Facebook updates data use policy

Facebook announced that it is making changes to its data use policy — formerly known as its privacy policy — and its statement of rights and responsibilities, the two main documents that govern the relationship between the network and its 1.15 billion users.

Users can review these changes on the Facebook Web site, and the company has posted a section by section breakdown of the proposed changes to the policies. While users are no longer able to vote on changes to Facebook’s policies, chief privacy officer Erin Egan said in a company blog post that the network is happy to field feedback from its users over the next seven days. The proposed changes include an explicit explanation that users’ name, profile picture and information such as brands they like can be used for “commercial, sponsored or related content. Those under 18 have to show that at least one parent or guardian has also agreed to those terms on behalf of any younger users. The changes come shortly after the firm settled with Facebook users who complained that the company had abused their right to privacy by including some information in ads without notifying or compensating them.