CAI/CPIL Executive Director Robert C. Fellmeth’s OpEd on Facebook’s Terms of Service Published by The Hill

CAI/CPIL Executive Director Robert C. Fellmeth’s OpEd on Facebook’s Terms of Service Published by The Hill

Robert C. Fellmeth

San Diego (May 11, 2018) – Children’s Advocacy Institute (CAI) and Center for Public Interest Law Executive Director, Robert C. Fellmeth’s opinion editorial, which discusses Facebook’s terms and conditions invading our privacy and putting children at risk was recently published in The Hill.

The recent Facebook scandal shows the controversy over online privacy will not go away anytime soon.  Fellmeth argues that Mark Zuckerberg’s current “apology” tour isn’t enough.  Facebook needs to truly address and revise its terms and conditions that invade user’s privacy but also put 10.5 million U.S. subscribers between the ages of 13 and 18 at risk. 

Fellmeth states, “[t]he reality is that Facebook’s “Terms of Service” is a carte blanche seizure of information.  When subscribers agree to these terms, they’re granting Facebook permission to capture and share not only their communications, but also their personal information.”

According to the article, the social network recently settled a privacy class action case which revised their terms and conditions for users under 18 years of age:

“… If you are under the age of 18 … you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to the terms of this section on your behalf.”

CAI and other children’s advocacy groups opposed the settlement, causing the court to take the unusual step of un-publishing its opinion.  If Facebook does not address the issue, it could be forced to.  The California Legislature could compel Facebook to address the issue with Assembly Bill 2511, making this form of parental consent illegal.

According to Professor Fellmeth, Facebook, Congress and/or California legislature should impose three reforms:

“First, all communications on Facebook should be transmitted only to the persons to whom they are directed. … Second, all personal information on a Facebook account should be accessible only to the subscriber and approved friends. Facebook cannot transmit to any third party without specific consent. Third, mass communication through Facebook must identify the sender by accurate personal, corporate, or other name.”

To read the full OpEd click here.

About Professor Fellmeth

Robert Fellmeth is the Price Professor of Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he teaches and writes in the areas of children's rights, regulation, antitrust, and consumer law. Professor Fellmeth is also the executive director of both USD’s Center for Public Interest Law and Children's Advocacy Institute.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

The University of San Diego (USD) School of Law is recognized for the excellence of its faculty, depth of its curriculum, and strength of its clinical programs. Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 35th nationally and 6th on the West Coast among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 24th nationally and 6th on the West Coast in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.