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Guess Who Owns Your Facebook Content?

If you have a Facebook page and you like to post pictures of you and your friends, you might want to think twice before you do it again.
 
About two weeks ago, the fine print explaining Facebook's privacy rights quietly and subtlety changed.  The company deleted language that said its ownership of your content would cease when you removed that content or closed your account.
 
So, exactly what does that mean?  It means that even if you close your account, Facebook will continue to have access to your photos and your personal information.   As one Facebook user wrote, "Facebook's New Terms of Service:  "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content.  Forever." 
 
However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement Monday to reassure users that they still control their information, saying, "In reality, we wouldn't share our information in a way you wouldn't want.  The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work.

Some Facebook users still weren't put at ease by Zuckerberg's words and started closing their accounts.  More than 18,000 members have joined groups that are against the new terms of service. 
 
One professional photographer wrote, "Guess I'll be taking my stuff down.  BYE BYE FACEBOOK ADVERTISERS.  I won't be seeing your ads...:-)

Another person wrote, "I'm scared knowing one day I might find a picture of me or even a family member that I didn't give permission to be used.  I can't even delete anything I previously uploaded because they retain copies which they will probably sell to some third party to make an easy buck. This sucks.

Will Facebook's new privacy rights keep you from using the social network?  Leave your comment.

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