Backlash forces Facebook to return to old terms of service.. for now

by Graham Cluley on February 18, 2009 | Comments Off

Filed Under: Facebook, Privacy, Social networks

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The controversy over Facebook's revised terms of service has prompted a turnaround overnight by the immensely popular social networking website.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said in a blog post that the company has decided to return to its previous terms of use.. at least temporarily.

Although Zuckerberg originally defended the changes to the conditions that users have to agree to in order to use the site, he says that they will now investigate how to best move forward. According to media reports, the Electronic Privacy Information Center had threatened to file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission regarding Facebook's new terms of service.

It is anticipated that Facebook will roll out revised terms of service in a few weeks time, and those with an opinion are invited to join a Facebook group, "Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities", to input into the process.

Note that you'll have to agree to Facebook's terms of service to participate in that group. Smirk.

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About the author

Graham Cluley has worked in the computer security industry for more than 20 years, developing anti-virus software and doing quite a lot of talking about internet threats. He's won awards for his blogging, but is proudest of the text adventure games he wrote when he was still wearing short trousers. You can learn more about those (the games, not the trousers) at grahamcluley.com. Send Graham an email, subscribe to his updates on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and App.net, and circle him on Google Plus for regular updates.