The Instagram Papers – social media and usage rights grabs

By Gene X HwangPublished On: April 4th, 2014

Categories: Conferences and Special Events

As photographers, you may have heard about the Instagram terms of service kerfuffle a while back, but it kind of died down and then it seemed like radio silence. However, the real issue for all users is what the those TOS (Terms of Service) really are and how they impact all users of Instagram.

One thing we weren’t aware of was the fact that you can’t actually delete your account on Instagram which kind of seems bizarre. But based on the TOS it does make sense from the Instagram/Facebook perspective. Since they are allowed to do pretty much anything with your images, it makes sense that the wouldn’t want to delete accounts because that means that they would lose the images from the accounts. Since they are allowed to sell and license any image posted to Instagram, why would they ever want to delete any assets they can make money off of?

Luckily ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) has taken the lead on challenging this terrible TOS rights grab and is in discussions with Facebook (who owns Instagram). You can follow what’s going on at the ASMP website at: http://asmp.org/instagram

About the Author: Gene X Hwang

Gene X Hwang leads Orange Photography’s photography team and is one of San Francisco’s most sought-after event photographers. His background in corporate marketing communications during the late-’90s dot-com boom gives him an insider’s view of what client teams need, and his push for social responsibility made Orange the first photography studio in San Francisco to earn Green Business certification. Read Gene’s full bio →