Don't believe that privacy hoax all over your Facebook feed

Sound the alarms: Facebook is about to start charging a monthly fee to keep your data private! It's all over your News Feed, so it must be true!
Just kidding. The social media giant, in truth, is doing nothing of the sort. But that hasn't stopped everyone from sharing statuses that warn people to post a disclaimer about privacy, pay up, or do nothing — in which case, you should expect your personal data to become public.

See also: 14 honest Facebook buttons that need to exist

If you're a longtime Facebook member, you'll remember several similar hoaxes in years past — and countless others have fallen for it. A note that began circulating over the past few days urged people to get ahead of a supposed "change" that would come on Monday by copying and pasting a declaration as their Facebook status that would protect their private content from being made public.
Here's the type of note you've probably seen in your News Feed:

As of September 28 2015 8:50 pm Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, 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 1 308-1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute).

However, if anyone posting these statuses had stopped to read Facebook's terms of service, they would have found this crystal clear language: "You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings."
Facebook took notice and tried to stamp out the rumor on Monday night, making light of the situation.

While there may be water on Mars, don't believe everything you read on the internet today. Facebook is free and it...
Posted by Facebook on Monday, September 28, 2015

If all this feels like Groundhog Day, you’re not alone. In 2012, the same hoax flared up on the social network.
In the meantime, share this widely on Facebook instead — and bookmark it for the next time you see this hoax burning its way through your feed.
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