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Kim Kardashian Leads the Revolution as Instagram’s New Policy Outrages Celebs: Who Else is Leaving the App?

Instagram learned the hard way this week that you don’t anger the Internet—or celebrities. First, the uber-popular photo-sharing app announced new terms of service that seemed to imply the company could now share users’ information and photos with advertisers, with no notice or compensation. Unsurprisingly, the Internet responded fast — and angrily.

Within hours of the announcement, the backlash had begun on Twitter and Facebook – the latter of which recently bought Instagram for $1 billion and might be hoping now that they held onto their receipt. Many “civilian” users terminated their accounts immediately, and others threatened to do so unless changes were made. This angered celebrity users as well, many of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers, a huge Internet influence – and aren’t thrilled by the possibility of their names and images being used without compensation.

Kim Kardashian, who has the most Instagram followers of all at more than 5.7 million, tweeted her disappointment, saying “I really loved Instagram 🙁 I need to review this new policy. I don’t think its fair.” If she leaves for some other service (Hipstamatic, Path and Flick must be loving all this), her followers will likely go with her. Her sister Khloe also spoke out, stating; “Wow…I just read over Instagram’s new policy…so sad, looks like I might be deleting my Instagram after Jan 16. I hope something changes.” The rest of the family may also follow them out the door – bad news for the service since Khloe, Kylie, Kendall, and Rob are all among the site’s Top 10 Most Followed accounts. Ouch!

Of course, the Kardashians aren’t the only famous users ready to bolt. Olivia Wilde tweeted to her nearly 725,000 followers: “Facebook, aka weird kid brother who steals all our shit, get out of our Instagram! You ruined the party. I hate you.”

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?” Emma Roberts also sounded off on losing her favorite distraction, responding with a weak threat, “I am so mad at Instagram!!!!!!! It was my happy place. I’m gonna delete. Sigh. Not until the new year though….”

What made everybody so mad? Here’s the new language that in their Terms of Service that brought hellfire down on the typically peaceful Instagram community of amateur food photographers and kitten enthusiasts:

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.

When Facebook purchased Instagram, the app was generating zero revenue and there were questions about whether it could turn a profit; this move was an attempt to remedy that situation. Much like the Netflix/Qwikster fiasco last autumn, the suits didn’t foresee the inevitable backlash.

It took two days, but the company finally, frantically apologized and admitted the TOS needed to be rewritten. Founder Kevin Systrom wrote on the company’s blog, “I’m writing this today to let you know we’re listening, and to commit to you that we will be doing more to answer your questions, fix any mistakes, and eliminate the confusion. As we review your feedback and stories in the press, we’re going to modify specific parts of the terms to make it more clear what will happen with your photos.”

The company will rewrite the new TOS before they become official in thirty days – so in he meantime, you might want to hold onto your account and wait to see how this whole thing plays out. The company claims that they are open to hearing users’ criticisms and comments in the meantime. It’s likely they won’t own your photographs or use them for advertising, but there is a lesson here: Always read the fine print, even when you’re looking at it through an artsy-fartsy Sutro filter.


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