Facebook Copyright Hoax Appearing In Newsfeeds
By Edward Cardenas
SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - Facebook users who are posting privacy notices on their walls are falling for a hoax, according to reports.
The post, which includes the phrasing: "I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future," has gone viral in recent days but has little legal bearing, according to Snopes.com.
According to the post, Facebook users cannot retroactively negate any of the privacy or copyright terms they agreed to when they signed up for their accounts.
Additionally, users cannot contradict new privacy or copyright terms instituted by Facebook by posting a statement on their wall, Snopes added.
These privacy posts which began popping up during the weekend are just the latest version of notices which began appearing in 2012.
While Facebook does not own content, Snopes stated, it has the right to use anything that is not protected with Facebook's privacy and applications settings.
If items are such as photos, videos and status updates are set to public, the company can use them. Users can change their settings by clicking on the lock icon on the Facebook homepage.