Facebook Announces Tweaks on Policy Change

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

http://norton-scientificcollection.com/collection/2012/05/15/facebook-announces-tweaks-on-policy-change/

 

Facebook has announced another round of updates to previous drafts of its terms of service named Statements of Rights and Responsibilities in an attempt to ease concerns on information sharing and privacy.

 

“Based on your feedback during the recent comment period for our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR), we have decided to revise some proposed changes and further explain many others. We are also re-opening our comment period,” Facebook said.

 

One of the most prominent changes in the SRR is the removal of a line that says: “Some or all of Facebook’s services and features may not be available to users in certain geographic areas. We reserve the right to exclude or limit the provision of any service or feature in our sole discretion.”

 

Most Norton Scientific Collection feedback had asked if this meant that the social network could censor activities posted by activists or other users. Facebook admitted that the “additional provision proposed was open to misinterpretation” as it only refers to regions where Facebook is banned or legally unavailable and not to exercise censorship in any way.

 

The move to address another of the most concerning privacy issues is a good point for the company. It is regarding their terms about a user’s friends having the capability to grant any apps access to the user’s data. Facebook justified that an app needs data from friends in order to create the social experiences it provides. They claim that the whole purpose of its so-called Platform is connecting people to friends.

 

As to how users can prevent their friends from dragging their data to apps they don’t like, Facebook said:

“If you do not want your friends to bring pieces of your information over to the apps they use, you can set granular controls under Apps and Websites from your Privacy Settings page on Facebook. There, you can control most of the information friends can share about you and even block individual apps. You also can turn off Platform all together, which stops others from sharing any of your information with apps.”

 

The post also has an obvious chide aimed at Facebook’s apparent rival, Google. Recently, Google has implemented a policy change about information sharing without consulting users, earning ire from journalists, privacy advocates and some politicians. Even when it widely publicized the changes to its users, there was never an intent to seek feedback from the public.

 

Here is Facebook’s statement on its post entitled Statement of Rights and Responsibilities Update by Norton Scientific Collection:

“Our SRR (commonly known as terms of use) explains the commitments we make to you, our users, and you make to us when you use our service. Unlike other Internet companies, we propose updates to our SRR and give our users an opportunity to comment before they go into effect. Your insights and perspectives are really valuable to us, enabling us to respond to your questions and make substantive changes to address your concerns before changes are implemented.”