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Facebook Admits Defeat, Retracts Terms of Service

by Tim Stevens on February 18, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Yesterday, Facebook ruffled the feathers on many of its users by issuing a new Terms of Service, or TOS, which some believed gave the site permission to use any content -- profiles, status updates, commentary -- posted on the site perpetually (even if Facebook members deleted their profiles and left the site). Facing a PR backlash of epic proportions, Facebook has now rather publicly reverted to its old TOS.

Facebook or MySpace?
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Logging onto your profile this morning shows the following message:
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. For more information, visit the Facebook Blog.

If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
It's hardly an apology, making it sound like the company has no idea why anyone would be upset about handing over the rights to their photos forever, but people, of course, were mad. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton isn't cutting the company or its founder Mark Zuckerberg any slack, saying that "Facebook still sucks" and that MySpace is "so much more respectful" -- um, we're not entirely sure of that.
Meanwhile, another critic, Ed Champion, seems to be back on speaking terms with the social networking site, but that may not last long, as Zuckerberg is indicating that another change is coming in a few weeks. Surely, the site won't try to push that change won't through quite so quietly.

Still wondering what all this means? Well, if you're one of the few hold-outs who hasn't yet joined Facebook, or just want to know how to maximize your social-networking experience, then check out our 25 tips and tricks for Facebook, which start after clicking the 'Next' button below. If there's anything we missed, let us know! [From: The Facebook Blog]

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Tags: facebook, facebook terms of service, facebook tos, FacebookTermsOfService, FacebookTos, privacy, social networking, social-networking, SocialNetworking, terms of service, TermsOfService, top, tos

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