Policy Primer on Facebook - Net303 Internet Politics and Power

Facebook
Terms of Service &
Privacy Policy Primer

Image: iStock photo 20387597

Presented by Elizabeth Barrett
October 2013

Net 303 - Internet Politics & Power, Curtin University of Technology


Did you know…


That with 1.15 billion* monthly
users
and

Over 1 million* active
advertisers…..
* Facebook Shareholders Report, June 2013


acebook

is by far the most popular online
social media network today…

“…its mission is
to give people
the power to
share and
make the
world more
open and
connected..”


“…with friends
and family, to
discover what’s
going on in the
world, and to
share and
express what
matters to
them”


But that’s just the warm and
fuzzy side of things….

So you signed up to Facebook?

Data Use Policy
https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy

https://www.facebook.com/

Terms
https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

But did you read the fine print?


Like most busy people,
chances are you didn’t


Don’t fancy
reading
through the
“14,000 word
Terms of
Service and
Data Usage
Policy?”


Smith (2013)

…then here are a
few things to
consider…



By using or accessing Facebook
you have already agreed to all
their policies and terms of use...
…and for those
about to sign up
you should be
aware that….

“you consent
to having
your personal
data
transferred to
and
processed in
the USA”

*Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

...and that all the content you create as
well as photos and video clips you load
are essentially considered as
yours...BUT by registering with
Facebook…


…you automatically grant them a
“non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, world-wide
license to use any IP content that you
post”*


and your intellectual property may live
on for a very long time if your friends
have stored your images and clips onto
their own devices.

Facebook does
give you options
on controlling
who you share
information with
through its
privacy and
application
settings,


However, if you
chose your account
to be publically
viewed by the world
at large, then your
intellectual property
will almost never die
as people you don’t
know can
manipulate and use
your images.

You must also be
over the age of
13 to open a
Facebook
account…

and “you will not
bully, intimidate…

or harass any
user”


Facebook will not tolerate online
violation of other people’s rights
and have the right to remove any
content that infringes on someone
else’s copyright…


… and if you are a repeat offender,
they can and will disable your
account.



When you accept Facebook’s terms,
in essence, you start working for
them…

…as your content and information =
$1.8 billion in advertising revenue
(Q2 2013)

*http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/facebook-q2-2013-earings/

you also grant Facebook the right to
receive and use your viewing data…
View a friend’s timeline or
send a message? They’ve got
it!
Search for a friend or use
their mobile app?
They’ve got it!


They’ve also got the
date, time and location of
any photos or videos you

And if that is not enough…
They can use your GPS to
let you know if friends
are in the area.
Oh, and they also use
information about your
friends for profiling.


Facebook also gathers your information
as well as your entire ‘friends’ list when
you connect to a game using your
Facebook account.


*Data Use Policy

This profiling
(creating of digital
dossiers) can be
“analysed and
combined with
information from
offline sources to
create even more
detailed profiles”.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2008.

Goettke, 2007.



It is similar to the social classification
that we willingly and unwillingly
participate in each time we use our
credit cards, loyalty cards and driver’s
license.
Lyon, D. (2002)

If you don’t like their Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy, you can at any time delete
your account…..and it will be
permanently deleted (you lose
everything).


Facebook will keep your information in
their servers for up to 90 days after you,
or they (in the event you have violated
your agreement), terminate your
account.


Any images or content you have shared
with friends (or the public) will remain on
their active Facebook accounts until such
time as they themselves delete their own
accounts.


Unfortunately….
the fine print is
there to protect
Facebook –
not you…

So here’s a tip for busy
people...if you don’t have
time to read the fine
print…


…try searching for
keywords like “waiver”,
“grant”, “license”,
“content” “advertising”,
“terminate” and
“privacy”

It’s now up to you…but remember
“sign in haste – repent at leisure”

Data Use Policy. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
Facebook Reports Second Quarter 2013 Results. (2013). Retrieved from
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDANJ5DZ/2737607602x0x679164/ea3035be-c597-490b-9d2769811a9f723b/FB_News_2013_7_24_Financial_Releases.pdf
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. Retreived from
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/cs199r/fp/RichJoe.pdf
iStock_000000105627 [image]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.istockphoto.com

Lyon, D. (2002) Everyday Surveillance: Personal Data and Social
Classification, Information, Communication, and Society, 5(1).

Melanson, D. (2013). Facebook reports $1.81 billion in revenue for Q2 2013, 1.15
billion monthly active users. Retrieved from
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/facebook-q2-2013-earnings/
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2008). Privacy and the Internet: Travelling in
Cyberspace Safely. Retrieved from http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. (2012). Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

Policy Primer on Facebook - Net303 Internet Politics and Power

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