Debating the Social Network Users’ Bill of Rights at the ACM Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference

On Tuesday, ReputationDefender General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer David Thompson appeared as a guest at the ACM Computers Freedom & Privacy Conference in San Jose, California, to talk about Internet privacy issues and to deliver ReputationDefender’s proposed “Social Media Bill of Rights.”

We are happy to report that many of our proposals have been mirrored in the official draft of the Social Network Users’ Bill of Rights for the conference. Check out the full text of the proposal below.

We the users expect social network sites to provide provide us the following rights in their Terms of Service, Privacy Policies, and implementations of their system:

1. Honesty: Honor your privacy policy and terms of service.

2. Clarity: Ensure that policies and terms of service are easy to understand.

3. Freedom of speech: Don’t censor without a clear policy and justification.

4. Empowerment: Support privacy-enhancing and assistive technologies.

5. Security: Treat my data as securely as your own, and notify me if it is compromised.

6. Data minimization: Minimize the information I am required to provide and share with others.

7. Control: Let me control my data, and don’t share it with others unless I agree first.

8. Predictability: Don’t change who or what sees my data without my consent.

9. Right to know: Show me how you are using my data and allow me to see who and what has access to it.

10. Right to self-define: Let me create more than one identity and use pseudonyms. Do not link them without my permission.

11. Right to appeal: Allow me to appeal disciplinary actions.

12. Right to leave: Allow me to delete my account, and take my data with me.

Currently, conference attendees and Internet viewers are debating the proposal. To join the discussion, visit the official CFP conference website here or follow along on Twitter and Facebook.  Once the debate has concluded, the amended Bill of Rights will be put to a vote. We will update this post with the finalized language at that time.