In Its Rush To Offer A Persian Version, Did Facebook Violate Its Terms Of Service?

by editor on Jun.19, 2009, under TechCrunch

Yesterday evening, Facebook hurriedly launched a Persian (Farsi) version of the site for users in Iran. Following the past week’s events surrounding the Iranian elections and subsequent protests, Facebook felt that there was an immediate need to provide a Farsi version of the social network as an act of solidarity with the citizens of that country.

But this recent move may be in violation of Facebook’s own terms of service. Clause 4.3 of Facebook’s terms of service states, “You will not use Facebook if you are located in a country embargoed by the U.S., or are on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals.”

According to the U.S. Department of State, there are some existing trade embargoes on Iran. But there are also embargoes and sanctions against other countries, including Sudan, Syria, and others which seem to have Facebook users in their respective countries. We also heard anecdotally from someone who lives in Cuba that Facebook can be used in there as well, although the U.S. has strict embargoes against Cuba.

Facebook doesn’t specify what exactly it means by “embargoes” (trade embargo or arms embargo, or both) or how strictly this rule is followed. As Facebook’s popularity grows internationally, perhaps the social network should take another look at its terms of service. Other Web companies such as AOL, Microsoft, and Google are reportedly banning users in embargoed countries from using instant messaging and other software.

But Facebook may have a way out. It can apply for a a special export license if it can argue that its service promotes “independent activity intended to
strengthen civil society,” which is a rule that is used with Cuba, according to Department of Commerce guidelines.

We’ve contacted Facebook for a comment. We will update as soon as we hear back.