Facebook Inc.'s Instagram policy changes, announced Monday, may let advertisers use teenagers' photos for marketing, raising privacy and security concerns, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy.
The new policies, which now apply to users as young as 13, enable Instagram, a photo-sharing service that Facebook bought in August, to use members' names, text, photos and other content with marketing messages, the company said on its site. The new terms of use, set to take effect next month, could be exploitative, Chester said.
Facebook, operator of the world's largest social network with more than 1 billion users, is changing policies for its Instagram unit as it looks for ways to increase revenue across its services. Instagram, popular with teens and young adults, reached more than 100 million users, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in September.
Facebook "sees teens as a digital goldmine," said Chester, whose group is focused on privacy issues. "We will be pressing the Federal Trade Commission to issue policies to protect teen privacy."
If users are younger than 18, then they "represent" that at least one parent or guardian has also agreed to content being used in marketing, according to the
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But the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch reported that what really is getting under users' skins are the new rules about how Facebook will begin advertising on the site, and that all user-uploaded content is fair game for advertising purposes.
According to the new terms of service, there is no way to opt out of the new rules, and anyone's photos may be used.
As the company puts it in a section titled, Proprietary Rights in Content on Instagram:
...By displaying or publishing ("posting") any content on or through the Instagram Services, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such content, including without limitation distributing part or all of the Site in any media formats through any media channels, except content not shared publicly ("private") will not be distributed outside the Instagram Services.
Some of the Instagram Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions, and you hereby agree that Instagram may place such advertising and promotions on the Instagram Services or on, about, or in conjunction with your content. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising and promotions are subject to change without specific notice to you.
Torstar News and Spectator wire services
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