HotmailFacebook tries its hand at democracy
Users will play a 'meaningful role' in deciding site's policies
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NEW YORK - The fast-growing online hangout, whose more than 175 million worldwide users could form the world's sixth-largest country behind Brazil, said Thursday that those users will play a "meaningful role" in deciding the site's policies and voting on changes.
Facebook is trying to recover from last week's policy-change blunder that sparked tens of thousands to join online protests. At issue was who controls the information, like photos, posts and messages, that people share with their friends on the site.
On Thursday, founder Mark Zuckerberg once again sought to reassure users that they are the owners, not Facebook. And in a broader step, the company also said its users will get a hand in determining the various policies — such as privacy, ownership and sharing — by reviewing, commenting and voting on them before they are put in place.
"As people share more information on services like Facebook, a new relationship is created between Internet companies and the people they serve," Zuckerberg said in a statement. "The past week reminded us that users feel a real sense of ownership over Facebook itself, not just the information they share."
In a conference call, Zuckerberg said the purpose of Facebook is to make the world more transparent by giving people the power to share information, and as such Facebook itself should be transparent as well.
Earlier this month, the site quietly updated its terms of use — its governing document — sparking an uproar after popular consumer rights advocacy blog Consumerist.com referred to them as "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."
After tens of thousands protested, Facebook decided to revert to its previous user policies while it figured out how best to update them.
The latest controversy was not the first time Facebook angered its users, who have come to expect a sense of privacy even as they share things with friends.
In late 2007, a tracking tool called "Beacon" caught users off-guard by broadcasting information about their shopping habits and activities at other Web sites. After initially resisting, the company ultimately allowed users to turn Beacon off. A redesign of the site last year also prompted thousands to protest, but in that case Facebook kept its new look.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook is privately held. Microsoft Corp. bought a 1.6 percent stake in the company in 2007 for $240 million as part of a broader advertising partnership.
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