Last time, we looked at whether the media can use images from social media sites applying fair use to several typical situations.  Today, we look at the specific terms of service of various popular sites to see if some make it easier than others for the media to use images.

Facebook

Plain English:  Each user allows Facebook, and only Facebook, to do what it wants with the images subject to the privacy settings.   It gives no others any rights through its terms.  Facebook could sublicense to the image to you, but I have not heard of this being done for the purpose of news reporting.  As we discussed last time, the fact that someone puts up the image for the world to see can help with the fair use argument.

Twitter

In plain English:  The same as Facebook.  Interestingly, Twitter includes a “Tip” section where it says:  ”This license is you authorizing us to make your Tweets available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same.”  There is certainly no issue retweeting images and posts, but the “tip” seems to be more broad because it would allow the media to repost images and posts off of the Twitter platform.  The Twitter terms do not expressly allow that, but this language could help argue it does.

Twitter also reserves the right to sublicense whatever is provided, specifically allowing Twitter to make it available to other media and platforms without any compensation to the user.  The tip says:  ”Twitter has an evolving set of rules for how ecosystem partners can interact with your Content. These rules exist to enable an open ecosystem with your rights in mind. But what’s yours is yours – you own your Content (and your photos are part of that Content).”

While this is certainly not a green light to re-use images from Twitter, it could help a media outlet argue fair use.

LinkedIn

Plain English:  The terms contemplate that your images on LinkedIn may be copied, but they do not expressly allow it.  The terms warn “[a]ny information you submit to us is at your own risk of loss.”

Pinterest

Plain English:  The site had its own copyright issues in the past.  It tries to make it clear that anything a user submits is meant to be shared as much as possible.  The terms say:“You grant Pinterest and its users a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, store, display, reproduce, re-pin, modify, create derivative works, perform, and distribute your User Content on Pinterest solely for the purposes of operating, developing, providing, and using the Pinterest Products.”  This means they want you to share what you find on Pinterest, but only share it on Pinterest — not the front page or the 5:00 news.  

Pinterest has a section called “More simply put” that says “if you post your content on Pinterest, it still belongs to you but we can show it to people and others can re-pin it.”

Vine

Plain English:  Vine is allowed to sublicense content, but there is nothing that allows the general public to do whatever it wants with the videos.

Instagram

Plain English:  Instagram may sublicense the images, but there is nothing in these terms that would specifically allow the media to use the images.

Up Next

In our conclusion of this series, we will discuss a couple of cases and talk about the best practices.