Social-networking site Facebook has backed down over a new privacy policy, reverting to its former terms of use on Tuesday night after complaints from users and a leading US data-protection group.
The new privacy policy, introduced two weeks ago, appeared to grant Facebook perpetual rights to users' uploaded content. The policy met with user objections and a threatened complaint from the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Facebook has now informed users it has reinstated the previous version of the policy for the moment.
"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 revert to the former terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised," a statement on the site said.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post late on Tuesday that Facebook executives had debated whether to clarify the new terms immediately, but opted instead to revert to the old terms while working on a new version.
"We've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms. We think that a lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective so we don't plan to leave it there for long," Zuckerberg wrote.
He added that the company would be adopting a new set of terms that would take users' rights into consideration more carefully.
"More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren't just a document that protect [sic] our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service," he wrote.
Zuckerberg said the next version will be a substantial revision, reflecting principles on how people share and control their information, and written clearly in language everyone can understand. "Since this will be the governing document that we'll all live by, Facebook users will have a lot of input in crafting these terms," he wrote.
Zuckerberg said he is looking forward to reading questions, comments and requests posted by users in the Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities group, which Facebook has newly created.
