terms of service

17 Stories

Neo-Nazi Site Hit by GoDaddy, Anonymous for 'Obscene' Post

Daily Stormer violated its terms of service after article on Va. victim

(Newser) - GoDaddy gave the Daily Stormer the boot for violating its terms of service after the white supremacist website published an inflammatory article that used "sexist and obscene language" about Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old killed in a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., per the Arizona Republic . GoDaddy has been...

22K Free WiFi Users Now Legally Bound to Clean Toilets

Always read the terms and conditions

(Newser) - Approximately 22,000 people are now legally bound to serve 1,000 hours of community service because they didn't read the terms and conditions before accessing free WiFi, the Guardian reports. And it's not pleasant community service either; duties include cleaning toilets at festivals and "manually relieving...

Twitter Not Suspending Trump's Account Over CNN Tweet

Many are calling for president to be banned from the social media service

(Newser) - Following President Trump's latest tweet controversy, many are flocking to Twitter to suggest the POTUS be banned from the social media service, Elite Daily reports. Users are suggesting that Trump's tweets, including the recent one showing a WWE wrestling video in which he appears to clobber "CNN,...

Study Finds We Might Owe Microsoft Our Children

Because nobody reads or understands the terms of service before agreeing

(Newser) - If Facebook or Apple ever turns truly evil, we might be in big trouble, apparently. A study published last week found that almost nobody reads online terms of service agreements—and even fewer understand them. Ars Technica reports 543 college students signed up for a fake social networking site called...

Amazon Will Void Its Terms of Service If the Zombies Come

Game developers using Lumberyard software get a pass if living dead show up

(Newser) - Your eyes may usually glaze over while reading companies' terms of service, but a paragraph buried in the ToS for Amazon's newly released game engine is worthy of your attention, CNNMoney reports. Lumberyard's beta version dropped Tuesday, and the company frames its purpose like so : "Whether you...

You Should Force Your Kids to Study Privacy Policies

Just like we force them to buckle their seatbelts: Nicole Wong

(Newser) - We teach our children about "stranger danger" and how to avoid untrustworthy people—so we should also teach them how to avoid untrustworthy technology. That's why Nicole Wong, a former deputy CTO at the White House and lawyer who's drafted "scores" of privacy policies over two...

General Mills Does U-Turn on Right to Sue

Arbitration policy dropped after online outcry

(Newser) - You can still "like" Cheerios or Wheaties without losing any rights: After a huge social media outcry, General Mills has scrapped a controversial policy that appeared to strip consumers who engaged with the company online of their right to sue. The company says it is voiding terms that notified...

You're Apparently Not Allowed to Sue General Mills
You're Apparently Not Allowed to Sue General Mills
in case you missed it
Apr 20, 2014 10:57 AM CDT

You're Apparently Not Allowed to Sue General Mills

Company updates its privacy policy

(Newser) - If you've "liked" a company on Facebook, downloaded its coupons, or really in any way interacted with it online, you might have inadvertently given up your right to sue it. The New York Times spotted new language in the privacy policy on General Mills' website indicating that customers...

How to 'Divorce' Google

 How to 'Divorce' Google 
OPINION
Apr 2, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

How to 'Divorce' Google

One year on, Tom Henderson reveals how it's going for him

(Newser) - When Google's controversial privacy policy went live, Tom Henderson "divorced" the company. A year later, he writes in ITworld , things are going just fine. "I'm in a much happier place. It can be done." Here's how he did it:
  • He uses the DuckDuckGo search
...

Instagram Ditches Policy Changes Amid Uproar

Returns to 2010 terms of service for ads

(Newser) - After a furor over changes to its ad terms of service, Instagram tried to clear things up ; now, it's simply dropping the changes, the New York Times reports. The company is returning to its old advertising terms from 2010, co-founder Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post . "Rather...

Facebook Boots Nevermind Cover

Apparently naked babies are not OK, even on album art

(Newser) - Nirvana's artistic choices are apparently a little too risque for Facebook: The band's iconic 1991 Nevermind cover has become the latest image banned by the social network, which says the picture of a naked baby boy violates Facebook's terms of use. A photo of the album, soon...

Facebook 'Doppelganger' Craze Sort of Illegal

Users changing profile pics to lookalike celebs violates TOS

(Newser) - The newest craze on Facebook is “Doppelganger Week,” wherein users change their profile pictures to those of celebrities—heck, even Muppets—that they resemble. Problem is, CNET notes, that violates the social networking site’s terms of service. “You will not post content or take any action...

Why Facebook Booted My Baby
 Why Facebook Booted My Baby 
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2009 5:00 PM CDT

Why Facebook Booted My Baby

(Newser) - Joel Stein’s 3-month-old son Laszlo wasn’t a model Facebook citizen—“he threatened to pee on some, cut others,” and would routinely comment “I’d hit that” on other babies’ photos—but that’s no reason to kick him off the site, right? Turns out Baby...

Facebook's Utopian Dream Hides Something Sinister

(Newser) - The recent scrap over Facebook’s privacy policy seems to be at odds with the site’s friendly, familial face, Vanessa Grigoriadis writes in New York. But the company’s aborted move to claim ownership of user content in perpetuity reveals a vague something about its ambitions. “Facebook’s...

Facebook: Uh, Never Mind That Last Update

Privacy protests result in a swift U-turn on terms of service

(Newser) - Facebook has done an about-face and withdrawn its new terms of service following a public outcry, CNET reports. The fine-print update appeared to give the site perpetual rights to users' content, prompting threats of a federal complaint from a major privacy watchdog and mass desertion from tens of thousands of...

New Facebook Fine Print Irks Users in Privacy Tug-of-War

Clause giving site permanent license to content slammed

(Newser) - An outcry over a terms of service change has forced Facebook's founder to reassure users that they still own and control their own information, the New York Times reports. The update—which remains unchanged—removed a provision that said users could delete their content at any time, and added a...

AT&T Backs Off Controversial Service Terms

Telecom's ToS had forbidden customers from criticizing it

(Newser) - Under an ironic firestorm of criticism for what some termed a First Amendment violation, AT&T has updated its controversial Terms of Service policy to allow users to criticize the telecom giant. The original terms stated that it reserved the right to cancel the account of those who "damaged...

17 Stories