Facebook to adopt new terms of service

Facebook, one of the world's most popular social-networking sites, is all set to go ahead with new terms of service after the company's week-long vote following a row with users earlier this year.

The new documents "Facebook Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" specify that users own their information, not Facebook.

Earlier this year, Facebook was marred in controversy after The Consumerist , a consumer advocacy site, noticed that a change in its terms of use gave the company control over data that users had deleted.

Shortly after people vociferously complained, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reverted to the old terms of use while the company initiated a campaign to let users contribute and review changes.

Facebook had set a minimum threshold of a 30 percent voter turnout for the vote to be binding. That would have been about 60 million people, or about 100 times the actual turnout.

"However, the turnout was "a small number" compared with the site's user base," Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, wrote on the site's blog.

"We'd hoped to have a bigger turnout for this inaugural vote, but it is important to keep in mind that this vote was a first for users just like it was a first for Facebook. We are hoping there will be greater participation in future votes," Ullyot said.

(Agencies)