Social networking websites are an undeniable facet of college life, an observation made obvious by the numerous laptops in any lecture hall, where Facebook can take precedence over academic notes.
Users of such sites have been voluntarily surrendering their privacy. Now more than ever, students are posting incriminating pictures, disclosing personal information and using social networking sites without reading the terms of use they are bound by. The consequences are proving to be both significant and permanent.
Social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and YouTube all have thorough, legally binding terms of use and conditions that each user accepts upon creating an account. According to the various agreements, users are also accepting any changes in the terms of use if they continue to use the sites' services.
According to the MySpace terms of use, modifications to the agreement are effective upon online posting and users should therefore routinely check their agreement.
The legalities of social networking sites' terms have rarely been questioned, until Facebook announced its agreement modifications Feb. 4. After extensive public backlash, the site has reverted back to its original terms until a new agreement can be reached. Many users, however, are still unaware of the original legal agreement by which they are currently bound.
""We don't even read the terms of use anymore; we kind of just accept the fact that it's normal ... [Consequently] we're giving away more privacy and more personal information now than we ever have in our past,"" UW-Madison journalism professor Dhavan Shah said.
According to the Facebook terms of use, last updated Sept. 23, 2008, users are solely responsible for the photographs, profiles, messages, notes, text, information and other content that they upload, publish or display. However, when people post user content to the site, they automatically grant ""to the company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt, and distribute such User Content for any purpose.""
MySpace, whose terms were last updated Feb. 28, 2008, explicitly states it does not claim any ownership rights to user content, but by submitting pictures, information, etc. ""you hereby grant to MySpace a limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such content solely on or through the MySpace services."" MySpace terms of use differ in that the aforementioned ""limited license"" does not grant the site rights to sell or otherwise distribute content outside of MySpace services and that after removing content from the site, the license will terminate.
Similarly, YouTube's terms state the user is solely responsible for submissions and retains all ownership rights of content, yet grants YouTube the license to display, reproduce and distribute submitted content. Without specifying such rights, YouTube would be unable to circulate the videos users seek to share.
Youthful users of social networking sites are becoming increasingly aware of the repercussions of overexposure, but there is still a lot more to learn.
""I think [social networking sites] hold great promise, but they can also be abused and misused,"" UW-Madison journalism professor Katy Culver said.
Such sites have also borne social and professional implications and changed the face of communication.
""They are examples of the remarkable capabilities of the Internet and the kind of human creativity and interaction it has stimulated,"" UW-Madison journalism professor Robert Drechsel said.
There is no telling what technological developments will impact communication in the coming years, but if users stay informed of their rights, they can continue to reap the sites' benefits while entertaining themselves during class.
