4 ms·
You do not own your own content
From Facebook:
> Effective October 1, 2020, section 3.2 of our Terms of Service will be updated to include:
>> “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
So just a reminder, if you want access to your own data, keep an independent copy.
Extra note: A backup isn't a backup unless you can restore from it.
- Nextgrid 6y agoAs much as I hate Facebook, I don't see anything wrong or surprising here. It seems reasonable to me that a service might wish to restrict/prevent access to content when required by law or regulation.
- ColinWright 6y agoDid I say that's it's wrong and/or surprising? No, I did not. I'm saying that you might not be able to access your own content, so keep your own copy of it. You may not find it surprising that FB might suddenly make your content inaccessible "for reasons", but many people do. Readers of HN might not be among them, but some of their friends and family will. So this is providing Chapter and Verse for HN people to quote to those who do find it surprising.
- srtjstjsj 6y agoIt seems strange that anyone wood ever assume they control something held by someone else with no contract in place and ToS they surely didn't read. Anyone who thinks their free Facebook account is something like a bank safe deposit box (which even still is short on guarantees) is... strange.
- ColinWright 6y agoDo you genuinely think people realise this? it's all so obvious to you ... and to me ... and yet every time I talk to people about it, they are astonished that they their content might be made inaccessible with no warning. Try speaking to non-technical people, look at the stories of outrage that circulate. I suspect you're in a bubble. You know these things, and assume everyone else does. I'm telling you that the majority of people I talk to have no clue. So this submission was giving people a precise reference to quote.
- dave_sid 6y agoI think someone just need to switch Facebook off.
- mytailorisrich 6y agoYou obviously do own your own content. But you usually do not own the platform used to publish it. I think that's the main distinction that is often overlooked and, indeed, what makes having an independent copy very important.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- otterley 6y agoAttorney here! (Not legal advice, seek counsel if you need legal advice.) You’re confusing ownership with distribution and possession. Ownership is about the rights you have to exclude others from your work (i.e., copyright). When you transfer a copy of your work to a third party such as Facebook, you don’t grant them ownership or even an ownership interest. You’re just granting them to right—-but not the obligation—-to republish and retransmit your work to others. Since it is a right and not an obligation, Facebook also has the right not to store or republish your work if they desire. But you still own your content and can otherwise do whatever you like with it. Whether you keep a copy after you give it to a third party is your choice and responsibility.
- kdtop 6y agoI love a clear explanation by someone knowledgeable. :-)
- kazinator 6y agoThat obviously refers to public access (i.e. visibility) to the FB-hosted copy of content that causes some kind of problem to FB. No free hosting service guarantees reliable, enduring access to your own data.
- scruffyherder 6y agoGood thing I own my domain, use my own servers and pay for my address.... Otherwise I’m just putting my stuff on other people’s machines