Remember the social networking site MySpace? That once popular exemplar of tricked-out design and overcrowded widgetry that by allowing – nay, encouraging – endless customization of themes, quickly became the preferred cyberhaunt of tweens, skinheads, and heavy metal aficionados, in the process actively discouraged participation by anyone with a functioning brain?

What a relief it was when we first set our browsers to Facebook with its cool white interface and quick loading times! Facebook’s design is intentionally understated, the better to showcase user-created content and minimize distractions.

Some people just don’t know when to leave well enough alone. Ever since 2008 when Facebook pulled ahead of MySpace in the Internet numbers game, apps have been popping up all over the place that encourage you to give Facebook that MySpace look. The most popular of these is a browser add-on called PageRage.

Skinning

In computer talk, a “skin” is a customized graphic interface applied to a computer program. Some skins merely change the look of a piece of software, but most also have some impact on its functionality. The computer programs for which skins are most often created are instant messaging applications, media players and browsers. Websites are also frequently skinnable through the manipulation of cascading style sheets (CSS, and the use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT.)

PageRage

PageRage is a free browser plug-in that works with Firefox and Internet Explorer, aimed at users who want to skin their Facebook profiles. Changes to layouts made from either browser will be viewable on both browsers.

Once you sign up for the service and download the plug-in, you can find any number of Facebook themes at www.pagerage.com, installable with the click of a button. (Interestingly, Yontoo – PageRage’s parent company – also makes another plug-in called Sanity Switch that deactivates MySpace customizations.) Other popular apps that let users skin the Facebook cat include FaceTheme, Boost, and Facebook Styler for Google Chrome.

PageRage makes no actual changes to Facebook profile pages themselves, of course; and users viewing the profile without the modified browser will still see the same white background and functional design they’ve grown to know and love without any add-ons.

Back in 2008, PageRage had its own page on Facebook. It does no longer – from which we may deduce that Facebook is not 100% behind PageRage’s agenda. Indeed, most of the heavy hitters on the World Wide Web are no longer behind PageRage’s agenda since PageRage – and FaceTheme as well — are classic examples of adware, a type of software that’s customized to display advertisements. The McAfee Site Advisor lists both PageRage and FaceTheme as safe for your computer which doesn’t mean the programs aren’t adware, only that they aren’t malware or spyware, feeding information about your computer back to the companies’ computers to program the ads that are displayed.

Is PageRage’s Adware Installation Legal?

Adware is not illegal per se. Both PageRage and FaceTheme display ads, the companies claim, in order to subsidize their services so that they can continue offering the Facebook-skinning properties of their browser plug-ins for free. Many would argue to the contrary, however, that the skinning app is mere fish bait for the adware.

The Federal Trade Commission requires that every software bundle containing adware must either clearly and conspicuously disclose the presence of adware in its ad copy or else integrate that notice into a legally binding end user license agreement (EULA.)

Nowhere on PageRage’s site or in any of its other promotional copy will you find a single mention of how in addition to allowing you to skin Facebook, the PageRage plug-in will conscript your browser to serve ads. PageRage’s EULA, a click-through bundled with the .exe installer, does contain mention of the ads, though doubtless the majority of users, anxious to get to the fun part, don’t read it very carefully before they hit “I Agree.” Still, it would appear to comply with the FTC’s criteria.

Does Facebook Have Grounds For Legal Action Against PageRage?

Website design is an evolving legal field with very little clear consensus or precedent. Clearly text, images, multimedia, and certain kinds of proprietary programming like Java Applets, JavaScripts, and ActiveX scripts can all be copyrighted, but can the design of a website itself?

In theory, yes – but what you are copyrighting in this instance is not the “design” per se but the actual HTML source code and CSS. The easiest way to do this is by embedding some kind of copyright statement into the source code comments. This will not prevent other designers from “borrowing” your source code, however. The only effective way to protect your source code from infringement is deploy technical measures that will make it impossible for other users to view your source code.

As we mentioned earlier, PageRage and its ilk wreak no actual changes to Facebook’s site itself when they change the social networking site’s appearance on participating users’ computers; they merely tweak the way that Facebook looks when using a particular browser. It appears unlikely, then, that Facebook would have any grounds for legal action against PageRage’s developers.

If you have a similar case in which you require legal assistance, contact a lawyer who is knowledgeable in Internet law.