Have you noticed any unauthorized posts on Facebook? The question is one that many people ask themselves over and over again. When you post a photo, or anything else, on social media, who owns the copyright? Can Facebook or Twitter do whatever they want with your image?
Who owns the copyright to the photos, video and text you upload?
It belongs to whoever took the photo or video in the first place, or whoever had the idea and wrote the text. Simply put, whatever you post that is original (by you), whether it's a photo, video, or text, you own the copyright to it.
If you post someone else's photos or videos, you don't own the copyright. It must be something you created.
Copyright is not the same as permission to publish
It's an important distinction that we all need to understand. Copyright is about ownership. It gives you ownership over something you created.
With this ownership, you can decide where and how and by whom each copyrighted work is published (online or offline). You can publish it yourself, or you can grant permission to others to publish it. Copyright.gov details the responsibilities and rights on the subject.
This is what social networks also exploit. Even though you own the copyright to your text, photo, or video, they obtain substantial and extensive licenses for where and how you can publish your work.
What is happening on social networks, Facebook etc?
When you sign up for any social network, you agree to certain terms of service. Like everyone else, you haven't read the endless list of Terms, but they describe everything about copyright.
For example, Facebook's terms of use :
Let's just say very briefly that you gave Facebook permission to do pretty much whatever it wants with your photos, videos, and texts. . Similar terms of service are available on Instagram, Twitter, and many others.
In fact, Twitter even includes a specific paragraph to allow the reproduction of your tweets in other media, so in case another page embeds your tweet, the company is legally covered.
What does “non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free” mean?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social networks use this terminology in their terms of service. They are very specific words: “non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free.”.
What does the poet want to say:
Non-Exclusive: You can license an image to other people for a fee. So, if you have a very high-resolution photo, you can sell it online.
Transferable: This is the license you give to Facebook. You’ve just given Facebook permission to transfer your content to others. This is something that scares the copyright owner, along with the following:
Sub-Licensable: Instagram can not only transfer its own license to use your photo, but also sell a sub-license to use it!
Royalty-Free: Even if Twitter sells your photo, you won’t get a penny, you see, you gave them the rights for free.
In other words, social networks can do almost anything they want with your photos, videos, and any text you post.
If you post a non-permission can you stop Facebook?
No. Facebook is free to do whatever it wants within the above rights.
It's one of the most common misconceptions about Facebook. We've often seen posts like this:
“I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my images, information or posts, either past or future. With this statement I notify Facebook that disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any other action against me is strictly prohibited.”.
In fact, even Facebook trembles with fear and immediately stops dealing with your content!
Since you clicked “I Agree” on Facebook’s terms of service when you signed up for the social network, you waived any such rights. To renegotiate these terms, you would have to negotiate with Facebook’s lawyers. Such a posting is not legally valid.
What should I do?
Don't panic.
Most of this legislation is a way to protect social networks from frivolous lawsuits. It also gives Twitter and Facebook cover for the smallest things, like a newspaper citing President Trump's tweets. These terms protect every company.
Can newspapers and other media use my data?
This is where things get interesting. There is a landmark case for newspapers and photo agencies that published a photo of Morel from Twitter.
Morel was the photographer who covered the Haiti earthquake. Some of his photos ended up on Twitter and someone else posted them online without crediting the photographer. AFP and Getty Images (which supply images to news agencies) published these photos, which in turn appeared worldwide. Morel, of course, sued AFP and Getty Images.
Ultimately, the judge ruled in Morel's favor. The court's ruling made it clear that AFP and Getty were wrong. They did not ask Morel for permission to publish or republish his photos. It did not matter that AFP found the images from someone else who posted them online.
Permission is crucial
If your original work is sold commercially or used elsewhere without your permission, you can take legal action and win the case. This is why some bloggers ask for permission to republish material that exists online.
