Facebook retracts Terms of Use change

Following concerns raised by users and consumer advocates, Facebook announced Tuesday night it has retracted a controversial change in its Terms of Use policy.

The recent change granted Facebook unprecedented ownership of its users' content and allowed the site discretion on how to use the content.

"Going forward, we've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the company's blog. "We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now. As I said yesterday, we think that a lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective so we don't plan to leave it there for long."

On Monday, the blogosphere began buzzing after The Consumerist, a blog run by Consumer Reports magazine, published "Facebook's New Terms of Service: 'We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever.'"

Facebook will turn to its users to help update a new Terms of Use policy that will clearly describe how users share and control their information, Zuckerberg wrote.

Facebook users have previously influenced company decisions. Following user complaints in 2007, Facebook revised its Beacon program, which allowed Facebook users to share what they do on the Web with other users.

"Our terms aren't just a document that protect our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world," Zuckerberg wrote. "Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service."