EFF Launches TOS Tracker

stoolpigeon writes with this quote from the EFF: "'Terms of Service' policies on websites define how Internet businesses interact with you and use your personal information. But most web users don't read these policies — or understand that the terms are constantly changing. To track these ever-evolving documents, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is launching TOSBack: a 'terms of service' tracker for Facebook, Google, eBay, and other major websites. ... The issue of terms-of-service changes — and how and why they are made — was highlighted earlier this year when Facebook modified its terms of use. Facebook users worried that the change gave the company the right to use members' content indefinitely. After a user revolt, Facebook announced that it would restore the former terms while it worked through the concerns users had raised."

Comments

Diff

[EkriirkE]

A wiki-style diff/versioning would be nice.

Re:Diff

[Caledfwlch]

I think a Federal law should be passed requiring not only web sites but all TOS documents to produce a diff version so it's easy to see what has changed since the last version. Who has time to re-read all the credit card, phone company, etc. lengthy TOS documents to find the one or two line that have subtly changed.

Symptom of the TV-Web

[Anonymous Coward]

ToS and the control they provide to the likes of Flickr are a symptom of the provider-consumer split. In the early days of the internet, people understood that you don't need a central service to host your web page, that you do not need to give a third party rights to your photos if you just want to share them with your friends. New users don't know that anymore. When they want to do something with the web, they look around for some service which does it for them, in exchange for their content. It's so easy, who cares that you have to sign away your rights?

Re:Symptom of the TV-Web

[foniksonik]

in the early days of the internet the people who used it all had online storage space. Most people today do not. They have whatever their ISP gives them and it's usually not much and comes with it's own issues.

OTOH if you just wanted to share with friends email still works fine. Flickr et all are about sharing with a community greater than your own small circle of friends.... like minded strangers who could become friends if only they knew you existed.

Re:How 'bout something more useful?

[Civil_Disobedient]

Sorry to be replying to myself, but I mean just look at this list:

        * Amazon
        * Apple
        * Automattic
        * Blizzard
        * Craigslist
        * Data.gov
        * DoubleClick
        * EBay
        * Electronic Frontier Foundation
        * Facebook
        * Flickr
        * GoDaddy
        * Google
        * MySpace
        * Organizing For America
        * Recovery.gov
        * Twitter
        * Whitehouse.gov
        * Yahoo!
        * YouTube

How often does fucking Twitter's change in Terms of Service screw up your life? And real nice that you're monitoring yourselves as well, because I'm sure we were all really worried about that.

But how about some of these bastards:

        * BlueCross BlueShield
        * Time Warner
        * AIG
        * Bank of America
        * Verizon

I hate to look a gift-horse in the mouth, but come on. You're pissing away a perfect opportunity to actually be relevant.

Re:How 'bout something more useful?

[e9th]

Well, they say here:

Noticed an error? Got a policy you'd like us to track? Email tosback@eff.org.