Fact Check: No, Facebook is not using your pictures and posts in lawsuits against it amid COVID-19 pandemic
The post claiming amid COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has changed its privacy rules, allowing it to use pictures and posts shared by users in lawsuits against them is fake.
- By: Urvashi Kapoor
- Published: Jun 13, 2020 at 05:14 PM
- Updated: Jun 13, 2020 at 05:46 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News): A viral post on Facebook claims that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Facebook has changed its privacy rules, allowing it to use posts shared by users in lawsuits against them. It further claims that this can be prevented by posting a disclaimer on the user’s Facebook wall. Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post is fake. The message is old and circulated over social media time and again.
Claim
The post shared on Facebook reads: “In the confusion around Covid 19, and just in case this is true. 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. 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. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my personal life can be punished by law.” The complete post can be read in its archived version here.
Investigation
Vishvas News investigated and found that, according to the ‘Terms and Conditions‘ of Facebook, “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.”
On the ‘Help Community‘ page of Facebook, a user has posted a question in which he has pasted the same message as the viral post. Facebook has replied to the post stating that this is a scam message and users should report this post whenever they see it.
Vishvas News contacted Facebook through email. The spokesperson of Facebook quoted: “Facebook takes privacy seriously and we have a range of controls built into our product that enable people to determine who sees the content they share on Facebook. We would never arbitrarily make private posts and photographs public without express consent.”
The post is shared on Facebook by a user named Raquel Manrique. When we scanned the profile of the user we found that the user is based out of Florida.
Conclusion: The post claiming amid COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has changed its privacy rules, allowing it to use pictures and posts shared by users in lawsuits against them is fake.
- Claim Review : Facebook is using your pictures and posts in lawsuits against it amid COVID-19 pandemic
- Claimed By : FB User: Raquel Manrique
- Fact Check : False
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