 2012)

Facebook can make changes to its policies...

Which you can view through Facebook’s Governance page…

“Unless we make a change for legal or administrative reasons, or to correct an inaccurate statement, we will provide you with seven (7) days notice (for example, by posting the change on the Facebook Site Governance Page) and an opportunity to comment on changes to this Statement.” (Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

Why is it important to know when changes are made?

By continuing to use the service, you are accepting the new terms…

“Your continued use of Facebook following changes to our terms constitutes your acceptance of our amended terms.”

(Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

So what can you do to protect your privacy and content?

Check out the privacy settings on your account…

Also limit who can read posts or updates…

To keep up-to-date with any changes to Facebook’s policies…

“You can also visit our Facebook Site Governance Page and "like" the Page to get updates about changes”

(Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, 2012)

References:

Apuzzo, M. (2013, August 27). Facebook: Governments Around The World Demanded Data On 38K Users. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/facebook-governments-data_n_3822644.html

Fried, C. (1968). Privacy. Yale Law Journal, 77, 475-493.

Protalinski, E. (2012, January 16). 56% of employers check applicants’ Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. ZDNet. Retrieved from

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/56-of-employers-check-applicants-facebook-linkedin-twitter/7446

Lakatos, A. C. (2012). United States: The USA Patriot Act and the Privacy of Data Stored in the Cloud. Mondaq. Retrieved from

http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/161936/Cloud+Computing/The+USA+Patriot+Act+and+the+Privacy+of+Data+Stored+in+the+Cloud

Smith, O. (2013, January 4). Facebook terms and conditions: why you don’t own your online life. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9780565/Facebook-terms-and-conditions-why-you-dont-own-your-online-life.html

Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. (2012, December 11). Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

Timeline Privacy. (2013). Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/help/393920637330807