Facebook Policy Primer

1. Facebook Terms of
Service
Policy Primer
David Bova
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In this Policy Primer I will attempt to keep things brief and
concise. I will discuss what I consider to be the most important
points and issues associated with Facebook's Terms of Service.
Let's start off by introducing Facebook.

2. What is Facebook? Facebook is the world's most popular social
networking website with over 1.15 billion active users (Facebook
statistics, 2013). It allows people from all over the world to keep in close
contact with family and friends.
It was founded in 2004 by a man named Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook
statistics, 2013). This social networking site is considered by many to be
a necessity in their everyday lives .

3. ●
When people sign up for online network services such as
Facebook, many neglect to read the terms and services,
(The terms and Services for Facebook are over 14, 000
words so who would want to?) therefore, not knowing what
they have signed up for and what this service can do with
their account information (Smith,2013).

4. ●
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Let's have a look at Facebook's Terms and services in
regards to registration and account security. It is stated
that users must provide their real names and
information.
It also states that nobody under the age of 13 is allowed
to register an account and use Facebook (Statement of
Rights and Responsibilities,2012).

5. ●
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However, experts have found that it is extremely difficult to
verify the age of a user online, and even more difficult to verify if
somebody is using a real identity or they are disguised as
someone else (Pelroth, 2012).
This means Facebook's attempt to regulate factual information
is futile. Let's now have a look at Facebook applications.

6. ●
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Facebook Applications are used by hundreds of millions
of Facebook users monthly. These applications can
access our personal information once users have
agreed to their terms and conditions.
The creators of these apps may then sell collected
personal information to marketing companies, which
can then lead to app users being tracked, which is in
violation of Facebooks Terms of service (Statement of
Rights and Responsibilities,2012).

7. ●
Facebook states that it believes in the freedom of self
expression (Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,
2012). However, when it comes to posting content they will
not accept hate speech, anything that threatens another
Facebook user, no nudity is allowed or anything
pornographic in nature, and graphic violence is not
acceptable except in certain contexts (such as a news
article).

8. ●
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When a Facebook user uploads content on their account
such as images and videos, they grant Facebook a license
to use and display their content.
Even though Facebook's terms of service states “You own
all of the content and information you post on Facebook,”
Facebook still owns a user's content as well, and they have
been given the right to use that information (Statement of
Rights and Responsibilities,2012).

9. ●
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Facebook provides users with tools that help them protect their
content from copyright infringement.
Facebook will remove content if they believe it is being
copyright infringed. If a user is caught for infringing someone
else's copyright multiple times, their account will be
permanently disabled (Statement of Rights and
Responsibilities,2012).

10. ●
I hope you found this policy primer to be concise and
informative. I know that reading through Terms of services may
feel like a chore, but you might miss out on crucial information
that may have a negative impact on you later on with whatever
you signed up for.

11. Exegesis:
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The reason why I chose to create a policy primer which focuses on the Terms and Service for Facebook is simply
because Facebook is the most widely used social networking site in the world at the moment (Facebook Statistics,
2013). While I don't use Facebook anymore, I can honestly say that when I signed up I didn't read a single word of the
Terms and Service agreement, I just hastily scrolled down and clicked accept because I was too concerned with other
things such as looking forward to getting into contact with people, and would what I post and what photo I would
upload etc.
The reason I chose to create a slider presentation is because slide presentations are usually simple and get the point
across. I tried to be as concise as possible but still wanted to get my points across without being too brief. I tried to
address the issues that would be most relevant to general Facebook users. I wanted to point out while Facebook
attempts to control and regulate information such as stating everyone must provide factual information, the truth is
that it is near impossible to do this. I think a policy such as one must be over 13 years to join this site is a waste of
time, and while most people on Facebook do display their real identity, there will always be others that wish to remain
anonymous, or only want to be visible to people they consider close friends and family.
Speaking of anonymity, it is now more difficult that ever to remain anonymous on Facebook due a recent change with
how their search engine works. You used to be able to hide your name from coming up on the search engine but this
is no longer possible (Page, (2013). I also felt it was necessary to discuss Facebook applications and their attempt to
gain personal information to sell to marketing companies. I knew very little. about Facebook applications until I wrote
a essay on Facebook Privacy last semester and it was mostly focused on Facebook apps. Obviously in the primer I
had to be pretty brief but I will provide a link to how Facebook has cleverly redesigned apps over time in an attempt to
fool Facebook users (Charkham, (2012).
Do I think this policy primer would be effective? I think it would be some what effective. I'm quite certain that if most
terms and services were as long as this Powerpoint presentation more people would read them, though I still think the
majority would skip it. What I do hope for is that people who read this primer find it to be informative.

12. References.
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Charkham, Avi. (2012). 5 Design Tricks Facebook Uses To Affect Your Privacy Decisions. Retrieved from
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/25/5-design-tricks-facebook-uses-to-affect-your-privacy-decisions/
Facebook Statistics. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/
Page, Carly. (2013) Facebook Users Can No Longer Remain Anonymous In Search. Retrieved from
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2300217/Facebook-Users-Can-No-Longer-Remain-Anonymous-in-Search
Pearce, Daylan. (2013). What Does Facebook Know About You – An Analysis. Retrieved from
http://daylandoes.com/facebook-and-your-data/
Pelroth, Nicole. (2012). Verifying Ages Online Is a Daunting Task, Even for Experts. The New York Times. Retrieved
from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/technology/verifying-ages-online-is-a-daunting-task-even-for-experts.html?pagewanted=all&
Smith, Oliver. (2013). Facebook terms and conditions : why you don't own your online life. The Telegraph. Retrieved
from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9780565/Facebook-terms-and-conditions-why-you-dont-ownyour-online-life.html
Statements of Rights and Responsibilities. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms