Copyright, Privacy, Technology

That Facebook Copyright And Privacy Notice Is Still Completely Meaningless

Stringing together nonsensical bits of pseudo-legalese cannot save you from succumbing to the rules and regulations of the Facebook gods.

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Ed. note: A version of this post was originally published on November 27, 2012. We republish it today as a public service to anyone considering posting this ludicrous “legal” notice on Facebook.

By now, we’re sure you’ve seen the ridiculous copyright notices that have been popping up on Facebook status updates left and right — and if you haven’t, then perhaps your friends are simply more intelligent than the masses who’ve been fooled into believing they can override the social media giant’s terms of use.

We’ll put this simply to avoid further confusion: stringing together nonsensical bits of pseudo-legalese cannot save you from succumbing to the rules and regulations of the Facebook gods. On the other hand, stringing together nonsensical bits of pseudo-legalese is sometimes what law blogging is all about, so we’ll help our readers debunk the myths of privacy and intellectual property rights on Facebook.

Aww, you thought Facebook couldn’t use all the things you posted on the site because of your privacy settings? Well, isn’t that just precious.

Here’s the latest copyright and privacy notice that’s been making the rounds on Facebook (a very similar one was circulated in 2012, 2013, and 2014):

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 January 4, 2015, 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.

Those who read this text can do a copy/paste on their Facebook wall. This will allow them to place themselves under the protection of copyright. 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. The actions mentioned above also apply to employees, students, agents and or other personnel under the direction of Facebook.

The content of my profile contains private information. The violation of my privacy is punishable by law (UCC 1-308 1-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).

Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are invited to publish a notice of this kind, or if they prefer, you can copy and paste this version.

If you have not published this statement at least once, you tacitly allow the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in the profile update.

Dude, thank God you cited the French Intellectual Property Code, the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Rome Statute, or else you would’ve been totally screwed… except for the fact that you kind of already are. (By the way, the Rome Statute? Seriously? From where we’re sitting, the only crime against humanity here is that you’ve taken the time to post this gibberish on Facebook.)

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Unfortunately, this iteration of idiotic internet lawyering doesn’t contain language about the “Berner Convention,” because as we mentioned previously, it “sounds like a nickname for stoner gatherings with friends.” Here’s more information:

First of all, it’s the Berne Convention…. [U]nder the Berne Convention, copyright is automatic, and Facebook acknowledges that you own your copyright to the things you oh-so-carelessly post on the site 24 hours a day. (By the way, sorry, but no one really cares about how beautiful your food is.)

Another thing that Facebook freely admits is that once you’ve agreed to their terms and conditions — which you already did, by signing up to use the site — you’ve granted the company a “non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook.” That being the case, you may want to delete that picture of your half-naked keg-stand.

For the non-believers who still think they can turn it around on Facebook just by updating their status, here’s some guidance from Snopes:

Facebook users cannot retroactively negate any of the privacy or copyright terms they agreed to when they signed up for their accounts nor can they unilaterally alter or contradict any new privacy or copyright terms instituted by Facebook simply by posting a contrary legal notice on their Facebook walls.

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If only contractual agreements could be voided by posting something akin to “LOL no” on Facebook, perhaps we’d have a more peaceful world (or a much more confusing one); but whatever, no one really cares about legal mumbo-jumbo — except for lawyers — until they think they have something to stomp their feet about online.

So why are people’s panties in such a bunch? When this nonsense first popped up online in 2012, it was because Facebook changed its privacy policy. For the details, we turned to Kashmir Hill, ATL editor emerita and goddess of all things privacy-related:

Facebook is adding a clause to the data use policy that allows it to share “information with affiliates,” i.e. other companies that Facebook owns. Bloomberg calls the move Google-like, pointing out that it will allow Facebook “to build unified profiles of its users that include people’s personal data from its social network and from Instagram.” I think it’s less like Google mashing up everything it knows about a person in one basket and more like a typical corporate clause. But it does mean that Facebook and Instagram info may now exist on the same server and won’t be kept separate, meaning the social networking can now see everything it knows about you through a Walden filter.

For additional information, you can read more at the Not-So Private Parts on Forbes. ABC News got a quote from a Facebook spokesman on this very topic:

“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, according to ABC News. “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.”

That’s about it when it comes to your new and improved privacy and intellectual property rights on Facebook. Next time you “Instagram That Hoe,” you’ll be allowing Facebook to share your stats with other affiliated platforms. Big deal.

Here’s a proposition for you: delete the things you’d prefer Facebook not to see. Here’s another one: don’t pretend you’re a lawyer and propagate completely meaningless information to all of your Facebook friends. And here’s the most novel suggestion of all: if you don’t like the changes, don’t use Facebook.

We hope you realize that this copyright and privacy notice means the same thing it did when it was posted it in 2012, 2013, and 2014: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You can’t change the terms of a legal agreement with a Facebook status update. Stop it.

Facebook Privacy Notice [Snopes]
Facebook privacy hoax making the rounds, again [CBS News]
Facebook Copyright Hoax Goes Viral Again [ABC News]
What You Actually Need To Know About The Changes Facebook Is Making To Its Privacy Policy [The Not-So Private Parts / Forbes]

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