Posting Photos on Facebook
April 19, 2022 10:06 AM   Subscribe

Does posting a photograph on Facebook give them any rights to use that photograph without your permission?
posted by Raybun to Computers & Internet (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Facebook's TOS explicitly states that you are the owner of your posted content. However, it also says that "... when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos or videos) on or in connection with our products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content." That means, among other things, that Facebook can license your content to others (but not to make money off it) without your knowledge or consent. You still own it, but you don't exactly get to control it 100%.
posted by slkinsey at 10:25 AM on April 19, 2022 [3 favorites]


Yes.

By using Facebook, you have agreed to an EULA that gives Meta a “non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license" to use anything you post. They do not have copyright on your images or text, but they can use them without permission, for anything they want.
posted by riotnrrd at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


From Section 3 of Facebook's Terms of service:

"Specifically, when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights on or in connection with our Products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). This means, for example, that if you share a photo on Facebook, you give us permission to store, copy, and share it with others (again, consistent with your settings) such as service providers that support our service or other Meta Products you use. This license will end when your content is deleted from our systems."
posted by wryly at 10:32 AM on April 19, 2022


They don't have the rights to use your photograph without permission. However, you are giving them permission to use your photograph by uploading it.
posted by Jairus at 12:58 PM on April 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


You kind of have to give Meta that right, so they can share your photos across Facebook, preview it in notifications, create the cute little "you've been friends 10 years!" collages, etc. So it's not as sinister as it may sound on the surface. Not that they can't or won't do something sinister with your content in the future.
posted by COD at 2:44 PM on April 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


Also, anyone with access to your photos, whether a friend or a "friend of a friend", can screenshot your photo and do anything they want with it, unless it's watermarked.
posted by annieb at 3:28 PM on April 19, 2022


Doesn't even have to be screen shotted. Just go to fullview, with a couple of clicks, and copy it. It is out there.
posted by Oyéah at 3:42 PM on April 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


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