Facebook has agreed to remove legal barriers from its terms of service that have prevented state and local governments from using the social media website more extensively, says the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.

Among the standard clauses that will no longer apply to state and local governments are:

• The indemnity clause except to the extent indemnity is allowed by a state's constitution or law; and
• language requiring that legal disputes be venued in California courts and adjudicated under California law.

The new terms and conditions will also encourage amicable resolution between public entities and Facebook over any disputes and require that a public agency include language directing consumers to its official web site prominently on any Facebook page, says NASCIO.

A NASCIO survey (.pdf) on state social media use published in September 2010 found that after cybersecurity concerns, terms of service issues caused the most constraint in broader state and local use of social media.

For more:
- go to a NASCIO statement on the Facebook terms of service changes
- download the NASCIO September 2010 survey on state social media use (.pdf)

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