Meaning of "release" in "A complete release of X by each entrant"

Question

I am reading the Facebook Promotions guidelines and I don't understand the meaning of "release" in this sentence:

Promotions on Facebook must include the following:
- A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

It is not about a software release, right?

Does it mean that each entrant has to say "I understand that Facebook is not responsible for this"?

Answer 1

It's very poor wording on their part, in my opinion. But it's legalese, so using hard-to-understand jargon isn't really surprising. Contextually, it seems like you're most likely correct—it's unlikely to be about a software release. But I wouldn't normally expect the "release" bit to be phrased this way in English.

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When I clicked your link, because my browser is set to Japanese, I was presented with the Japanese version of the Facebook agreement. Since I know you read Japanese, I thought I'd bring it up in a comment, and I'm posting it as an answer because you asked me to.

Here's the relevant portion:

　2. Facebook上でのプロモーションには、以下を含める必要があります。
　　　a. 応募者または参加者によるFacebookの完全な責任免除。

This seems to confirm that your interpretation is correct.

Answer 2

Does it mean that each entrant has to say "I understand that Facebook is not responsible for this"?

Yes. I think it literally means release of liability.

Answer 3

Very ambiguous.

And yes, it does mean that Facebook holds no responsibility for whatever is there under promotion --sort of a disclaimer.

Check this blog that further tells how to do that. -

The easiest way to do this? Include a statement along the lines of, “By entering this contest, you agree to a complete release (n. #2) of Facebook from any or all liability in connection with this contest.”

Example of GumTree South Africa (Check #5):