Facebook users demand more control over their personal information in vote

Apr 25, 2009

Facebook will give users more control of their photographs and profile information after a vote on how the social networking site handles personal data.

The social networking site sparked fierce criticism in February when users complained about changes to terms and conditions which appeared to give the site ownership of personal data, including pictures, video and profile information - even after users deleted their accounts.

After consulting users, the site held a week-long vote on whether to adopt a new set of terms and principles which state that people should own their own information and be able to remove it from the service.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the site aimed to adopt a more 'transparent and democratic approach'.

More than 600,000 users took part in the vote, with 75 per cent opting for the revised documents.

However, the principles are not legally binding.

'They reflect the philosophy and values to which we aspire rather than specific commitments between Facebook and our users,' Facebook stated in response to comments from users.

Facebook's chief lawyer Ted Ullyot wrote on the site's blog today: 'We're pleased that users supported the proposed documents and validated our efforts to respond to their concerns.

'You can expect to see the new documents on the site in the coming weeks.

'After that, all future proposed changes to the Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities will be subject to the notice, comment and voting provisions of the documents.'

Mr Zuckerberg had said the vote would only be binding if 30 per cent of the site's 200 million users took part.

But Mr Ullyot said Facebook would still go ahead with the changes and the threshold for future votes was likely to be revised.




By Daily Mail Reporter

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