Facebook Tries to Become a Democracy

A week after its community erupted in protest over changes to its terms of service that appeared to give it control over its users’ information, Facebook announced Thursday that all significant policy changes on the site would be subject to comments from members and, if they prove controversial, a popular vote.

Most immediately, Facebook will open a dialogue with users over a set of principles, or “foundational elements for how we want to govern the site,” said Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s founder and chief executive. Users will have the opportunity over the next 30 days to comment and vote on these principles, which are posted in a document that tries to harness some of the verbal eloquence of a governing constitution.

“If we are trying to move the world to being more open and transparent and to get people to share more information, having an open process around this is ultimately the only way to do that,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a conference call with journalists.

In making this change, Facebook is conceding again that it goofed with its new terms of service and needs to play closer attention to users.

“I think we really underestimated the sense of ownership Facebook users feel over the site,” said Elliot J. Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of communications and public policy. “Because of the information they post and share, the personal nature of that information, they want to feel a real strong sense of ownership over what happens.”

Significantly, the company is reserving the right to roll out new features without consulting its members, so it is not clear just how meaningful all this is. But here are two of the more interesting principles Facebook is proposing to its users:

Ownership and Control of Information: “People should own their information. They should have the freedom to share it with anyone they want and take it with them anywhere they want, including removing it from the Facebook Service. People should have the freedom to decide with whom they will share their information, and to set privacy controls to protect those choices. Those controls, however, are not capable of limiting how those who have received information may use it, particularly outside the Facebook Service.”

Transparent Process: “Facebook should publicly make available information about its purpose, plans, policies, and operations. Facebook should have a town hall process of notice and comment and a system of voting to encourage input and discourse on amendments to these Principles or to the Rights and Responsibilities.”