When we register for a free online service, its “terms of service” are often completely ignored. In fact, this thing really ought to be taken seriously; otherwise, before you know it, you’ve signed a deed of sale for yourself.
Recently I’ve been looking for alternatives to Ycool Blog, but I still haven’t found anything suitable. I absolutely won’t use Sina Blog, because its terms of service are basically a deed of sale.
What I care about mainly are two things: first, privacy protection; second, protection of intellectual property rights. The policies involved differ greatly from one blog to another, and the difference between blogs inside the firewall and those outside it is truly vast.
Let’s look at Ycool first: http://www.ycool.com/info/termofservice
You agree to grant Ycool a perpetual, irrevocable, free, non-exclusive right and license to use, and sublicense, your original content (and any accompanying images, music, etc.) within the scope of all websites under Ycool.
Except in the following circumstances, Ycool will not disclose your relevant information.
Where authorized by the user or required by law;
In emergencies, to do everything possible to safeguard the privacy and safety of the user and/or the general public;
Where other relevant requirements are met.
At first glance, given China’s actual conditions, this is still more or less acceptable. But note that once you activate a Ycool blog, it means you have sold your blog posts to Ycool’s website; Ycool may use my work freely across its own websites, and this right is “irrevocable.”
Now let’s look at ScienceNet blog: http://www.sciencenet.cn/tiaokuang.aspx
Only if one of the following conditions is met will this website use collected personal information beyond the necessary scope:
1. Your written consent has been obtained;
2. To avert an imminent danger to your life, body, or property;
3. To prevent serious harm to the rights and interests of others;
4. To promote the public interest, provided that it does not harm your major interests.
When government authorities, in accordance with legal procedures, request this website to disclose personal information, this website will provide such information according to the requirements of the law-enforcement agency or for the purpose of public safety. Any disclosure in such circumstances shall be exempt from liability.
There is a privacy clause, but no “sale-yourself” clause that I can see. Of course, that does not mean ScienceNet guarantees that it will not use my work beyond my control; it simply sits in a legal gray area. Still, being less explicit than Ycool, oddly enough, makes one feel a bit more at ease.
Then let’s take a look at Sina Blog: http://login.sina.com.cn/signupagreement.html
For any content uploaded by users through Sina’s online services (including but not limited to forums, BBS, news comments, personal homepages) to publicly accessible areas on Sina’s website, users agree that Sina shall have, throughout the world, a free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable right and license to use, copy, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display such content (in whole or in part), and/or to incorporate such content into works, media, or technologies of any other form now known or hereafter developed.
Sina has the right to review and supervise users’ use of Sina’s online services (including but not limited to reviewing content stored by users on Sina). If, in using the online services, a user violates any of the above provisions, Sina or a person authorized by Sina has the right to require the user to make corrections or directly take all necessary measures (including but not limited to changing or deleting content posted by the user, suspending or terminating the user’s right to use the online services, etc.) in order to mitigate the impact caused by the user’s improper conduct.
6.1
Protecting user privacy is one of Sina’s basic policies. Sina guarantees that it will not publicly disclose or provide to any third party the registration information of an individual user or non-public content stored by a user on Sina while using the online services, except in the following circumstances:
6.1.1 Prior explicit authorization has been obtained from the user;
6.1.2 As required by relevant laws and regulations;
6.1.3 According to the requirements of the relevant government authorities;
6.1.4 To safeguard the interests of the public;
6.1.5 To protect Sina’s lawful rights and interests.
This is really something. Not only can they use it freely within “all websites under its umbrella,” they can use it throughout the “entire world,” under “any known or unknown” media, including webpages. Free forever, irrevocable. In other words, posting a work on Sina Blog means selling it to Sina completely, utterly, and without reservation.
Moreover, Sina’s privacy clause is distinctive in its own right. In addition to the usual legal requirements and public-interest considerations, it specifically includes safeguarding Sina’s interests.
By contrast, let’s take a look at the terms of Google’s Blogger: http://www.blogger.com/terms.g
3. Privacy. As a condition of using the Service, you agree to the terms of the Google Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/privacy.html), as may be updated from time to time, which is incorporated by reference into this agreement. You agree that Google may access or disclose your personal information, including the content of your communications, in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request (such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order), or as otherwise described in these Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. Any personal information collected by Google may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Google Inc. or its agents maintain facilities. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of such information to countries outside your country of residence.
Most of the content on Blogger.com and blogspot.com, including the content of particular posts, is provided and controlled by the person posting the content. Google does not monitor the content on Blogger.com or blogspot.com and is not responsible for that content. Instead, Google merely provides access to such content as a service to users.
Your Intellectual Property Rights. Google claims no ownership or control over any content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Google services. (The boldface is as in the original—Gulü)
First, the privacy-protection clause is written in a very rigorous but also very simple way: it just requires “valid legal process.” The Chinese way is always to first list one situation of “as required by law,” and then to add public interest and other circumstances. But the question is: when it comes to public interest, can one simply skip legal procedures? In fact, in a sound rule-of-law society, all of these should be included within legal procedures. Even if the reason is some consideration like the public interest, invading privacy still has to go through lawful procedures. The tedious, Chinese-style cataloging reflects the weakness of the legal system.
Of course, there’s no need to say much about the boldfaced statement. There is an essential difference between posting a blog on Google and posting one on Sina. If you post an article on Google, the article is still yours. If you post it on Sina, the article belongs to Sina.
November 12, 2010
Latest comments
- Yiwu2010-11-12 19:13:06 How sinister. Then what should one do, where should one go……
- Jizi2010-11-17 12:09:57 I’d never noticed this before. Now that you say it, one really does have to be careful.
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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