FB copyright notice claiming to protect users` info `a hoax`: Report

Wellington: A new copyright notice on Facebook that claims to protect users’ information from being disclosed, copied, disseminated, is a hoax, it has emerged.

The new notice uses lots of big, legal-sounding words and cites things like the Rome Statute, UCC Section 1-308, and the "Berner Convention" (presumably a misspelling of the Berne Convention). Earlier in June, the hoax capitalised on people`s uncertainty over Facebook`s debut as a publicly traded company, which in itself had no bearing on users` privacy rights or copyright protections, Stuff.co.nz reports. According to the report, this time it`s playing on people`s confusion about Facebook`s proposed changes to its terms of service. The report pointed out that the proposed changes are real, but no status update that you post will have any bearing on how they affect you. If you want to weigh in on the proposals, you can do that on their site. If enough people comment on the changes, Facebook may even allow its users to vote on them, though the company`s representatives have been a little cagey on that point. But again, referencing a bunch of legal hokum on your Facebook profile will have absolutely no effect on what Facebook can and cannot do with your information, the report said. Nor will refusing to post said hokum on your profile open you to any new privacy violations, it added. ANI