Instagram reverses course on advertising policy after protests

Co-founder Kevin Systrom announced that the change, which many interpreted as allowing the company to commercially licence user photos without notification or compensation, would be completely taken out of the terms.

 

"I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don't own your photos - you do," Systrom said in his post.

 

When the rules came out, Instagram users, including many celebrities, took to Twitter, Facebook and the Instagram site itself to protest the rules and threaten to delete their accounts.

 

News anchor Anderson Cooper tweeted "#Instagram will now be able to use anyone's photos in ads? Without consent? Come on! Is there another photo app people recommend?"   The popular singer Pink tweeted "I will be quitting Instagram today. What a bummer. You should all read their new rules."   On their site, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, vowed to fully develop possible advertising products before proposing them to users.

 

The new terms of service and privacy policy will go into effect on January 19, 2013.//DPA