Facebook Opens more Doors for Users
After the recent controversy when Facebook unilaterally
removed pictures
of a breastfeeding mother from its site, the leading social network has
now decided to give voice to its users to decide about the future
policies governing the service.
Facebook released the first proposals subject to these new procedures -
The Facebook Principles, will guide the development of the service, and
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that make clear Facebook's and
users' commitments related to the service.
Over
the coming weeks, users will have the opportunity to review, comment and
vote on these documents. An update to the Privacy Policy is also planned
and this change will be subject to similar input.
Recently
Facebook faced furore of protesters
when it removed pictures of a breastfeeding mother from its site citing
company policy. The social networking host felt that breastfeeding can
be promoted even without fully exposing the breasts of mothers. But some
users believed there was nothing indecent about those images. So
the current move to invite more user participation at the policy level
can help Facebook settle such issues amicably.
"As
people share more information on services like Facebook, a new
relationship is created between Internet companies and the people they
serve," said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook. "The past
week reminded us that users feel a real sense of ownership over Facebook
itself, not just the information they share."
Facebook will continue to make independent decisions about the timing
and rollout of products. While these must be consistent with the
Principles and in compliance with the Statement of Rights and
Responsibilities, they will not be subject to the notice and comment or
voting requirements.
"Companies like ours need to develop new models of governance,"
Zuckerberg added. "Rather than simply reissue a new Terms of Use, the
changes we're announcing today are designed to open up Facebook so that
users can participate meaningfully in our policies and our future."
Facebook will hold virtual Town Halls following the announcement of the
new Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities for 30 days,
with the comment period scheduled to close at 12:01 am PDT on March 29.
During this time, users have an opportunity to comment on the proposed
policy.
Following the first Town Halls, The Facebook Principles and the
Statement of
Rights
and Responsibilities will be the first set of policies subject to a
vote, which may include other alternatives. The vote will be open to all
Facebook users active as of Feb. 25, 2009. The results of the vote will
be made public and will be binding if more than 30% of all active
registered users vote.
The
social network has also planned to set up a user council to participate
more closely in the development and discussion of policies and
practices. As a start, the company indicated that it would invite the
authors of the most insightful and constructive comments on the draft
documents to serve as founding members of the group.
Bookmark this on Delicious 
Seed Newsvine
Your Comments:
