Facebook's
photo-sharing service Instagram has moved to deny that it has changed its
privacy policy to give it the right to sell users' photos to advertisers
without notification.
It said instead that users had incorrectly interpreted its revised terms of serviced, which it blamed on its "confusing" choice of language.
Instagram's
clarification follows much user opposition to the believed change.
"To be
clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos," it said.
Instagram chief
executive Kevin Systrom said in a blog posting: "It is our mistake that
this language is confusing.
"We are
working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear."
Compulsory
changes to Instagram's terms of service are due to come into effect on 16
January,
The originally
proposed new wording that caused the controversy included: "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."
The terms also
stated that "a business or other entity may pay us to display your username,
likeness, photos, and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored
content or promotions, without any compensation to you."
Following
Instagram's denial, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a US pressure group
that campaigns for consumer rights on websites and in social media, said "there appeared to be a little bit of a word game at play
here".
"It
clearly looked like Instagram was indeed drabbing the extra rights," added
spokesman Parker Higgins.
"It is
hard to evaluate the damage this may cause to the company at this early stage,
but any social network risks losing the trust of its users. And social networks
depend on users being willing to share information, on users seeing them in
good terms."
Facebook bought
Instagram for $1bn (£616m; 758m euros) in April of this year.
Instagram now has 100 million
users.
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