Twitter keeps it simple with new terms of service

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter Inc. keeps it simple, even when it comes to updating the legalese in its terms of service.

As part of changes made Thursday, Twitter translated some of the jargon into plain language, to lessen the chances that its users might get the wrong idea about what was happening.

In particular, Twitter wanted to leave no doubt that the short messages that people post on their profiles will always be their own, even though the San Francisco-based company eventually may try to profit from the "tweets" by allowing ads on the service.

"What's yours is yours — you own your content," Twitter wrote in a colored capsule that stood out from the rest of the surrounding text.

It seems Twitter wanted to avoid the kind of uproar that rattled Facebook Inc. this year after the popular networking site included some murky wording in its revised terms of service. The clumsy language left the impression that Facebook might claim ownership of the words and photos posted on its Web site. That triggered a revolt prompting the company to take down the offending terms and let its users vote on the Web site's policies.

While the tens of millions using Twitter as a communications tool apparently don't have to worry about losing control of their tweets, they may have to get used to seeing ads amid all the chatter.

Twitter has kept marketing out of the mix so far, but the new terms of service signaled that may change as the 3-year-old company explores ways to bring some revenue into a business that has been subsisting on its investors' money.

"We're leaving the door open for exploration in this area but we don't have anything to announce," Twitter wrote in another colored capsule on its revised terms.

On The Net:

twitter.com/tos