The Demise of Facebook II

As you may know, I am a huge advocate against Facebook. As mentioned in The Demise of Facebook, the whole issue of the social site is privacy. We share way too much with others then we need to. We might as well give up our own life and start a whole new world (Just like how Dwight Schrute does with his "Second Life" program on the ever so popular TV series "The Office"). But recently, I came across something I did not know about regarding the privacy of Facebook, and it doesn't surprise me.

According to a discovery first reported on The Consumerist, everything you've loaded up into your profile (personal pictures, etc.) belongs to Facebook. But even after you've closed your account? Well thats what it apparently states in the Terms of Service you agreed to when you opened your account. You know, that long contract that everyone is suppose to read even though they never do.

So basically, Facebook can do whatever they want with your information, and without your permission. They could license your personal pictures out to companies, make a bundle, and all without giving you a nickel. Sounds spiffy. Even if you close your account today, Facebook still has the right to do whatever it wants with your old content.

 Don't believe it? Read it yourself straight from the Terms of Service...

"You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof."