Facebook Privacy Notice Hoax: Thousands Fooled by Fake Copyright Post
The Facebook privacy notice hoax going viral on the social media website has fooled many over the past few days. Thousands believed the fake post, which suggests that some text on their wall or timeline will prevent their private information from being used or seen.
The Facebook privacy notice reads as follows:
"In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, graphics, comics, paintings, 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!"
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"(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws.)," it also reads, with mentions of obscure laws and the Rome Statute by the end of the post.
The hoax has been very effective because Facebook has had privacy concerns in the past; when the Newsfeed was introduced- updates like wall posts and birthdays were now shown for the world to see- many users were incensed at the changes. Similar protests begin whenever the giant website changes its privacy settings.
The problem with this is that it's not true at all. Robert Scoble, a social media guru, has helped debunk the idea rather bluntly.
"If you are posting about copyright on Facebook and you haven't done your research you are an idiot," he wrote to his 434,000 subscribers.
At its most basic premise, Facebook requires every user to agree to a set of legal terms and conditions before making an account. Simply by using Facebook, everyone agrees to them, and is not at liberty to change the terms at will- and especially not by a few lines of text posted on a timeline.
Another reason the Facebook privacy notice hoax has fooled so many is because they haven't bothered to look at the privacy settings already provided. Facebook allows control over who sees what, including friends and family.
There are few ways to make sure your information is copyrighted, and posting on your own Facebook timeline isn't one of them. To avoid your personal information getting on the internet, either delete it, or don't post it at all.
