You didn’t know Facebook made a change to their data use policy? That’s probably because they sent the email to users the night before Thanksgiving, right when you decided to unplug and relax for a couple of days.
In fact, you may have seen other Facebook users posting a “copyright notice” to claim ownership of content before you even realized Facebook made a policy change.
The “copyright notice” post your Facebook friends are sharing is a hoax. Both Facebook and Snopes have released statements confirming that the post is useless. You “signed” a user agreement when you created your Facebook account, and must abide by Facebook’s policies- changes and all- if you continue to use the platform. No ridiculous post can override that fact.
So what provisions did Facebook change, exactly, to their Data Use Policy?
- Facebook users will no longer be able to vote on changes to the privacy policy. They will still be able to comment on the provisions, however.
- Facebook may obtain data about you “from our affiliates or our advertising partners” to “improve the quality of ads.”
But What About the Copyright Stuff?
And no changes were made regarding the rights to the content you post, as suggested by the hoax posts. Facebook’s terms of use still reads, “You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings.”
However, the terms also say:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
So, copyright law protects your content, but your privacy and application settings dictate how Facebook is permitted to use that content. If you’re worried, check your settings to ensure you’re sharing what you want, with whom you want.
And if you’re a station or show using Facebook for marketing and listener engagement, make your content a strong representation of your brand, and make it public to increase reach.
Thanks to Don Anthony at The Morning Mouth/Jockline Daily who asked me to ponder this. Read the full Data Use Policy here.