Facebook proposes
change in policy:
What it means for you
What it means for you
Facebook could cause
depression claims news study. Reuters
When one signs up for
a social network, how many of us really go through the terms and
conditions before signing up? Like most Facebook users, you may have ignored
the Facebook privacy policy that came into scanner only after the whole ‘people-used-as-lab-rats
conundrum’. Now, Facebook has proposed some changes to its terms,
data policy and cookie policy and the company is open to public opinion on the
same. It is accepting suggestions and questions until November 20th, before
issuing the final draft. So, let’s take a quick look at what are the new
changes and what they mean for you.
To begin with,
Facebook is simplifying the terms and conditions pages (basically, how
they look and the language) and you don’t have to sift through tedious
9,000 plus words, rather it is being made colourful, clickable and will
also include animations; all of it packaged in 2,700 words. This also means,
less legal jargon. The Privacy Basics page now says you are in charge
and segregates into three categories – What others see about you, How others
interact with you and What you see. It’s a simpler walk through
around your timeline, comments, likes, privacy and so on, and how others
can interact with you using these features.
It’s made simple to
read, but that doesn’t mean your data is any safer. The data policy isn’t
a complete overhaul and you will simply find some tweaks here and there. It
does give people the option to choose whether or not to share information
with third-party apps, but they still can’t select what type of
information is shared. The new data policy now makes it clear
that Facebook has the right to use information people share on Facebook to
target ads on and off Facebook.
One of the paragraphs
clearly states that Facebook will be using your location and data to make big
bucks through advertisements.
Information about
payments
If you use our
Services for purchases or financial transactions (like when you buy something
on Facebook, make a purchase in a game, or make a donation), we collect
information about the purchase or transaction. This includes your payment
information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card
information, and other account and authentication information, as well as
billing, shipping and contact details.
At the same time, the
Facebook blog states, “We want our advertising to be as relevant and
interesting as the other information you find on our services. With this in
mind, we use all of the information we have about you to show you relevant
ads.”
The Register points out that Facebook is simply
trying to hide the fact that it will sell its users to advertisers. It further
states that legal terms may be jargon, but are a better option than stating the
terms in general language, which gives Facebook lawyers ‘far too much leeway.’
“It’s easy to spot when someone is overstepping the mark. It’s sort of
like computer code; it’s not supposed to be ambiguous. The legalese has to stay
because an agreement written in general terms would give the lawyers at
Facebook far too much leeway – there would be plenty of room for interpretation
on what exactly the website’s up to with your information, the report adds.
All in all, Facebook
has just made it easier for users to understand how the site works and how
their data will be used. Users can add their preferences to what type of ads
they wish to see, but they can’t get rid of the ads totally or gain complete
control of the data. The answer is simple, it would jeopardise Facebook’s
business model.
On one hand, it is
nice to see Facebook penning down everything and maintaining transparency. On
the other, most people wouldn’t even bother to read the terms and
conditions or the changes being carried out. And, that’s the truth. Most people
will continue to use Facebook even if they dislike the way the social
network treats their data to target ads.
Last year, the company
was slapped with a civil lawsuit for making changes in Instagram’s Terms of Services (ToS) and Privacy
Policy that made it look like Instagram owned user-generated images and had the
rights to sell them or use them in advertisements as and when they pleased. May
be this has compelled the company to give users some time to weigh in the
new terms. We don’t know how serious the social network is about public
opinion, but Facebook users who do have suggestions, queries
or comments can post it here.