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Each week, I livestream a video from a noncommercial Facebook business page I manage; then, I download it through Facebook's native download button (given to business pages but not personal accounts, apparently) and upload the video to YouTube. However, whenever I download my videos this way, their resolution gets lowered to 480p, compromising the picture for when I upload it to YouTube. If I could use third-party software, I could download the videos in their full resolution.

In a related thread, someone stated, "Downloading Facebook videos are not allowed by Facebook TOS. Facebook may cancel user account if it detects account owner downloaded a Facebook video."¹ (That thread is about making EULAs, while this thread is about downloading videos I own.) However, I tried to find such a statement in Facebook's terms myself but did not find such a statement.

Do I have the right to use third-party software to download Facebook videos I livestreamed? Is videoconverterfactory.com correct in saying that fair use makes their software legal for downloading videos from YouTube, Facebook, etc., even to the point of overriding the terms of service, so long as it's for personal use?²

Sources

¹ EULA for Global Liability

² https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/tips/is-it-legal-to-download-youtube-videos.html

The Editor
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    I'm not sure this is a question of law or "rights" but rather the terms of Facebook's service that you agreed to as a part of using it. You may want to review their service agreement and see what it says. Of course with entities like Facebook many things are unstated and they seem to have a habit of acting arbitrarily in many cases. – jwh20 Dec 17 '21 at 15:48
  • If you create the videos, you own the copyright and can upload them directly from wherever you create them to youtube, there is no need to download from facebook, unless you create them on facebook. – David Siegel Dec 17 '21 at 19:10
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    Fair use affects copyright law in the US. It has nothing to do with a contractual agreement such as a ToS agreement. If a valid ToS prohibits downloading, then even if doing so would be within Fair use, it would be a violation of the contract. – David Siegel Dec 17 '21 at 19:20
  • This may depend on where you are, since the TOS may be different. – Mark Johnson Dec 17 '21 at 19:22
  • @jwh20 I haven't personally seen any prohibitions myself from the terms. Either there aren't any, or I'm just not seeing it. – The Editor Dec 18 '21 at 23:57
  • @DavidSiegel In this case, I'm livestreaming the videos from Facebook, so that's what (potentially) complicates things. I wish I knew what to do. – The Editor Dec 18 '21 at 23:58
  • @MarkJohnson Possibly. It's hard for me to think there's a Facebook TOS prohibiting the downloading of videos in one region but not another, but you never know, haha. – The Editor Dec 18 '21 at 23:59
  • I didn't ask where it was streamed from i asked where it was created. That would usually be on a personal computer, not a web site. Once created it would be uploaded to the host for steaming. If the video is actually created on Facebook, that is relevant. If it is created elsewhere, it should normally be possilby to copy it directly from there to YouTube without going through Facebook. Also, who creates it, and who owns the copyright? You? – David Siegel Dec 19 '21 at 00:03
  • @DavidSiegel I perform the live stream on a family phone through the Facebook app each Sunday. I choose "Go live" on the app, and that's how I stream it. It would seem that I own the copyright unless Facebook claims the rights to videos you stream (which I don't think they do). Of course, in order for me to use a third-party downloading app, I'd be using that to download a video stored on their site, so getting into Facebook's site through third-party software may be a potential issue. – The Editor Dec 19 '21 at 00:07
  • It seems I am not being clear. Before the video is streamed, it must be recorded, correct? Or do you capture it on the phone as you stream it, and it is never saved to the phone? In that case, one possible solution is to record it as a video first, then stream the recorded copy via Facebook. Then you can upload the recorded copy to YouTube without worrying about facebook settings. – David Siegel Dec 19 '21 at 00:17
  • @DavidSiegel Ah, I see what you're saying now. I've been streaming the video directly through Facebook without recording the video to my phone. I suppose recording it and then putting the video up later would work, but that isn't preferable. I wish I knew the place where Facebook's TOS allegedly prohibits downloading. According to videoconverterfactory.com, of course, it would be okay regardless, but I'm not sure if videoconverterfactory.com is correct. – The Editor Dec 19 '21 at 13:54
  • Significant news: While facebook.com's default downloader doesn't support HD download, business.facebook.com does, making that a first-party alternative to videoconverterfactory.com. Good to know! – The Editor Feb 07 '22 at 13:42
  • Actually, the significant news isn't always significant, as it seems the first-party alternative is typically downloading in 480p. – The Editor Mar 13 '22 at 16:56

1 Answers1

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Every answer depends on a specific jurisdiction: my answer is for the US, but may be in part applicable to other jurisdictions. The answer is only valid until they change their terms: today is Dec. 27, 2021. The first part regards the Facebook TOS. In §3, they state that

You may not use our Products to do or share anything [t]hat violates these Terms, our Community Standards, and other terms and policies that apply to your use of Facebook.

This explicitly includes infringing the IP rights of another – which is not applicable in this instance. §5 includes a long list of supplemental policies related to community standards, commercial use, advertising, program development and so on, none of which appear to address how one can download content. It is probably unknowable whether there is/was/will be a version of the TOS in some jurisdiction or time that prohibits using a third party program to download content (distinct from the ban on data-mining which is stated), but from the stated perspective, the only restriction is that intellectual property right must be respected. However, there is no evidence that there exist any hidden prohibitions on using a third party app to download content.

Before leaving this, there is also a "Live" option that one might use. The policies for live streaming pertain to content (mainly non-deceptiveness, also a ban on looping and static content), and do not specific how a user might access such content.

user6726
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  • Thanks for your reply! It seems, then, that there's no prohibition against me using Facebook Live to stream videos and then use a third-party app to download them, correct? (I'm doing so to upload the videos to YouTube after the streams have ended.) – The Editor Dec 27 '21 at 18:46