Facebook and Uploaded Content Rights

<p>Facebook's <a title="Click here to read more posts tagged TERMS OF SERVICE" href="http://consumerist.com/tag/terms-of-service/" title="Click here to read more posts tagged TERMS OF SERVICE" >terms of service</a> (TOS) used to say that when you closed an account on their network, any rights they claimed to the original content you uploaded would expire.<br>

Not anymore. Now, anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later. Want to close your account? Good for you, but Facebook still has the right to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/terms#/terms.php?ref=pf">do whatever it wants</a> with your old content. They can even sublicense it if they want.<br>

<strong>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 or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.</strong><br>

<a href="http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-say-it-can-do-anything-it-wants-with-your-content-forever">read more >>>></a> <a href="http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-say-it-can-do-anything-it-wants-with-your-content-forever">Here</a><br>

Just thought I'd past this along if you use or know anyone using Facebook!</p>

 

<p>It's been like that for a while.</p>

<p>Well, this is the latest "Date of Last Revision: February 4, 2009." and the first I had heard of it... but it is a serious concern.</p>

<p>The quoted portion hasn't changed. What has changed is that they removed the paragraph immediately following, which used to read:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>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.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>And there's another part about termination that has changed as well.</p>

<p>http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever</p>

I would be interested to hear what somebody whose business it is to interpret contracts thinks of this, especially the last

line which seems to limit the license to the operation of facebook itself. <p>

The way I read it is:<br />

You give face book a free license to do anything they like with any content you upload <b> on or in connection with the

Facebook Service</b><p>

To me, that seems like a fairly significant limitation and something that must be in place just for facebook to operate. After all, you upload content and they publish it on their website--it would be foolish of them to do this without perusing a formal agreement with the copyright holder. But I'm not a lawyer.

<p>Today's NY Times has an article on this topic titled, "Facebook’s Users Ask Who Owns Information." The lede says, <em>"Reacting to an online swell of suspicion about changes to Facebook’s terms of service, the company’s chief executive moved to reassure users on Monday that the users, not the Web site, 'own and control their information.'"</em><br>

Henry Posner<br /> <strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<p><em>the users, not the Web site, 'own and control their information.</em><br>

<em></em><br>

Except as found in the Terms of Use.</p>

 

<p>The ToU is specifically governed by their <em><a href="http://www.facebook.com/policy.php?ref=pf">privacy policy</a></em>, which addresses most my concerns.</p>

<p>Am I wrong with this line of thinking?</p>

Here is an update:

<a href="http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5757485.ece">Click here: Users force Facebook to withdraw controversial 'copyright' plan.</a>

<p>I can't say I understand the big concern, there is no amount of money Facebook could generate with the use of the images uploaded by users that would make it worth it for them to try and do so. They start selling these low resolution photos for a couple bucks, and spend millions defending themselves and millions more of lost advertisement due to drop in users and bad reputation. I just can't get worked up about these things.</p>

<p>Not that people shouldn't express their annoyance with the company and tell them what they think, but I'll continue to upload photos without being concerned.</p>