Facebook users can begin
voting
on the site's new terms of use, following the company's u-turn in
February.
The company attempted to introduce a new governance document in
February, which outraged photographers because it effectively meant
that users would give up their rights to the images they upload. At
the time, CEO Mark Zukcerberg said, "Last week, we returned to our
previous Terms of Use as we worked on a new set of governing
documents that would more clearly explain the relationship between
Facebook and its users."
In response to users fearing they would lose their copyright
material, Facebook's proposed terms of use has added a section
covering privacy and how this relates to reproducing images on
other parts of the social networking site. "If you set your privacy
settings so that only your friends can see a photo, we cannot show
that photo to anyone but your friends. Similarly, if you opt out of
Social Ads in your Privacy Settings, we will respect your decision.
Second, the license you give us ends when you delete your
copyrighted content."
Some users asked if Facebook would allow images to be licenced
under a Creative Common (CC)
licensing agreement. The company said in was impractical for
Facebook to use Creative Common licensing. "We do not believe [CC]
is feasible in a system with more than 175 million active
registered users."
Users also complained that Facebook would keep the images
indefinitely, even after they had left the site. The proposed
changes means that users' information will be deleted when they
delete their account from Facebook. "The license now ends when a
user deletes their content or their account. In addition, we give
users control over their content by making it subject to their
Privacy Settings."
Facebook has also revised its policy on third-party
applications. It said, "We unfortunately do not have the ability to
control third-party applications, and cannot guarantee they are
completely safe. However, if you feel that a particular application
violates this Statement, please let us know by going to the
application's About page and clicking Report Application."
The proposal also clarifies the legal aspects of Facebook. "You
are bound by the laws of the country that you live in. You may also
need to comply with the laws of other jurisdictions, including the
laws of the United States (because our headquarters are based in
the US)."