Facebook moved quickly over the past few days to quell a potential uprising among its millions of users, following a post by one alarmed user who actually read the Terms of Use document all Facebook users must agree to before their Facebook accounts are opened.

The uproar erupted over the user’s interpretation of the Facebook terms covering ‘User Content Posted on the Site’. The poster and many others who got on the bandwagon thought Facebook was surreptitiously claiming ownership of all the content they posted.

Facebook reps rushed to say, “It ain’t so!” The ultimate result, by late yesterday, was an updated, clarified Terms of Use document.

Facebook lawyer Suzie White explained, in the official Facebook blog:

We used to have several different documents that outlined what people could and could not do on Facebook, but now we’re consolidating all this information to one central place. We’ve also simplified and clarified a lot of information that applies to you, including some things you shouldn’t do when using the site.

As always, protecting your privacy and information is of the utmost importance to us, and these updates provide you with the same level of protection you have come to expect from Facebook.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg later blogged:

Our philosophy that people own their information and control who they share it with has remained constant. A lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective of the rights we need to provide this service to you. Over time we will continue to clarify our positions and make the terms simpler.

The revised Terms of use are posted here.