Would you sign up for a Facebook account knowing that Facebook can use your information and content any which way it chooses, even after you cancel your account?
Tens of thousands of Facebook users protested a change in the Facebook terms of use policy this week that they saw as allowing it to do just that, forcing the social networking site to pull the clause in question.
The offending clause wasn’t brought to the attention of the site’s 175 million users until the advocacy blog Consumerist.com caught wind of it and publicized it. That touched off a flurry of protest groups on Facebook, saying the new terms grant the site the ability to control their information even after they cancel their accounts.
Facebook insists the protesters read the clause the wrong way, saying it "doesn't claim rights to any of your photos or other content. We need a license in order to help you share information with your friends, but we don't claim to own your information."
Facebook is evaluating new changes to its terms of use to allow the aforementioned content sharing, and has now created a discussion group to get users involved.