This article was published on December 3, 2012

Facebook opens up 7-day public governance vote on revised data use policy


Facebook opens up 7-day public governance vote on revised data use policy

After facing criticism to proposed updates to its Data Use Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, Facebook has amended the proposed changes. Starting today and running through December 10, users can vote on the policy.

The company notes that most of the comments it received were regarding planned changes to its site governance process. Facebook said last month that it was looking to do away with the voting system for changes to its policies. If I understand this correctly, you’re effectively voting on whether to keep voting.

Consumer groups have strongly opposed the changes, claiming that the new policies would violate an existing settlement between Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission. The company settled with the FTC last year, agreeing to independent third-party audits for the next 20 years.

Additional revisions in response to user comments include tweaks to the proposed policy that better clarify its practice of  sharing information with corporate affiliates. The company is looking to build a more cohesive network by sharing data between companies it has acquired, such as Instagram, and its main social networking service.

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Facebook will also be holding a live webcast on December 4 at 9:30 am PST to address more questions from users.

Facebook introduced the governance voting process in 2009 and held its second vote earlier this year. Those changes were proposed in March and voting took place in June.

If you want to weigh in whether or not you like this round of proposed changes, click here to vote. Voting ends on December 10 at 12:00pm PST. A minimum of 30 percent of Facebook’s 1 billion users will need to participate for the vote to be binding. Anything less than that will be counted as an “advisory” vote.

Image Credit: Stephen Lam / Getty Images

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