Van Alsenoy, Verdoodt, Heyman, Ausloos, Waters and Acar (2015)
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Source Details
Van Alsenoy et al. (2015) | |
Title: | From social media service to advertising network: A critical analysis of Facebook’s Revised Policies and Terms |
Author(s): | Van Alsenoy, B., Verdoodt, V., Heyman, R., Ausloos, J., Wauters, E., Acar, G. |
Year: | 2015 |
Citation: | Van Alsenoy, B., Verdoodt, V., Heyman, R., Ausloos, J., Waters, E. and Acar, G. (2015) From social media service to advertising network: A critical analysis of Facebook’s Revised Policies and Terms. A report commissioned by the Belgian Privacy Commission. Section 7. |
Link(s): | Open Access |
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About the Data | |
Data Description: | The study involves a textual analysis of Facebook’s terms of service and assesses their compatibility with a selection of EU jurisdictions. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
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Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
“Facebook’s revised Data Use Policy (DUP) is an extension of existing practices. This nevertheless raises concerns because Facebook’s data processing capabilities have increased both horizontally and vertically. By horizontal we refer to the increase of data gathered from different sources. Vertical refers to the deeper and more detailed view Facebook has on its users. Both are leveraged to create a vast advertising network which uses data from inside and outside Facebook to target both users and non-users of Facebook.”
Main Results of the Study
The study finds that Facebook includes a clause in their terms of service which permit commercial uses of user-generated content. This is ensured via an automatic licence grant which is transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide. The authors note that this may cause substantial incompatibilities with European countries, for example Belgium and Germany, where any such licence grant would likely be void. Terms of service which are drafted from a US perspective may not take into account other European specificities, such as moral rights.User-generated content may also be used in “sponsored stories” and “social ads” through an automatic grant contained in the terms of service (and in keeping with the commercial use permission in the copyright licence). Again, this may create incompatibilities with European copyright laws, such as the right to control the use of one’s image.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The authors state that the existence of overarching, all-encompassing licensing terms, which do not take into account specific jurisdictional nuances, cause a “significant imbalance” between the platform and user. Furthermore, these terms may be incompatible with several jurisdictions in the EU. Whilst the new Facebook policies are more transparent in their explanation of uses of user-generated content, they lack sufficient control mechanisms. Potential solutions to this issue may involve notifying users when and how their content is used in e.g. a commercial capacity in advertisements.
Coverage of Study
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