This presentation was created as part of my studies for unit 213 - Policy, Regulation and Governance.
It explores Facebook's Terms of Use in a simple and informative manner.
Enjoy!
2. Why Read This?
The Terms of Use for Facebook are accessed through
quite a long and complex document.
This presentation outlines those terms in a simpler
format.
These terms are then further explored, highlighting
possible implications for you, the user.
3. Terms of Use in a Nutshell
You own all content you post on Facebook, and you can
control who has access to it.
However you also grant Facebook unlimited licence to
use your content, whilst your account is active.
You will not provide any false personal information.
You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.
4. You agree not to bully, harass, or intimidate other
users.
You agree not post content that is hateful, threatening,
pornographic, violent, or unlawful.
You will not share your password, or jeopardize the
security of your account.
You will not upload viruses or other malicious code.
5. You understand that advertising on Facebook is not
always identified as such.
Facebook retain the right to terminate your account at
any time.
If you choose to terminate your account, Facebook will
keep your data for a reasonable period of time.
6. Hey That's My Photo!
Most users would not be aware that they grant
Facebook unlimited license on the photos they post.
This extends to your name and profile pic being used
in adverts on Facebook, as well as by 3rd party
applications you sign up to.
This can lead to compromising situations, such as your
profile pic being used in dating site ads (Oshiro, 2009).
7. That’s An Ad?
Advertising on Facebook is not always identified as
such.
This can lead to users inadvertently granting
advertisers access to their content.
The introduction of fan pages for ads further blurs the
line between advertising and user content(Farber,
2007).
8. Child Safety
Whilst Facebook states users are not to post false
personal information, there are no real identity
checks.
This can leave young users exposed to sexual predators
(Critchley, 2009).
Recently an 18 year old man masqueraded as a high
school girl to illicit nude photos from teenage boys
(Kincaid, 2009).
9. Bullies Are Cowards
The ability to post false profiles also promotes cyber
bullying.
Cyber bullies thrive in hidden identities, and the
power and dominance it grants them (Pathcin &
Hinduja, 2006).
Four students in the US created a fake profile for a
fellow student falsely depicting him as a gay
racist(Grove, 2009).
10. Safety First
Setting up the right privacy and security settings can
help deter the aforementioned issues (Cheng, 2009).
Unfortunately the default settings allow the most
access to your content, which most users do not
change.
Thankfully more and more people, and governments,
are pressuring Facebook to change the default settings
(Wray, 2009).
11. Didn’t I Delete That?
Finally if you take the decision to delete your Facebook
account, or if Facebook makes that decision for you,
your data is still retained for a reasonable period of
time.
But what is a ‘reasonable’ period of time?
Once again users should be mindful of what they post,
and monitor Facebook’s Terms of Use (BBC News,
2009).
12. References
BBC News. (2009). Facebook ‘withdraws’ data changes. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7896309.stm
Cheng, J. (2009). Facebook privacy: a guide. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/08/meshing-social-networking-and-privacy-on-facebook.ars
Critchley, C. (2009). Sexual deviants trawl social networking sites. Retrieved September 25, 2009, from
http://ceps.anu.edu.au/publications/pdfs/media_reports/choo_sexual_deviants_trawl_social_networ
king_sites.pdf
Facebook. (2009). Terms of Use. Retrieved September 18, 2009, from
http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf
Farber, D. (2007). Facebook Ads: Monetizing the social graph and social graft. Retrieved September
22, 2009, from http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6916
Grove, J.V. (2009). 4 Teens Sued for Obscene Fake Facebook Profile. Retrieved September 28, 2009,
from http://mashable.com/2009/09/25/fake-facebook-profile/
Kincaid, J. (2009). Wake Up Call: Facebook Isn’t A Safe Haven. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/08/wake-up-call-facebook-isnt-a-safe-haven/
Oshiro, D. (2009). UPDATE: Are You Facebook’s Ad Poster Child? Exploring Acceptable Use. Retrieved
September 23, 2009, from
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/are_you_facebooks_ad_poster_child_exploring_accept.php
Patchin, J., & Hinduja, S. (2006). Bullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard. Youth Violence and Juvenile
Justice, 4(2).
Wray, R. (2009). Facebook forced to tighten up privacy rules. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/aug/27/facebook-privacy-canada