TORONTO – You may have noticed some of your Facebook friends sharing a long-winded post regarding Facebook’s copyright policies recently. The post – which is usually a good three to four paragraphs long – is made up of legal jargon that reads in short, “I declare that my rights are attached to all my personal data, drawings, paintings, photos, texts etc. published on my profile.”
But before you copy and paste the text into your own profile – listen up. The status update means absolutely nothing.
READ MORE: Facebook users falling for another copyright protection hoax
It appears that many users have fallen victim to a version of the social media email chain letter – you know, the kind that used to tease something to the effect of, “if you don’t share this email with 20 friends you won’t win $1 million.”
This type of status updates does nothing to change Facebook’s Terms of Service, which each user must accept when signing up for the site. Additionally, many of the copyright concerns listed in the letter are already addressed by the service agreement.
First, let’s look at an example of one of the many variations of this post:
“Concerning the new Facebook policies/guidelines…
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- B.C. introduces legislation recognizing Haida Gwaii Indigenous title
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Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are invited to post a notice of this kind, or if you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you have not published this statement at least once, you will tacitly allow the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile.”
Copyright rules are outlined in Facebook’s rules
In its “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,” Facebook outlines that you own all of the content and information you post to the social network.
According to Facebook, that license only ends when you delete your Facebook page.
Additionally, if you post anything to Facebook’s “Public” network (meaning every user can see it – not just your friends) you are allowing everyone, including people who don’t use Facebook, to access and use that information.
Users can review their privacy settings, including what content is public, through Facebook’s “Privacy Checkup” tool. You can access your privacy settings by clicking on the lock symbol at the top right hand side of your Facebook page.
READ MORE: Facebook encourages users to review settings with ‘privacy checkup’
Don’t be fooled by lines that read, “If you have not published this statement at least once, you will tacitly allow the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile.”
According to experts, these status updates have no legal standing against Facebook’s user agreement.
“Unfortunately taking control of your online identity is not as simple as making a declaration on your Facebook wall. Using any website to store content or personal details requires compliance with the site’s Terms of Service,” wrote Sophos security expert Chester Wisniewski in a blog post.
“These messages are simply another chain letter type hoax pinned upon wishful thinking.”
Copyright chain letters have been around for years
This isn’t the first time that these chain letters have started making the rounds on Facebook – this type of hoax has been around for years.
Sophos security first wrote about the chain letter in 2012 and, in June 2012, Facebook itself was forced to address the issue.
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