The World According to Mitch

For possibly the fifteenth year in a row, this ridiculous scam is going around. It popped up on my feed from someone earlier this week.

Hello It’s official. Signed at 8:15AM. It was even on TV. Mine really turned blue. Don’t forget that tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule (aka… new name, META) where they can use your photos. Don’t forget the deadline is today!!!

I do not authorize META, Facebook or any entity associated with Facebook to use my photos, information, messages or posts, past or future.

With this statement, I notify Facebook that it is strictly prohibited to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. Violation of privacy may be punishable by law.

Here’s how to do If you are thinking of getting off FB because of the volume of sales ads and trash stuff. So hold your finger anywhere in this post and click ′copy’. Go to your page where it says ‘What’s on your mind?’ Tap your finger anywhere in the blank field. Click paste. This upgrades the system.

Hello new and old friends!

IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!!!

Hold your finger anywhere in this message and “copy” will appear. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, create a new post and place your finger anywhere in the empty field. “Paste” will appear and click Paste.

This will bypass the system….

He who does nothing consents

According to the show 60 Minutes:

Just in case you missed it: a lawyer advised us to post this. The violation of privacy can be punished by law NOTE: Facebook Meta is now a public entity. Every member must post a note like this. If you do not publish a statement at least once, it will be technically understood that you are allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.

I HEREBY DECLARE THAT I DO NOT GIVE MY PERMISSION FOR FACEBOOK OR META TO USE ANY OF MY PERSONAL DATA.

——

Okay, great. You’ve stood up for yourself. Now let’s take a look at the Terms and Conditions that you had to agree to when you signed up:

On our Products, you can send messages, take photos and videos, buy or sell things and much more. We call all of the things you can do on our products “activity”. We collect your activity across our products and information that you provide, such as:

• Content that you create, such as posts, comments or audio
• Content that you provide through our camera feature or your camera roll settings, or through our voice-enabled features. Learn more about what we collect from these features, and how we use information from the camera for masks, filters, avatars and effects.
• Messages that you send and receive, including their content, subject to applicable law. On some Products, you can use end-to-end encrypted messages. Learn more about how end-to-end encryption works.
• Metadata about content and messages, subject to applicable law.
• Types of content, including ads, that you view or interact with, and how you interact with it
• Apps and features you use, and what actions you take in them.
• Purchases or other transactions that you make, such as through Meta checkout experiences, including credit card information.
• Hashtags that you use
• The time, frequency and duration of your activities on our Products
• Your photo or video selfie if you provide it when you contact us for account support

Now: on the same page, there is a note of exception, which reads:

Information with special protections

You might choose to provide information about your religious views, your sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership. These and other types of information could have special protections under the laws of your jurisdiction.

(All of this can be found at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/?subpage=1.subpage.1-YourActivityAndInformation)

So let’s review: Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram and more) makes it very clear that they collect your activity, and they list what that is… which essentially amounts to everything you do on their site. It says that there might be information protected under the law… but that’s it. There is nothing that you can say or do that will change that.