An About Facebook...
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A recent Internet controversy concerning the successful social networking site Facebook highlights the challenges in amending website Terms and Conditions following changes to the web site's Terms of Service have resulted in numerous challenges, questions, and protest groups users over the ownership of user-generated content.
In a story which broke on the consumer rights advocacy blog, Consumerist.com , Facebook Inc. attempted to clarify its Terms of of Service resulting in confusion concerning the legal implications for the new provisions, particularly where users elect to close or otherwise inactivate a user account. Whereas both documents essentially provide for a grant of license from a user to Facebook for the use of user-generated content (i.e. photos, videos, posts, applications, etc.), the new agreement deletes a prior clause which read:
You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. [emphasis added]
Effectively, the changes appeared to suggest that Facebook Inc. intended to assert ownership of user content or, at the very least a non-exclusive, perpetual license to continue to use, post and distribute such content even if a user account is closed.
In an effort to resolve concerns over the issue, Facebook Inc.'s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a re-introduction of the earlier agreement while stating on the corporate blog that "[o]ur philosophy is that people own their own information and control who they share it with... When people share information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they've asked us to share it with."
Generally speaking, the ownership of user-generated content will be governed by copyright protections and thus such materials are owned by their originating author unless transferred to a third party by way of assignment. In Canada and many other countries, such a transfer must also include a waiver of moral rights which refer to rights to attribution and rights to protect the integrity of the work.
This story certainly serves as a cautionary warning to businesses utilizing customer or user-generated content and the challenges which may result when introducing new contractual terms to an existing relationship - particularly one with a wide and online following. For users of social networking websites this story highlights the need to closely reviewTerms of Use/Service and Privacy Policies in order to gain a full appreciation for the impact of such provisions on your existing legal rights.
*Facebook and the Facebook Logo are trademarks of Facebook Inc.
