New Facebook Guidelines Chain Letter About Copyright Laws Is Hoax

You might have opened up your Facebook today, and saw some many friends posting about "new Facebook guidelines for copyright laws" or something of that nature.  Well, I'm here to tell you, this is a hoax and you have no need to worry about it!

What you're probably seeing is somebody posting something like this:

Facebook:

In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!

(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws)

By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook's direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).

Well, according to Huffington Post, you don't have to bother with posting this, there is no legal meaning at all in anything that people are seeing in the chain letter or the postings they may be compelled to put up due to the letter.

Huffington Post:

But experts say not to bother posting the message at all.

"It is my understanding that the text has no legal meaning at all," Chester Wisniewski, a senior security expert at Sophos who has written about this chain letter in the past, told The Huffington Post.

"Your photos are your photos -- you haven't given up your copyright," Wisniewski said. "But by posting it to Facebook, you have given them the right to share it given their sometimes confusing privacy settings."

Facebook echoed this in a statement to HuffPost.

This is just another example of how a message can go viral so fast whether or not there is any truth to it.