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| - Fact Check: No, Facebook is not using posts made by users in lawsuits against them
A viral post on Facebook says that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the social networking platform has changed its privacy rules, allowing it to use pictures and posts shared by users in lawsuits against them.
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India Today Fact Check
This is an old rumour. Facebook has not come up with any such policy.
A viral post on Facebook says that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the social networking platform has changed its privacy rules, allowing it to use pictures and posts shared by users in lawsuits against them. But this can be prevented by posting a disclaimer on the user’s Facebook wall, the post says.
Multiple Facebook users have posted the viral message, part of which says, “In the confusion around Covid 19, Don’t forget that tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule that our photos can be used. Remember the deadline is today. They can be used in lawsuits against us. Everything we posted today goes public, even messages deleted.”
The message goes on to say: It takes nothing to make a simple copy and paste: better safe than sorry. “I don’t allow Facebook or any Facebook training to use my photos, information, messages or posts, either from the past or in the future”. With this statement, I give a notification to Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to reveal, copy, distribute or take other actions against me based on this profile and / or its contents.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral message is an old online rumour that has been circulated on Facebook over the years time and again. This time, the message has been tweaked from earlier versions to make it look more relevant by linking it to Covid-19.
First of all, just by posting a notice on Facebook, a user cannot undo the terms and conditions agreed with it while creating an account. Second, Facebook had refuted this claim in 2012 and since then has not changed its terms and conditions regarding intellectual property rights on the content shared by a user on the platform.
The archived versions of the posts can be seen here and here. Many Facebook users have shared the message believing it to be true.
In 2012, a similar rumour had spread when there were reports that Facebook will “revoke users’ rights to vote on policy changes”. At that time, Facebook released a statement calling the social media message "false".
According to Facebook’s “Terms of Service” its policy on intellectual property rights of users has not changed either.
It reads, “You own the intellectual property rights (things like copyright or trademarks) in any such content that you create and share on Facebook and the other Facebook Company Products you use. Nothing in these Terms takes away the rights you have to your own content. You are free to share your content with anyone else, wherever you want.”
Facebook has clarified this internet rumour on its “Help Community” section several times.
Hence, this old, refurbished rumour that by posting a message on the Facebook wall, one can stop the social media giant from using pictures and other content is not true. In 2012, a similar claim was debunked by international fact-check website “Snopes”.
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