Read the Terms of Service Carefully
Reading the terms of service carefully can give users an understanding of the amount of security and privacy available on MySpace. These terms of service provide members with useful information for the types of activities or content which are prohibited on MySpace. Understanding these regulations will help members to understand whether their actions or the actions of other members are in violation of the terms of service. While the MySpace administrators do not have a policy of policing the community for content violations, they will respond to allegations by other members of violations and will take appropriate actions if the members are in fact found to be in violation of the terms of service. These actions may include deleting the members account and taking appropriate legal actions.

The MySpace privacy policy is referenced within the terms of service and this reference incorporates the entirety of the privacy policy into the terms of service. As a result members who join the MySpace community and agree to the terms of services are also, by default, agreeing to the privacy policy. Therefore, members should carefully review the privacy policy and familiarize themselves with the terms of this policy.

Protect Yourself on MySpace
Members of MySpace do have a small degree of protection afforded by the administrators of MySpace but they can provide themselves with a great deal of additional protection by being aware of how the Internet works and using common sense. Generic safety tips for protecting oneself on the Internet also apply to the MySpace community. Just like it is not wise to give out sensitive information such as your address or social security number on online discussion boards, it is not wise to list this type of information on a MySpace profile either.

MySpace members may think the information they post on their profile is only being viewed by their friends and the members of their extended network but this is not true. There can be many individuals on MySpace who are lurking and viewing members’ websites all the time. Some of these lurkers may be completely innocent but others may be harvesting information.

Making Profiles Private
MySpace does have some features which can give members an increased amount of protection. The ability to make a profile private is one of these features. Most MySpace profiles are public and are viewable by both members of the community and nonmembers. However, those who wish to keep their website private can make it only available to those on their friends list.

Members of MySpace also have the ability to remove members from their friends list or block other members from sending them emails or instant messages. Only members in your friends list can post comments on your website so if there are members who are leaving malicious comments, you can remove them from your friends list to avoid future problems. Also, if you are receiving harassing emails or messages you can block users to prevent them from contacting you in the future.

Privacy Policies.
Many companies will prominently post their privacy policies, where they state that they don’t share your information with others. If a company Web site does not make mention of this kind of secure online shopping, avoid providing them with your personal information. There’s no guarantee that a company with a privacy policy will honor it, but you stand a better shot of safeguarding your info with one that claims to.

Online Promotions.
Dozens of surveys, promotions, contests and opinion polls ask you to sign up online at any given point, but think twice about distributing your personal information to such businesses. Most of these are set up primarily to retrieve your contact information. To avoid having your information in the hands of companies you don’t even know, resist the urge to complete the forms.

Security Measures.
Look for symbols on the Web site that ensure security for your payment information. While they are never 100 percent secure, a strong payment security system makes it extremely difficult for hackers to access your financial information, such as credit card numbers and bank accounts. Consider using a payment service, such as PayPal, where you transfer money into the online payment service from your bank account. The online retailer gets only your PayPal information, not the bank info.

E-Mail Addresses.
Avoid making it easy for spammers to get your e-mail address. Clever programs scour the Web searching for valid e-mail addresses, so don’t put your actual e-mail address in your e-mail signature. Also, change the address just enough when posting on a forum or message board so that it’s easy for readers to e-mail you, but the harvesting programs will be confused.

Online Communities.
With message boards, community profiles and personal pages such as MySpace and Facebook, you can reveal as much or as little about yourself as you want. Err on the side of caution and keep relevant and identifying information private. Avoid listing such seemingly innocent information such as your phone number, address, school or work name, hobbies and even the names of family members.

The bottom line is that the Terms of Use Agreement is a contract that your website users agree to by visiting and using your website. In addition to a Terms of Use Agreement, a typical website should also have a Privacy Policy and a Disclaimer. In this blog, I’ll be discussing some of the more obvious things that will be contained in a Terms of Use Template / Agreement.

Introduction

First, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that the user’s use of the website is governed by the Terms of Use Agreement, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and any other relevant terms and conditions, policies, and notices which apply to the website or a specific section or module of the website. You may also want to identify the website and the party which owns/operates the website. Make these terms defined so that you can refer to them throughout the rest of your Terms of Use Agreement.

Accepting the Terms of Use

Second, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that, by using the website, the user is agreeing to the Terms of Use (and if they don’t, they should not be using the website anymore).

Revisions

Third, there should be some acknowledgment that users agree to any and all modifications, alterations, and updates of the Terms of Use (which become effective upon being posted on the website).

Trademark/Copyright

Fourth, if there are logos/designs which have been trademarked, there should be a provision in the Terms of Use agreement which makes note of this and warns of unauthorized uses. Same goes for copyright.

Website Use/Restrictions

Fifth, the user will acknowledge that they are responsible to protect their IDs and passwords (if applicable) and also that any compromises should be reported immediately. With respect to restrictions, users are generally prohibited from doing things like: posting or transmitting harmful or illegal content, interfering with the website’s operation, trying to hack into pass-word protected areas, and taking actions that will create an unreasonably large load on the web site’s infrastructure.

Depending on what your website does (e.g. does it have a forum? does it allow users to e-mail other users? does it allow users to post comments on blogs? does it allow users to submit content through articles? etc.), your restrictions on terms of use will need to take into account these specifics. That’s where a standard terms of use template may not be sufficient. It may not anticipate everything you and your website need to be protected.

General

Finally, comes the general terms that typically are part of most contracts. These terms will include things like:

(1) The governing law for the interpretation, application, and enforcement of the Terms of Use is the jurisdiction of XXX,

(2) This is the entire agreement in respect of this subject matter,

(3) If any provision is severed, the rest of the Terms of Use Agreement survives, and

(4) The effective date.

Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only (and is current to te time this article was written). If you need legal advice with respect to drafting from a Terms of Use Template, you should seek professional assistance.