Well the firestorm over Facebook’s new terms of service which everyone (including us) read as Facebook owning your ass when, in reality, they were only licensing it is over…for now. The social network, in reaction to the outcry, has reverted to its old TOS for the time being.
A message on the homepage reads, “Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised. For more information, visit the Facebook Blog. If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.”
Writing on Socialized, Alisa Leonard-Hansen explains how it was never about ownership but about licensing and delves into a few other issues surrounding the use of people’s information online. She’s written several other informative pieces on the topic here and here.
