Hi everyone,
I am emailing to give you advance notice that this February, 2023 the
Foundation legal department is planning to host a consultation about
updating the Wikimedia Terms of Use.[1] We have not settled on the exact
date to start, but are aiming for mid-February, probably around the 14th.
We’ve started a meta page where we’ll be posting some information and which
we’ll use for consultation when we go live.[2] So please watch that space.
The Terms of Use (ToU) are the legal terms that govern the use of websites
hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. We will be gathering your feedback on a
draft proposal from February through April. The draft will be translated
into several languages, still to be determined, with feedback accepted in
any language.
This update comes in response to several things:
1.
Implementing the Universal Code of Conduct
2.
Updating project text to the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license[3]
3.
Bringing our terms in line with current and recently passed laws
affecting the Foundation including the European Digital Services Act
Regarding the Universal Code of Conduct, pending the upcoming vote on
enforcement paths, we are instructed to ensure that the ToU include it in
some form.[4] We are starting to prepare for that now, though we will
modify the final proposed language depending on the result of the vote.
Regarding CC 4.0, the communities had determined as the result of a 2016
consultation[5] that the projects should upgrade the main license for
hosted text from the current CC BY-SA 3.0 to CC BY-SA 4.0. We’re excited to
be able to put that into effect, which will open up the projects to
receiving a great deal of already existing CC BY-SA 4.0 text and improve
reuse and remixing of project content going forward.
Finally, regarding new laws, the last ToU update was in 2015, and that
update was a single item regarding paid editing. The last thorough revision
was 2012. While the law affecting hosting providers has held steady for
some time, with the recent passage of the EU’s Digital Services Act[6], we
are seeing more significant changes in the legal obligations for companies
like the Foundation that host large websites. So with a decade behind us
and the laws affecting website hosts soon changing, we think it’s a good
time to revisit the ToU and update them to bring them up to current legal
precedents and standards.
You can expect to hear more from the Foundation Legal Team in mid-February
as we get the proposed legal changes drafted for public discussion.
Best,
Jacob
[1]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_Use/en
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_department/2023_…
[3]
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Revised_enforceme…
[5]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_use/Creative_Commons_4.0
[6]
https://wikimedia.brussels/dsa-political-deal-done/
--
Jacob Rogers
Legal Director
Wikimedia Foundation
Pronouns: He/him
NOTICE: This message might have confidential or legally privileged
information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
delete it and let us know about the mistake. As an attorney for the
Wikimedia Foundation, for legal/ethical reasons I cannot give legal advice
to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff
members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please see
our legal disclaimer
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Legal_Disclaimer>.