The row over Facebook's change in its terms of service governing users personal data highlights the need for a privacy law, claims a leading watchdog.The Electronic Privacy Information Centre was on the brink of filing a legal complaint when Facebook announced it would revert to its old policy.
The new terms seemingly gave Facebook vast control over users' content.
"This row underlines the need for comprehensive privacy laws," said Epic's president Marc Rotenberg.
"It is great that Facebook has responded by going back to its old terms of service. That is a step in the right direction, but these issues don't go away.
"It's going to be an ongoing concern for users until we get privacy laws in place," Mr Rotenberg told the BBC.
"Feedback"
Epic, along with 12 other consumer and civil liberty groups, were intending to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about the policy changes when it was stopped in its tracks.
"We got a call late last night from Facebook and they said that they were thinking of going back to their original terms of service," said Mr Rotenberg.
"We said that if they would agree to do that, we wouldn't see the need to file the complaint."In a blog post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote: "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 return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues people have raised."
Mr Zuckerberg said Facebook would draw up a new document in conjunction with its users. The company has set up a special group called "Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" to let users have their say.
The group had more than 55,000 members just a few hours after its creation.
"Overarching and scary"
Originally Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg defended the changes, unveiled on 4 February noting they were to "better reflect how users used the site."
He had said they were made to ensure that if a user deleted his or her account, any comments he or she had left on a friend's Facebook page would not also disappear.
That was not how they were interpreted.Over the weekend, a popular consumer advocacy blog, The Consumerist , raised alarm bells over the issue.
It defined the changes as meaning "anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later".
Users took notice and created Facebook groups to oppose the changes. One of the biggest, "People Against the New Terms of Service" grew to over 90,000 in a matter of days.
Group founder Julius Harper Jr of Los Angeles hypothesised that if Facebook wanted to it could take his photographs and "I could see my face on the side of a bus and there would be no recourse to complain".
Such situations were never intended said Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt.
"Facebook does not, nor have we ever, claimed ownership over people's content. Your content belongs to you," he stressed.
"Wake up"
The issue has raised concerns over who does own personal material, from photos to videos to comments stored on a social networking site.
Facebook is the world's biggest with 175 million users.
"This just reflects the ongoing process of people trying to figure out the internet," John Byrne, a senior analyst at Technology Business Research Inc. told Computerworld.com."The lesson that should be learned is that these content sites are not your own personal diaries. Consider it more as publishing and less about your personal circle of friends. People need to wake up," suggested Mr Byrne.
Simon Davies of Privacy International criticised Facebook for allowing commercial and legal concerns to override its commitment to users.
"It appears to be going down the same road as Google. Its halo is beginning to slip," Mr Davies told the BBC.
He advised users to "ratchet their privacy settings up to the maximum" to restrict advertisers' access to their data and ensure that their details are fully protected.
Back in 2007, Facebook faced a firestorm of criticism when it introduced a service called Beacon. Users were concerned Facebook would provide advertisers with too much of their information.
Mr Rotenberg said Facebook is not alone in trying to juggle the needs of users with the need to make money.
"There is always a tug of war over users' data."
However Mr Rotenberg said he was impressed with the speed in which Facebook acted and hoped such willingness to listen will continue.
"Mark Zuckerberg said users should be able to own and control their information. If everyone starts with that principle we can end up in a very good place. On a lot of these issues where there is confusion on that point, I see a lot of debate."
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THE WHITE ISLAND (www.thewhiteisland.com)
I love a good mystery which I can interact with, and solve puzzles and clues, in order to get to the bottom of it. Luckily for me the internet is full of great mysteries to be solved. Sadly for me, they are often so compelling I get wrapped up in them for hours - as happened when I visited The White Island.
In a website of the same name, you follow the adventures of an aspiring DJ and archaeologist Elizabeth Pearl. She goes to Ibiza to live and work for the summer as a research assistant for the Society For The Preservation of Ancient Ibiza, as far as I can make out.
Introduced by the real radio DJ Pete Tong, the story revolves around a missing USB stick containing the famous DJ's latest tracks, a missing archaeologist, namely one Elizabeth Pearl, and a mysterious message. The events involving 12 ancient symbols and the world's biggest DJs unfold. I'm not going to go into too much detail about the website itself as discovering the secrets it holds is half the fun. You will read Elizabeth's blog, watch CCTV footage, and be asked to solve some most cunning puzzles - all in your quest to unravel the mystery of The White Island.
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BLIP.TV (www.blip.tv)
Blip.tv is another fine television channel full of diverse and brilliant content for your viewing pleasure.This is a site that hosts a whole host of content from videobloggers, podcasters and internet television producers. They are a growing stable of visual creatives who make stuff on low budgets for us to enjoy for free.
If you register with the site you can save playlists and even publish your own shows - all accessible through the dashboard section at the top. The kinds of channels featured are review sites about games and films.
Cube News 1 is a satirical office news round up with some mildly adult innuendo. On the other hand Political Lunch is a round up of the days US politics in a very palatable format.
My favourite is a sitcom called The Guild, which is about a group of online gamers who meet in the real world. I love this series, but like some of the other content on this site, it does contain some adult humour. Nothing too over the top or graphic, but it is worth noting the suitability of certain channels before you let your children watch with you.
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IMPROV EVERYWHERE (http://improveverywhere.com)
Have you ever been walking down the street, minding your own business, when you see something really odd going on? If so, you might have inadvertently been a witness to an improveverywhere stunt.
It is basically a group of people who like to gather in large numbers and perform random acts of street theatre in order to amaze, perplex and entertain both us, and themselves.
The blog on the opening page runs through the most recent stunts, but take a look under missions if you want to experience their full repertoire. Each mission is nicely explained with text and photos, and then there is the all important video of the event taking place. Marvel at the camera flash experiment where 700 "agents" lined the Brooklyn Bridge to create a wave of flashing light.
Then there is the human mirror, where dozens of pairs of twins completely confounded passengers on a subway train. My favourite though is Frozen Grand Central Station, when over 200 "agents" literally made time stand still in this famous railway station.
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IAN'S SHOELACE SITE (www.shoe-lacing.com)
This is a simple yet brilliant website where the content is king. The guy featured, Ian, seriously knows how to tie his shoe laces in every which way you can think of.I think this site will probably appeal to trainer wearing teenagers more than your average office worker. But if you have ever wanted to keep up with the cool kids then you will not go far wrong if you start at the bottom.