EPIC readying federal complaint over Facebook privacy policy
A leading privacy advocacy group is preparing to file a federal complaint against Facebook's new privacy policies, a published report said Tuesday.
According to PC World, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is getting ready to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, demanding that the massively popular social networking service return to its previous policies.
It appears that the major thrust of EPIC's--and many others' anger--at Facebook stems from new language in the privacy policy that grants the company seemingly perpetual control over content users post there:
"You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings....You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.
There are currently more than 46,000 members of a Facebook group set up to protest the new policies.
In a blog post defending the new language, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued that it wasn't as onerous as people were claiming, and that:
Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with. When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they've asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn't help people share that information.One of the questions about our new terms of use is whether Facebook can use this information forever. When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created--one in the person's sent messages box and the other in their friend's inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear.
In reality, we wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work. Our goal is to build great products and to communicate clearly to help people share more information in this trusted environment.
But, wrote PC World, other online services, like MySpace, Twitter and YouTube, all have less strict controls over users' content.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
STAY OFF FACEBOOK AND LET IT DIE.
Works for me. I simply NEVER EVER go there or to "My Space" for the same reasons.
After spending 2 tours in the middle east, my whole views and outlooks changed. I admit I grew up completely left wing, but when you see how it is in other cultures and countries, your eyes tend to open and your view of the world changes. I am not talking about watching it on Discovery or BBC, but actually seeing it and experiencing it first hand.
What you call torture, they call just a bad day. When the cutting off of limbs is common place for crimes, and you guys get run around like you have a sprained vagina over this whole water-boarding thing thinking it's the worst possible thing you could ever do to a human being, then I suggest you go spend a year or two in the middle east and see how quickly you change your mind.
I'm fairly certain that if you had to pick between having your hand chopped off for stealing or sleep deprivation... or having to read a false statement in front of a video camera before having your head chopped off or a few days on the good old Cheney water-board... I'd bet your choice of torture would be the much more humane US Military version that's had your panties in a wad for the last 4 years. Our torture is like a vacation... their torture leaves you missing arms, legs, maybe your head and your life.
And before you think I am some right wing moron who supports Bush, you're wrong. I'm middle of the road and I voted for Obama... I just have enough common sense to realize that water-boarding during a stint on a Carri bean Island doesn't seem anything like torture in comparison to the world where these people being held in GitMo came from.
But I digress... this is all about Facebook! I just get irked when people cry about the whole Bush/Cheney torture BS. Now if you will excuse me, I will step down from my little soap box.
Really now, so you think "If they do it then I can do it" should supplant the lofty ideals upon which the United States claims to have been founded? Shall we then rename our country the United States of Seven Year Olds Throwing a Hissy Fit?
Besides, we're supposed to be better than that - otherwise what's the difference between us and them?
Still, I'd be wary of what goes on Facebook or any other site/service that takes a similiar stand. Or any other site, for that matter. There are other concerns involved, what with privacy matters related to what's supposed to be private and who can use what and when they can use it. If you don't want people to see it, read it, hear it - don't post it.
- by Why_not November 12, 2009 4:11 AM PST
- I know this is a relatively old thread--but it appears Facebook is violating privacy/security in a major way.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(11 Comments)I refuse to have anything to do with Facebook. Someone invited me to join their site (which I didn't) but I was still barraged with e-mails--including the first batch of virus laden emails I've ever received. They were from the Facebook domain so they obviously do not secure their addresses. (And I've never signed up for an account!!) I had to block their domain to stop all the spam.