If you are one of the few who didn’t know, there has been an uproar going around the ‘net about Facebook’s new terms of service (TOS). It’s been tweeted and re-tweeted on Twitter and blogged about and commented on. The uproar was loud enough that Mark Zuckerberg himself spoke out defending why the terms of service have changed.
What’s all the fuss, you ask? Facebook changed its policy to state basically that they own any and all content that you post on their site – forever. The way the policy was written before, any rights they claimed expired when you closed your account with them. No more, the rights never expire.
To get a better idea on how the TOS has changed go here and here. Better yet, read the TOS yourself – especially if you are a Facebook member. You can read Mark Zuckerberg’s response here.
The backlash against Facebook was unbelievable! In less than two weeks, the new terms spread through the ‘net like a wildfire, there was a complaint filed against Facebook with the Federal Trade commission and then Facebook decided to revert back to it’s old TOS – for now. In less than two weeks!
I find this so facinating. If this incident doesn’t show the power of social media, I don’t know what does. Most people, that I know of anyway, don’t take the time to read the terms of service when they sign up for a website or check periodically to see if the TOS was updated. Yet, one (or a few) people did read the Facebook TOS, posted it on Twitter and/or a blog and in less than two weeks, the whole internet community was abuzz. In fact, social media was powerful enough to affect a real change – or in this instance, a revert – of policy. Amazing!
There’s another lesson in this for us. Be aware. After all, how many people take the time to read the terms of service for all the social media or membership sites or other sites they join? Not a lot of people do but it’s worth the time it takes to read it (or have your VA read it and summarize it for you) and know exactly what it is you are agreeing to. The TOS is there to protect them, so it’s important to know exactly how it will affect you.
One more thing: Think about what you are putting out into the internet world. Once it’s out there it’s most likely out there for good and may come back to bite you.
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