[Foundation-l] Fwd: [Wikimedia Announcements] Draft Terms of Use for Review

[Nathan]

The previous terms contained essentially no behavioral prohibitions. I'm not
sure if this was out of concern for Section 230 status, the independence of
projects wrt policy making, or some other reason, but this new set of terms
is a huge departure. It prohibits a broad range of unwanted activity, which
raises the question: how does the WMF intend to enforce it? Would enforcing
these terms threaten its immunity as a service provider? If the terms are
not consistently enforced, doesn't that present its own set of liability
concerns?

I'd also like to see some exceptions to the indemnity terms. The way I read
it, an editor could violate a law that itself contradicts international
human rights norms, and if the WMF incurred any joint liability as a result,
the indemnification attempts to transfer that liability to the editor. I can
see unintended consequences coming from this; even if as a practical matter
the WMF can make a case-by-case decision, departing from the terms - where
the terms allow no flexibility - presents its own problems. If for no other
reason, stating a human rights exception to the terms would make clear
Wikimedia's intention to be a good corporate citizen (a fact that is
otherwise just implied by the folksy writing style.)

Nathan