Facebook Allows Policy Input

Amidst public outrage over Facebook.com’s storage of user information on its server, Facebook has recently encouraged its users to vote on possible changes to the Web site’s terms of service.

In a post on the company’s blog on Thursday, Facebook CEO and founder Mark E. Zuckerberg ’06-’07 explained that if more than 30 percent of Facebook’s 200 million active users voted on the proposals, all of Facebook’s future amendments would go through the same voting process.

Users have been given the option to either maintain Facebook’s current terms of service or to amend the document by taking into consideration users’ complaints and criticisms.

Voting has been in progress since April 16, and will continue until Thursday, April 23.

According to Zuckerberg’s stipulations, nearly 70 million users would need to vote on the two proposals in order to achieve the 30 percent quota.

But as of 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, only about 275,000 users had voted, with the proposal to amend the current terms of service leading by a 3-1 margin.

“I saw the announcement at the top of my page, and I have yet to sit down and read them carefully and think about how they are going to affect how I will use Facebook,” said Lisa S. Rotenstein ’11.

Although it appears that the poll will not draw the necessary amount of votes, Zuckerberg wrote on his blog that “even if these new proposed documents are defeated, we will still find ways to involve you in the governance process.”

Jonathan L. Zittrain, a professor at the Law School and co-founder of the school’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society noted on his blog on Friday that the voting threshold is high, and the company has added barriers to participation—users must add a Facebook application in order to vote—that may also contribute to a low voter turnout.

Zittrain also noted that the company did not specify what changes would be made to the terms of service even if the 30 percent threshold is reached. Facebook still retains the power to ultimately determine the details of user terms of service.

“Facebook still holds the quill and frames [of] the choice. But the fact is that most companies wouldn’t dream of going as far as Facebook just has,” Zittrain wrote.

Although the vote may not reach the 30 percent quota, Zittrain wrote, “I’m heartened at the prospect that the amazing engine of private enterprise may find creative ways to tap into and reinforce our civic instincts.”