If you are anything like me, you check in with your life by reading through your Facebook feed a few times a day or hour, just depending on what is going on in your life. There are a lot of times when Facebook releases an update that privacy terms are changed. Yesterday, I was inundated with post that bared the following message:
In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!
(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws. By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook’s direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).
Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.
People are posting this in the hopes of keeping their information private and not allow Facebook to use it in any way. The truth of the situation is that when users sign up for Facebook, they agree to terms of use, which cannot be retroactively negated. Here is the link to this particular hoax: http://www.snopes.com/computer/facebook/privacy.asp
Whenever you see something like this on Facebook and it seems like it may not be true, check it out on a site like Snopes.com. Snopes.com does a good job of describing the origin of hoaxes and why they are or are not a hoax.
