Privacy is apparently on many Facebook users mind these past few weeks. Someone decided to make a post that, if posted to your wall, would protect the user from anyone stealing their material they've posted.
Sounds easy enough? Post a status, gain privacy. Wrong-o.
To start, Facebook is a private company that users agree to use through their terms and conditions. By accepting those and therefore using Facebook, you have agreed to follow whatever guidelines that private company wishes for the use of their product.
The post makes the claim that the content is "legally privileged and confidential". Hate to be the bearer of bad news but just because it has the word legal, doesn't make it so. Privileged information is one between two people of a protected relationship like a doctor or lawyer. Neither is it confidential or protected information.
The post then goes on to say the "violation of my personal privacy is punishable by law" and gives what seem to be two laws Uniform Commercial Code Article 1 Section 103, and Article 3 Section 308. Take a moment to read them below, I'm sure you haven't.
§ 1-103. Supplementary General Principles of Law Applicable.
Unless displaced by the particular provisions of this Act, the principles of law and equity, including the law merchant and the law relative to capacity to contract, principal and agent, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, Bankruptcy, or other validating or invalidating cause shall supplement its provisions.
§ 1-308. Performance or Acceptance Under Reservation of Rights.
A party who with explicit reservation of rights performs or promises performance or assents to performance in a manner demanded or offered by the other party does not thereby prejudice the rights reserved. Such words as "without prejudice", "under protest" or the like are sufficient.
The fact is that the UCC is for any financial transactions and needed to be implemented at the time that you signed the contract. It's not possible to retroactively change anything that was in the agreement that you accepted when first signing on to Facebook. In fact, Facebook even states in it's policies that users own all the content they post. The fact it is a publicly traded company does absolutely nothing to user or copyrighted images.
In fact, Facebook goes on to say that if they want to use any of your photos, you must first grant them the right...in writing. Others can use your publicly displayed information in a non-commercial setting (like media outlets), but not the private without your permission.
To sum up, Facebook doesn't own your information/content. It cannot take your information without your consent. And if you truly don't want your information displayed, fix the privacy settings.
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