Net 213 Policy Primer

Net 213 Policy Primer
Chea Hwey Yea

How long did it take you to register your Twitter account?

Not very long, I’m sure.

Did you happen to
read through their
Terms of Service (ToS)?
https://twitter.com/tos

If you did, good for you!

If you didn't, oh boy,
are you missing out!

That's because they explain...

who owns your tweets, and…
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how your privacy is protected
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Let's put
Twitter’s ToS
under the
microscope
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Twitter’s ToS:
Copyright & Ownership
A summary…

1. You own what you post on their service. Therefore…
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2. You are solely responsible for what you tweet, not Twitter.
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3. By using their services, Twitter is authorized to publish your tweets.
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That means, they can do anything they want with it and they don’t have to pay you to use it.
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4. You also agree to allow Twitter to share your tweets with other entities
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What does this mean to you?

You are held accountable for
what you post.

In March 09, Courtney Love tweeted about how she was overcharged for custom clothing.
http://bit.ly/suedfortweet

The designer wasn’t pleased, so Courtney
got sued.
(Gardner, 2009)
http://bit.ly/suedfortweet

In July 09, a woman from Chicago tweeted to her 20 followers about the mold in her apartment
http://bit.ly/ewwmold

"Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay.“
(Masnick, 2009)

The company sued.

Of course, there’s the question of the extent to which one can be defamed, all within 140 characters or less (Gardner, 2009).

But I guess it would probably be a good idea to not do these on Twitter:
defame someone
implicate yourself in criminal activities
making death threats
and anything that could get you in trouble

You grant Twitter a license
to publish your tweets

By submitting tweets to Twitter,
“you grant [Twitter] a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to…

“… use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute” your tweets anywhere.

It “includes the right for Twitter to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter…

“… for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to [Twitter’s] terms and conditions for such Content use.”

I’m aware you lot are a creative bunch.
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But if you find your tweets being used elsewhere…
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know that it may not necessarily be an infringement of your copyright.
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Twitter may have sublicensed it to them.
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But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be aware of your rights.

What you can ask, and what they should do, is to credit you as the owner of the content.
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Like what they’re doing at Twitter Tees.
http://twitter.threadless.com

Twitter Tees
Tweets printed on tees.
A project by Threadless and Twitter.
http://twitter.threadless.com/about

“by
@cleversimon”
http://bit.ly/pooping

“by @thepaulgreen”
http://bit.ly/tweetmyfbook

“by @pud”
http://bit.ly/youequalwaterlost

Twitter’s ToS:
Privacy Policy
A summary…
https://twitter.com/privacy

1. It’s okay for them to collect personally identifiable information about you
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2. It’s okay for them to log your browsing activities
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3. It’s okay for them to sell or share your information with third parties…
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which includes; mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations;
sale of assets; or bankruptcy…
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What does this mean to you?

It’s okay for them to sell or share your information with third parties…

Twitter’s policy doesn’t require them to inform users, should they decide to sell your information.
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However, it states that you can opt out of the transfer, if…
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the buyer’s use of your information were substantially different from Twitter’s policy.
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What I’m puzzled about is…
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how likely is it, that you would be aware of how your information was going to be used…
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much less be at the ready to opt out of
the transfer,
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if Twitter isn’t obligated
to notify you?
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It’s okay for them to collect personally identifiable information about you and log your browsing activities

Twitter’s policy
doesn’t stipulate
how long
they can store your information.
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months,
days,
years,
forever…
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In the event of a security breach,
you could be compromised.

All the data they have compiled
under your username
would’ve been exposed.

More often than not,
these information can reveal a lot about someone.
Even their identity.
(Barbarro & Zeller Jr., 2006)

Studies show that people don’t seem to value their privacy as much, on the internet.
(Goettke & Christiana ,2007; Introna, 1997)

A man tweeted about how he was leaving for a holiday spot, faraway from his home.
http://bit.ly/ransacked

When his trip ended, he found his home burglarized.
(Allen, 2009)
http://bit.ly/ransacked

It’s not just about Twitter
knowing too much about you,

it’s also about putting
too much information out there.

Be aware of your privacy.

I hope I’ve highlighted a few things that could be useful to you, and…
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prompted you to think about how you would want your information handled and protected.
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Thank you for watching.
Chea Hwey
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References:

Allen, A. W. (2009). Could Twittering about your vacation put your home at risk? USA Today. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://bit.ly/burglarized
Barbarro, M. & Zeller Jr., T. (2006). A face is exposed for AOL searcher no. 4417749. The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2009, from http://bit.ly/aoluserexposed
Gardner, E. (2009). Courtney Love becomes first celebrity sued for Twitter defamation. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://bit.ly/courtneysued

References:

Goettke, R., & Christiana, J. (2007). Privacy and Online Social Networking Websites. Computer Science 199r: Special Topics in Computer Science Computation and Society: Privacy and

Technology. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/cs199r/fp/RichJoe.pdf

Introna, L.D. (1997). Privacy and the computer: why we need privacy in the information society. Metaphilosophy. 28(3), 259-75.
Masnick, M. (2009). Sued Over Twitter Message? Can You Defame Someone In 140 Characters Or Less? Techdirt. Retrieved October 2,

References:
2009, from http://bit.ly/moldyroom

Twitter Privacy Policy. (2007). Retrieved September 30, 2009, from https://twitter.com/privacy
Twitter Terms of Service. (2009). Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://twitter.com/terms
Twitter Tees. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://twitter.threadless.com/