Online Policy Primer

Picasa Web Albums
This presentation will review the Terms of Service (TOS) for Picasa Web Albums.
If you have already signed up for this service without reading the TOS, then this presentation may help you understand what you signed up for.
If you haven’t yet signed up for this service, then read on.

As Picasa is a Google application, the TOS are associated with the Google TOS, including:
Privacy overview – 474 words
Privacy policy – 2,149 words
Privacy FAQ – 1,397 words
Privacy Glossary – 775 words
Terms of Service – 4,220 words
This amount of information can be overwhelming which is why not many users read the TOS.
Picasa Web Albums

“Picasa web albums let you create online albums to share with friends, family & the world.” (Picasa: TOS, 2009)
“It’s free to use and provides 1 gigabyte of free storage.” (Picasa: TOS, 2009)
What is Picasa?

What are the Use of Services?
As with most online services, users are asked to provide identification and contact information as part of the registration process.
It is the user’s responsibility to keep their registration details confidential.

What is Appropriate Conduct?
Users of this service are responsible for their own conduct and content.
Users may be exposed to content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable, and use Picasa at their own risk.
Users agree they will not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts Picasa Web Albums or servers or networks connected to Picasa Web Albums.

Google has the right to refuse or remove any content that is deemed inappropriate.
Users can report abuse if they find the content inappropriate or if it infringes copyright.
The TOS states users may not use the service if they are not legal age to form a binding contract with Google.

There is also a way users can contact each other to resolve any copyright issues or if there are images they don’t want made public.
A message is sent to the content owner asking them for the content to be private or removed.

Privacy, what privacy?
“Google may access, preserve, and disclose your account information any an Content associated with that account if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary ….” (Picasa: TOS, 2009)

Reasonably necessary ....
This covers a variety of scenarios, mainly:
“ Satisfy any law, regulation, legal process.”
“ Investigation of potential violations.”
“ Address fraud, security or technical issues.”
“ Protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or the public as required or permitted by law.”
Privacy, what privacy? (Picasa: TOS, 2009)

It’s a pretty broad list of scenarios however there is no mention of distributing user details to third party providers.
Most of the items listed above cover legal or technical issues.
Privacy, what privacy?

Google’s Rights …
Basically, Google asks users not to copy or modify any software or to access Picasa Web Albums any other way than via the web interface login.
It also states users are not to remove or alter trademarks, notices, etc.
Google also acknowledges other Google user’s content, as their content is also protected by intellectual property and laws.

What are your rights …
“Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Picasa Web Albums” (Picasa: TOS, 2009).
That’s a relief. Although in the same paragraph we find …

“by submitting, posting or displaying content on Picasa Web Albums, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such content through Picasa Web albums, including RSS or other content feeds offered through Picasa Web albums, and other Google services” (Picasa: TOS, 2009).

Wait a minute …
What are your rights … Image: http://office.microsoft.com

In other words, I own the content and have control over what photos I put up there but once those photos are published on Picasa, Google can use it as they see fit on any Google Service. We are not talking 1 or 2 services here, Google services are far and wide.

Also, Google will use my content “for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services” (Picasa: TOS, 2009).
Once I decide I no longer want these photos on Picasa I can remove them, however, Google can continue to use my photos “within a commercially reasonable period after such content is removed” (Picasa: TOS, 2009).

Who’s right?
Well, I agreed to use this service so I have also agreed to grant Google the right to reproduce any content I have posted on Picasa Web Albums.
I have also allowed Google to keep using this content even after I have removed it!

Use, Storage and Service
It is important to remember not to rely on this service to store your photos.
Google has “no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store or make available any Content …” (Picasa: TOS, 2009).

Use, Storage and Service
“When users store their data with programs hosted on someone else’s hardware, they lose a degree of control over their sensitive information” (Privacy and the Internet, 2008).
It is important to remember not to upload any photos or information you do not want accessible by other users of the world wide web.

Summary
Be afraid, be very afraid. Oops, I mean be aware.
Google has every right to include anything they want in their TOS to a certain degree. Once we click that button, we are agreeing to the lot, not just bits and pieces.

Summary
Remember, this is a free service provided by Google so if there is anything within the TOS that you are uncomfortable with, there are other services available.
Just ensure you read the TOS before signing up, especially if you are posting your own content on a website.
I hope this presentation has identified some important points to look for when accepting TOS.

References
Picasa Terms of Service (2009). Retrieved October 19, 2009 from http://picasa.google.com/web/tos.html
(2008). Privacy and the Internet: Travelling in Cyberspace Safely. http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm
Picasa logo (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2009 from http://picasa.google.com
Image (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2009 from http://clipart.microsoft.com

The End!

Online Policy Primer

by Liz on Oct 25, 2009

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Online Policy Primer — Presentation Transcript