Warning! Facebook warns users about hoax privacy messages

Facebook is warning people not to fall prey to the recent hoax messages making rounds on the world's largest social network website which ask users to post a legal notice to retain copyright of their pictures and sign up for a paid monthly subscription.

Users of Facebook were inundated with messages on their news feeds reposted by friends that warn if they don't act fast, Facebook will be allowed to infringe on their privacy. These hoaxes play on real concerns that consumers have about how their personal information greeting used by Internet giants such as Facebook, Google and Netflix, among others, who have in the past been accused of violating their users' privacy, CNET reported.

One of the hoaxes, which resurface every couple of years, warns users to post what sounds like a legally binding statement to their feeds that prohibits Facebook from using their photos, content or personal information without users' permission, the report said. The hoax promises to exempt those who repost the legal-sounding statement from Facebook's Data Use Policy, a document that governs how Facebook may use its members' data that they agree to when they sign up to use the service.

However, of course, once approved, the contract cannot be altered by users. The statement goes on to state that violation of privacy can be punished under the Uniform Commercial Code, a set of laws that govern commercial transactions in the US. However, the section cited in the message deals not with privacy but with contract terms that conflict with certain rights.

Another hoax says users can protect their privacy by purchasing a USD 5.99 month subscription to ensure that their posts stay private. Facebook's efforts still haven't stopped users from fearing the worst. The last big flare-up was in January. There was another one in 2012. And Internet rumour site Snopes.com documents another variation dating back to 2009, the report said. The Menlo Park, California-based Internet giant has warned users to be wary of these hoaxes in the past, and the recent round apparently warranted a new but humorous address.