Facebook Bows To Peer Pressure

Mounting criticism has forced the social network to revert to its old terms of service.

BURLINGAME, Calif. - The wisdom of the crowds has turned into peer pressure for Facebook.

Following criticism of its recently amended privacy policy, the social network reverted back to its former terms of service Wednesday.

"Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a note on the company's Web site. "Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

The hubbub over Facebook's terms of service erupted last weekend after the Consumer's Union's Consumerist.com blog posted an entry explaining what the terms of service changes would mean--basically, that Facebook would be able to use member messages, photos and other content even after the the member canceled his or her account. A privacy discussion in the blogosphere quickly came to a head.

Monday, Zuckerberg responded on the corporate blog. "We wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want," he wrote. "The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work." Less than 36 hours later, Facebook recanted its position.

Maybe Facebook is learning from past mistakes. The company's Beacon advertising program, launched in late 2007, set off a storm of protests from members who were concerned that Facebook would provide advertisers with too much of their personal information. Facebook took about a month to respond to members' criticisms before making changes to Beacon.

"Instead of acting quickly, we took too long to decide on the right solution," Zuckerberg wrote at the time. "It took us too long after people started contacting us to change the product."

 

Andrea Matwyshyn, a Wharton Business School law professor and expert on user-license agreements, says Facebook's latest flap shows the complexities of online privacy. "Part of what Facebook is struggling with is a legal ambiguity," she says. "There is a fundamental gap in the law regarding ownership of information."