Users revolt as Instagram can sell their pictures without paying a cent

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Tech

Users of Instagram, the popular photo-sharing app acquired by Facebook last April are up in arms Tuesday the company’s new Terms & Conditions that appear to give the company ownership of their images. Instagram clarified that it can share user data with Facebook and it claimed the right to license users’ photos to advertisers without paying any money to owners of the pictures. The proposed changes will go into effect January 16th 2013.

Your Photos Can Be Used By Others
“Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service,” it said. “Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, except that you can control who can view certain of your Content and activities on the Service as described in the Service’s Privacy Policy.

“Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.” (You can read the full Terms of Service here.)
If you read that carefully you’ll understand that Instagram doesn’t “own” your content, but it can license your photos to other companies. If it wanted, it says in effect, it could sell your photos to advertisers or other firms. ( ABC)

Instagram users revolt over privacy changes
A new update to Instagram’s terms of service states that data collected through the app can be shared with Facebook. That’s not a surprising move, considering Facebook paid an estimated $1 billion for the photo-sharing service earlier this year.
But the language that’s upsetting some of the app’s more than 100 million users says that “a business or other entity may pay” Instagram for the use of user images and may do so “without any compensation to you.”
“Pro or not if a company wants to use your photos for advertising they need to TELL you and PAY you,” Noah Kalina wrote Tuesday on Twitter.
Kalina stopped short of vowing to quit Instagram, saying he hopes that language will be deleted. The proposed changes are set to go into effect January 16. (cnn)
“I will be quitting Instragram today. What a bummer. You should all read their new rules.”Meanwhile, a wave of angry users started to close their instagram accounts, while several websites and blogs published instructions on how to back up your Instagram photos and delete your account.
Singer P!nk  was one of many who vented on Twitter: “I will be quitting Instragram today. What a bummer. You should all read their new rules.”
Good luck!