You may have seen that very message pop up -- perhaps time and time again -- in your Facebook feed. The message has been making the rounds on the social network. It encourages people to copy and paste the text and post it on their own walls if they want to be placed "under protection of copyright laws."
It's a frightful message and those worried that Facebook will own their photos or other media are posting it -- unaware that it is a hoax. Here's the truth: Facebook doesn't own your media and there is NO such thing as the Berner Convention!
"We have noticed some statements that suggest otherwise and we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the facts -- when you post things like photos to Facebook, we do not own them," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement. "Under our terms (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms), you grant Facebook permission to use, distribute, and share the things you post, subject to the terms and applicable privacy settings."
Brad Shear, a Washington-area attorney and blogger who is an expert on social media, said the message was "misleading and not true." He said that when you agree to Facebook's terms of use you provide Facebook a "non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any content you post. You do not need to make any declarations about copyright issues since the law already protects you. The privacy declaration [in this message] is worthless and does not mean anything."
Snopes.com, a site dedicated to clearing up fallacies on the Internet, reminds Facebook users of that same thing. "Facebook users cannot retroactively negate any of the privacy or copyright terms they agreed to when they signed up for their Facebook accounts nor can they unilaterally alter or contradict terms instituted by Facebook simply by posting a contrary legal notice on their Facebook walls."
This isn't the first time a message like this has popped up on Facebook. A similar message made the rounds in June and a few years ago as well.
Bottom line? Don't bother copying, pasting, and posting. It was a hoax before and is still a hoax now.
I'm convinced of a several things:
#1 - There's a sucker born every minute...and every 30 seconds, there is also a snake-oil salesman born to try to take advantage of suckers. That's how they make a living. Duh!
#2 - "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Whether the quote was originally said by Sydney J. Harris, John Kennedy, Eldridge Cleaver, Charles Rosner, or even John McClane/Bruce Willis from the movie "Die Hard", the Truth of the quote is profoundly simple!
#2 - I think some people enjoy living in ignorance because it feels "safe" or "comfortable". Stepping out of ignorance, means to challenge what is known and not known. Challenge means growth. Growth means change. And with change comes responsibility. Responsibility to live with integrity with oneself, with others, with one's community. To do otherwise, is harmful...
#3 - I've said this before and I'll say it a million times more: The greatest, most powerful, smartest computer is the one between our ears! I earn my living by providing IT support to people of all walks of life. My truly greatest sense of accomplishment is empowering people how to use their Personal Computer...the one between their ears!
References:
Facebook Terms: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/computer/facebook/privacy.asp
