Facebook retreats and regroups on Terms of Use

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 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.

- Mark Zuckerburg, Update on Terms

Wow.

Facebook are not trying to steal people's information and capitalise on it. That's not their business model, and if they tried to change to that as a business model it would collapse, because people would stop participating - and it's through participation that they make money.

People use Facebook, and Facebook sells advertising targeted at the "passing traffic". The content on Facebook, and the social network functionality, attracts people to it.

Facebook are navigating uncharted territory here. People are scared because they still think in terms of old business models where you copyright and make money by controlling access and reproduction of material. Facebook are in a new world where you make money by making content freely available.

Facebook are trying to write terms of use that allow them to socially network your material, but don't set off false alarms, which is what the recent terms of use update did.

Good on them for revisiting their process, and realizing that what they are doing is more like governing a country than running a corporation.