Well, I wouldn’t have wanted to be on the Instagram legal team last month; they must have gone from sipping Dom Pérignon and playing Monoploy with real money to frantically trying to dig themselves out of the hole that they created when the blogosphere was ignited with rumours that the photo sharing network could now sell its users pictures. But do they actually have the right to do this, or is it all a bit of a storm in a teacup?
Let’s take a little look at the single sentence that was added to the Instagram term’s of service that sparked off this furore:
“You agree that a business may pay Instagram to display your photos in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions without any compensation to you.”
Eek. So does that mean that the holiday snaps of you in a bikini (and I’m talking to the guys here), can be used to promote sunscreen lotion or, worse yet, dieting pills?! Well…no. It is the case that Instagram’s new terms of service, which went into effect on January 16th, clearly state that your photographs can be promoted by companies without anyone notifying you about the transaction:
“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.”
This was enough for a lot of people to get twisted-knickers about their right to privacy, freedom of expression and go on a ‘Damn The Man/forget-religion,-corporate-capitalist-is-the-root-of-all-evil rant’, however this was all a little irrelevant, or at least arbitrarily timed, when one takes a closer look at what has actually happened.
Firstly, like almost every other social networking platform, Instagram has always had the right to use your photos in ads, ever since it launched. However, it cannot actually sell your photos to companies for them to edit, crop or stick their own logos on. What it can do is place your photos near ads and logos in order to create an association with a brand. Sound familiar? That’s because Facebook has been using this technique for months now in its Sponsored Posts. The plot thickens…or does it actually thin out a little? And since Facebook bought Instagram for a whopping $1 billion, there have been concerns over how the behemoth social media company is going to monetize what is currently an incredibly beautiful white elephant; commentators mused that ads may start popping up in Instagram’s feeds at some point but it would appear that they are going for more of a ‘direct sell’ route.
Essentially, Instgram is not at fault; the service hasn’t changed and the terms and conditions have just been made a little clearer. What I would propose has come out of all of this is the fact that Facebook is, quite understandably, transposing its business model onto its biggest acquisition to date. Now, there are many queries as to haw much we all trust Facebook and we can amend our privacy settings, delete photos, posts or even our whole accounts, yet we must keep in mind that the company’s reach extends for further than the confines of that blue-trimmed screen. Once Facebook owns a company, this company will eventually ascribe to its rules and values, so instead of ranting at the trees, step back and see the whole forest – are you happy with Facebook using your photos and updates to advertise products? If not, you need to take a look at where Facebook is permeating your online life and assess how much sharing your photos with family and friends means to you.
If you do want to sell your photos yourself then Inkifi lets you make money from your art with their unique Instagram printing service; they allow you to print Instagram photos onto a variety of acrylic prints, canvas prints and framed prints and sell them directly to users who like your art.
This article was originally published on Inkifi, a unique website that allows users to print their Instagram photos onto a variety of canvases, frames and greeting cards; users can also sell their art via the website.
