This week we’re talking about….Facebook hoaxes

You’re going to have to be a bit more specific

That's a good point. Facebook has always been full of them, from Mark Zuckerberg pledging to hand over $100 to each user that posts a specific update to monthly charges for users to keep their accounts open.

The latest hoax is actually a rehash of something that has been doing the rounds for a few years now. It appeared as long ago as 2012, and also surfaced earlier this year too.

This is the current status:

“I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute).”

At first glance, it looks a bit legal and vaguely authoritative. But in reality, it doesn’t mean a whole lot. And the Rome Statute the status refers to actually deals with the establishment of the International criminal Court rather than anything to do with privacy.

Essentially, it’s pointless. You might as well post “blah blah blah” over and over again.

So Facebook isn’t going to make all my posts public?

Not that we know of. And copying and pasting a vaguely legal sounding status would have no actual standing, even if it was planning on doing it. When you opened your facebook account, you signed up to terms and conditions of use. Over the years, Facebook has changed some of those terms, but every time it has, you would have been notified, asked to read them and sign up to the new privacy policy.

Facebook can’t change those without alerting users and asking them to agree to the new terms.

There’s another thing to note. Facebook’s current terms say that you grant them permission to use, distribute and share what you post on the site, but only within the terms you’ve signed up to, and only with respect to the privacy settings you have set for that material. So Facebook can’t take your photo that you locked down and shared only with your mother, sister and second cousin, and use it in an ad that is visible to everyone.

So basically, before you repost, take a few minutes to Google. In fact, we can just point you towards Snopes. com, which will usually have the hoax debunked before it hits your newsfeed.

But what if I see something I don’t like?

You are entitled to disagree to changes to the terms and conditions of social networks. But if you don’t click that all “agree” important box, it runs the risk of you not being able to use the site any more.

You can also make your feelings known to Facebook through its Facebook Governance page.

But hasn’t Facebook had some issues with privacy in the past?

Any time Facebook makes a major change, there is uproar. It turns out we’re creatures of habit. When the social network introduced the newsfeed, which alerted Facebook friends to all their activity on the site, people were less than impressed, and Zuckerberg apologised for how it was implemented. Then Timeline came along, which allowed friends to dip into your past posts according to month and year, and that also caused a bit of consternation.

Facebook has also had some guidance from data protection authorities. In 2012, it disabled the suggested tag/facial recognition system for European users.

And Austrian campaigner Max Schrems has taken action against the social network for what he claimed were privacy violations.

So what’s the answer?

Make sure your privacy settings are locked down to friends only as much as possible. Click on Privacy shortcuts>More settings>Privacy to see what you currently share with people and to change anything you’re not happy with.

Or better yet, don’t put anything too sensitive up there to start with. Facebook can’t share what you don’t give it access to.