I have been using facebook for three years and until now have never actually read or opened the terms of use. I wonder if this is due to laziness or if society has put trust in the internet and social networking sites that they possibly shouldn't have.
What are the kinds of content they allow?
Facebook allows photos and comments to be uploaded by users but by signing the terms of use means agreeing to 'not posting content or taking any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law' (Facebook 2011).
Facebook users are not allowed to post about or tag anyone that does not have a facebook account.
If these policies are broken, facebook can rightfully delete the offenders account.
What can the service do with your content?
Facebook states: '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' (2011).
This means that Facebook can freely take and use any information a user uploads ie. photos, ideas, phrases etc. This is particularly concerning for business as before an interview, an employer can view the potential employee's facebook page and can at the least view the applicants profile picture. My sister is a primary school teacher and is very conscious of what she and others upload on facebook about her. A parent of a student in her class does not want to see a photo of her dancing naked on a table skulling a bottle of vodka from the weekend when she is responsible for their child's education.
What guarantees of privacy do they offer?
Facebook states that all account information is on a 'secured server behind a firewall'. This allows only facebook to have access to the information and not other internet users.
However, Facebook does not take responsibilty for what users upload about other users and inform users upon signing up that 'no security measures are perfect or impenetrable' (facebook 2011).
What I read from this is that there are no guarentees of privacy for Facebook users.
Reference
Facebook 2011, 'Statement of Rights and Responsibilities', accessed 23 August 2011 http://www.facebook.com/terms.php
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