Twitter releases a new Terms of Service, might be interesting but we’re not sure yet

Twitter has today release a new Terms of Service (Tos), something that would normally be as interesting as reporting about paint drying on a wall… except for one thing: founder Biz Stone sent a message to all Twitter users about it.

Stone doesn’t give much away in the email, saying that the new ToS is a result of Twitter gaining “a better understanding of how folks use the service.” The email points to a post on the official Twitter blog, that states that the changes include

Advertising—In the Terms, we leave the door open for advertising. We’d like to keep our options open as we’ve said before.

Ownership—Twitter is allowed to “use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute” your tweets because that’s what we do. However, they are your tweets and they belong to you.

APIs—The apps that have grown around the Twitter platform are flourishing and adding value to the ecosystem. You authorize us to make content available via our APIs. We’re also working on guidelines for use of the API.

SPAM—Abusive behavior and spam is also outlined in these terms according to the rules we’ve been operating under for some time.

The advertising clause might be the interesting part, suggesting that Twitter maybe looking at placing ads in Twitter streams:

The Services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the Content or information on the Services, queries made through the Services, or other information. The types and extent of advertising by Twitter on the Services are subject to change. In consideration for Twitter granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that Twitter and its third party providers and partners may place such advertising on the Services or in connection with the display of Content or information from the Services whether submitted by you or others.

The other notable change from the previous version is that Twitter has bumped up the language about how it’s not responsible for content, while at the same time leaving more of a door open to ban users who do the wrong thing.

The correspondence from Biz Stone might just be Twitter actively wanting to communicate that it’s listening and acting on what users want, although I’m half asleep now from having read it all so I’m not sure yet. If we’ve missed something, leave a comment and let us know.