Facebook, Twitter Make the Rules in New Internet Name Game
Only a few years ago, the rules of website domain-name ownership were clear-cut. But now social networking websites are integral to the daily lives of many, and their users don’t have the same rights as those who have purchased Internet addresses.
In fact, neither Facebook users nor their counterparts on Twitter and other social networking sites have any rights to the internal handles that many may think of as their own personal brands. The operators, rather than the users, set—and enforce—the standards that determine who can use a particular name within these websites, according to the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.
“Even if you get a name first on a social network, you are not allowed to sell it and it can be reclaimed by the social network at any time. Legal remedies for dealing with imposters or trademark issues range from murky to nonexistent,” writes the Journal’s Decoder blog.
Unlike a number of competitors, Facebook has a “real-name culture.” But this policy has led to complaints that the site’s operators can be too hasty in taking down legitimate accounts operated under names deemed to be questionable, reports the AP. And when this happens, users can find themselves at the mercy of a seemingly arbitrary and unreasonable process.
For example, Alicia Istanbul recently awakened to discover that her Facebook account had been temporarily disabled. She was disconnected not only from 330 friends but from customers of her in-home jewelry-design business, after site operators apparently decided she might not be a real person. Although she managed to operate, after a fashion, from her husband’s account, she had no other way to reach some of these contacts until her account was up and running again, the news agency recounts.
Such experiences have led some to question the process used by social networking sites to address possible violations of terms of service, the AP writes.
“The first step in any sort of takedown action is to notify,” says communications professor Steve Jones of the University of Illinois at Chicago. “What’s the rush? Why not give somebody 24, 48 hours?”
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