Facebook is one of the most popular social networks. It is used for personal and professional purposes. The network’s popularity also attracts scammers who aim to steal your content. Although Facebook has already implemented a range of security measures to protect user data, this has not proven to be a big problem for scammers.
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According to Statista, Facebook is reported to have about 2.9 million users worldwide. Every day, they share massive amounts of content. When writing on a variety of topics (especially for a blog), users frequently use other people’s videos and images to make their content look more appealing.
This phenomenon is now referred to as “freebooting.” It stands for the act of copyrighted content being copied from a media hosting website and uploaded to the desired resource without the creator’s permission. In other words, it is common practice to present someone else’s content as one’s original to profit from it.
As a result, the author of the content may lose not only a portion of his audience but also investments made in the creation of this content and its advertising. Is there an effective solution to the problem?
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY CONTENT ON FACEBOOK?
It is difficult to create good content. Many creators invest not only effort but also time and money into producing a perfect video or piece of writing. This procedure frequently entails visiting writing services review websites such as Best Writers Online, which provide professional assistance.
However, some users prefer a more straightforward method of obtaining high-quality content. They copy and paste content from other websites into their blogs. If you have ever experienced intellectual property theft, you know how unpleasant and outrageous feeling it is.
Whether it is images, videos, or even a piece of written data, stolen content not only affects the copyright holder’s nervous system but also makes him consider taking appropriate preventive measures for the future.
What does copyright protect?
- Audiovisual works;
- Sound recordings;
- Musical compositions;
- Written material;
- Fine artworks.
Why protect your content on Facebook?
- Stealing content is a common problem among new entrepreneurs who do not want to put in the time or effort to create a high-quality image, text, or video. Furthermore, they frequently lack knowledge of how to write an effective description. Fortunately, there are writing services review websites such as Writing Judge that can assist you with this task. Instead, they prefer to steal the necessary content from a similar brand and share it on the network as their own. Furthermore, some of them feel no concern about this;
- Another fairly common scheme is the use of other people’s photos to create fake accounts to commit fraud. Moreover, fraudsters use photos not only of adult users but children as well.
- They profit from the tragedy of other people. Fraudsters create a “story” for the audience in which they ask for financial assistance for “the family in need.”
Luckily, quite often, people in the photos are recognized by their real friends who report about the issue to the owner of the picture and block the fraudsters’ account. Social networks and other large platforms with user content hire teams or contracting companies to moderate the posted content and analyze complaints from copyright holders. So, what can you do to prevent this from happening to you?
1. USE WATERMARKS AND LOGOS
It is the simplest way to keep your images and videos from being stolen. Watermarks and logos should be placed in areas where they cannot be cut with any editing tool.
As a result, the fraudster will skip your image because, as a rule, he does not want to spend time removing the marks. There are numerous paid and free apps and photo editors that allow you to place watermarks and logos on your images and videos:
- Snagit;
- Watermark X;
- My Watermarks;
- Salt;
- PhotoMarks;
- Add Watermark
- Visual Watermark;
- Watermark Photo.
These apps allow you to not only protect your content with watermarks but also style them to match the design of your website or blog.
2. USE RIGHTS MANAGER
Rights Manager allows you to protect content not only on Facebook but also on another popular platform – Instagram. This tool is ideal for authors and publishers who produce large amounts of content that is so appealing that people share it or use it in their publications regularly.
To use the tool, you must first apply for it. You will be able to find your content (if any) on Facebook and Instagram once your request has been accepted.
After a brief search, it detects content that matches yours (i.e., stolen content) and then applies the terms and conditions that you have specified. After the author of the content detects stolen material, he or she may:
- Set up monitoring;
- Require authorship from that source;
- Ask to remove the material from the source.
In addition, you can specify the official partners who will legally distribute your content. To use the tool, you will need to apply for it. When your request is accepted, you will be able to find your content (if there is any) on Facebook and Instagram.
3. CONTACT FACEBOOK SUPPORT
The creation of written content requires a significant number of resources. Furthermore, it is frequently outsourced to professional custom essay writing services reviews. As a result, if you are the victim of theft, the problem affects not only your self-esteem but your budget as well, because you will have to seek assistance from the service again to create better content.
If a user who stole your Facebook content refuses to delete it voluntarily, you can contact Facebook support chat. However, you cannot simply declare that it is your image, written material or video. You will have to provide evidence. Also, when filing a complaint about a violation of rights, it is important to keep in mind that this action will have legal ramifications and will take a long time to resolve.
It is essential to screenshot the stolen material with your text and publication time. You must also demonstrate that you are the author of the work. And in this case, the rule holds true: whoever displays the original is the author. Your evidence should clearly show when you made the post and when the fraudster did.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, copyrights on content and their protection are a serious issue. Even though there is a lot of content that is not copyrighted at the moment, unscrupulous users continue to steal it. By following the tips above, you will be able to protect yourself from this, save time, and protect your nervous system.