Shades of Facebook

There’s been some flap about how Facebook makes rather too free with the photos and personal information posted by its subscribers – using people’s personal photos for advertising without asking and so on.

No sooner do we sort out that – to some extent (by adjusting privacy settings) – than we’re presented with Google’s new terms of service which you must agree to in order to post photos on Blogger, or Picasa albums (emphasis mine):

Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Picasa Web Albums. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or through Picasa Web Albums and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through Picasa Web Albums, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content through Picasa Web Albums, including RSS or other content feeds offered through Picasa Web Albums, and other Google services. In addition, by submitting, posting or displaying Content which is intended to be available to the general public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services. Google will discontinue this licensed use within a commercially reasonable period after such Content is removed from Picasa Web Albums.

I fear my love affair with Blogger – and all things pertaining to the Google empire – may be drawing to a close…