Stefan Mileschin

Facebook has decided to try and calm the furore surrounding its privacy policy by giving users the chance to vote on how they want the site to be run.

The site has opened the polls to give its users the chance to vote on a number of proposed policy changes as to how Facebook governs its site. These include how Facebook handles people's data, and, ironically, a plan to get rid of the site's policy to let users vote in the first place.

The proposed votes are a result of a backlash after Elliot Schrage, Vice President, Communications, Public Policy and Marketing , announced some changes to Facebook's policy last week.

At the time he told users that Facebook would be making updates to two policies which governed the site. This included the Data Use Policy, which explains how the company collects and used data when people use Facebook, and the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR), which explained the terms governing the use of services.

He claimed that the company was thinking about withdrawing the voting rights of users and replacing it with a "more meaningful feedback and engagement tool", CNET reports.

Of the 20,107, that commented on the post, many opposed their right to vote being taken away. This looks unlikely to change Facebook's mind, though.

Under its guidelines, an enormous 300 million must vote against the changes. Facebook is seemingly banking on low figures - only 342,632 people voted last time.

http://news.techeye.net/internet/fac...keep-your-vote