Have you seen this one going around…AGAIN? Claims that if you post a specific statement as a status update on your Facebook page, that Facebook can’t or won’t be able to ever use your info? All because you post some “legalese” that you copied and pasted from someone else’s status and someone else claims it is true. ‘Cuz everything we read on the internet is true, right? (If you didn’t pick up on it, I’m being very sarcastic here.)
Haven’t seen it? Here’s a snippet:
“Due to the fact that Facebook has chosen to involve software that will allow the theft of my personal information, I state: at this date of INSERT DATE, in response to the new guidelines of Facebook, pursuant to articles L.111, 112 and 113 of the code of intellectual property, I declare that my rights are attached to all my personal data drawings, paintings, photos, video, texts etc. published on my profile and my page. For commercial use of the foregoing my written consent is required at all times.
By this statement, I tell Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, broadcast, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and or its content.”
Ok, that’s quite enough of that. You get the gist. The full message is too long for me to waste blog-space on.
Anyway, this is worthless; it reminds me of those old email chain letters. Scare tactics I guess, but I personally don’t see the point. I haven't heard of any fraud related to the posts, but I can see the potential (i.e. someone inserting a link "it's true, click here to find out more! to infect your computer). Over the past few weeks my notifications have largely consisted of this and similar messages (like Facebook will start charging you to keep your information private, also pure nonsense). Some have even PM’d me asking if I had seen it / done it.
My exact answer: Yes, I have seen it…for like 5 years. Nope, haven’t done it. It’s spam.
Reality Check
For one, and I really can’t stress this enough, it’s a social media site. It’s a public website. You do have some control over the info you post, but frankly if you don’t want your boss to ever see the picture of your not-so-good decisions in Cabo last year, then don’t post it on a social media site.
Secondly, to my knowledge, Facebook has never claimed copyright to your personal info, family photos, or whatever else you post. You control what you post based on your settings and their terms. I do suggest you check into privacy terms every so often, because those terms do change. And check your settings. If you want to restrict who can forward your info and pictures, then you have to check all the right boxes. This will also help reduce the chance of your online identity being stolen to commit other frauds.
And really, ask any attorney (I did), you cannot retroactively negate terms you agreed to when you signed up for the account, after the fact, by posting some statement like this; and you can’t alter or contradict new privacy or copyright terms just by posting something on your page. You automatically accept new terms by continuing to use the service. Some laws protect you as a consumer, and other things you agreed to when you hit “sign me up!” or continued to use the service.
But it’s not hopeless!
You do have some options (reposting the above gunk not being one of them).
- Read the fine print before signing up for sites, especially social media. Understand what you post (in this very public forum) can be shared or seen by others. What you post on the internet isn’t as private as you may think. If someone really wants it, they’ll get it. So if it’s really important that individuals outside your friends don’t see what you post, my best advice is don’t post it. (Hence you will NEVER see the 1982 photos of me when I was going thru my Madonna look-alike phase. To my knowledge, I own the only hard copies and I won’t be posting…ever.)
- If you don’t like terms on the site, cancel the account. A friend of mine used to complain about all the advertisements (Facebook is crawling with cookies); it’s a free site. They have to make money somehow. Don’t like it? Well, your only real option is to close the account. By using the site, you agree to the tracking cookies which track everything you do on the net…every search, every hotel booking, every purchase, etc.
- If you elect to close the account, clean your computer – all those cookies will still be there.
- If you want to try to influence future changes or just keep updated on privacy changes in general, join the Facebook Site Governance page.
So as you can see, the message going around is pure spam and junk. It’s worthless. Save your friends from reading and forwarding. If enough people stop forwarding and educate others, we might see this campaign finally go away, hopefully before it poses a risk to your or your computer.