User:Khoalaballa/sandbox

Terms of Service (commonly abbreviated as ToS or TOS and also known as Terms of Use, Terms & Conditions) are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Terms of Service can also be referred to as Terms of Use or sometimes merely a Disclaimer, especially regarding the use of websites.

Usage
The Terms of Service agreement is mainly used for legal purposes by websites and internet service providers that store a user's personal data, such as e-commerce and social networking sites. A legitimate Terms of Service agreement is legally binding, and may be subject to change.

Content
A Terms of Service agreement typically contains sections pertaining to one or more of the following topics:


 * Disambiguation/definition of key words and phrases
 * User rights and responsibilities
 * Proper or expected usage; potential misuse
 * Accountability for online actions, behavior, and conduct
 * Privacy policy outlining the use of personal data
 * Payment details such as membership or subscription fees, etc.
 * Opt-out policy describing procedure for account termination, if available
 * Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability clarifying the site's legal liability for damages incurred by users

AOL
A newspaper story in an October 1994 edition of the Washington Times reads: "America Online, the nation's fastest-growing online service, is selling detailed personal information about its 1 million subscribers to direct marketers--without asking subscribers' permission or telling them about it", in an early article that raises public awareness of online privacy issues leading up to AOL's Terms of Service revision three years later.

On July 1, 1997, AOL posted revised Terms of Service to take effect July 31, 1997 without formally notifying its users of the changes made, most notably a new policy which would grant third-party business partners, including a marketing firm, access to its members' telephone numbers. Several days before the changes were to take effect, an AOL member informed the media of the changes and the following news coverage incited a large influx of internet traffic on the AOL page which enabled users to opt-out of having their names and numbers on marketing lists.

Sony
In 2011, George Hotz and others were sued by Sony Corporation. Sony claimed that by violating the Terms of Service of the PlayStation Network, Hotz & others were committing breach of contract.

Instagram
On December 17, 2012 Instagram announced a change to its terms of use that caused a widespread outcry from its user base. The controversial clause stated: "you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."

There was no apparent option to opt out of the changed terms of use.

The move garnered severe criticism from privacy advocates as well as consumers. After one day, Instagram apologized saying that it would remove the controversial language from its terms of use. Kevin Systrom, a co-founder of Instagram, responded to the controversy, stating,

''“Our intention in updating the terms was to communicate that we’d like to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram. Instead it was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear.”''