Facebook 'copyright' status update totally bogus

December 4, 2014

A message claiming to protect the copyright of users’ photos, status updates and other creations shared on Facebook is making the rounds. There are different variations of the message, but most of them contain something to this effect:

Due to the fact that Facebook has chosen to involve software that will allow the theft of my personal information, I do declare the following: on this day, 28th November 2014, in response to the new Facebook guidelines and under 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, texts etc… published on my profile since the day I opened my account … Those reading this text can copy it and paste it on their Facebook wall. This will allow them to place themselves under the protection of copyright.

The problem: it is meaningless as a matter of law. You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, however, Facebook has the right to use your content according to how you set your privacy settings. This is the standard for sites with user-generated content.

The lesson: if you are concerned about sharing something on Facebook, DO NOT SHARE IT!