Better to be safe than sorry…..The Lawyer’s Opinion

Currently, a chain letter is once again going through Facebook and ignorant people are jumping on the bandwagon like herd animals.

The letter begins with:

Better to be safe than sorry. An attorney recommended that we post this. Good enough for me. The violation of privacy can be punished by law.

and also includes the actually old nonsense

I do not give Facebook or anyone associated with Facebook permission to use my images, information, messages or posts, past or future.

Even if it is true that the “violation of privacy can of course be punished “by law”, because a violation of data protection law can result in fines from the data protection authorities, the entire chain letter is, who guesses it, of course nonsense.

No member of Facebook has to publish this or any other note for Facebook to comply with applicable European data protection law.

Since last year, Facebook has been bound by even stricter legal data protection regulations, and everyone has a comprehensive list of rights, such as access and deletion, against companies like Facebook and, in principle, against anyone who processes data. Furthermore, Facebook is also bound by its own T&Cs, which, upon registration with Facebook, have become part of the contract between Facebook and the user. Of course, these also include rules regarding the use of images, texts, privacy settings and much more.

Permission to use images, information, news or contributions, have long been granted by the GTC. Facebook could not offer any service at all without these permissions (which I will not go into in detail because of the complexity).

Other contents of the chain letter are also, at least in the way they are presented, absolute legal nonsense, including the alleged codes of law such as the “Roman Statute”.

Everyone should definitely refrain from publishing this chain letter further. It will in doubt only contribute to the amusement or annoy other members!

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.