Pinterest has grown in popularity in the past year. For some
it has become an addicting pastime, at least for me it has. Many businesses
have also been incorporating Pinterest to promote their products. The majority of the users on Pinterest are
women and “with over 11
million unique monthly visitors (and counting), Pinterest became the fastest
standalone website to eclipse the 10 million per month mark ever”
(PR Daily). That’s
pretty impressive, so why are so many users having second thoughts all of a
sudden before pinning to Pinterest?
Well according to a recent article on prdaily.com, “the site's terms of use
stipulate that people who pin photos to the site agree that they are the owners
of the photos or have permission from the owners to post them.” I know from my
experience, I rarely read the terms of use that are any site I use, simply
because I don’t think there’s a lot of risk from the sites I use. I’m sure there is plenty of other people who
feel the same way or are just to lazy to take the time to read.
The strange thing about the terms of use that Pinterest has
set is that it kind of contradicts the whole idea of the site. The whole idea
of Pinterest is to share photos and ideas with other users of the same
interest. It would be such a hassle to
ask every single owner of the photos for permission to pin their photos to
their boards. Also, I doubt that people
actually take the time to click on the picture to where it directs them to the
original site of the photo. I know every time I come upon a picture I like, I
just repin it and continue to scroll down.
Not only are the terms of use a problem for users, but for
photographers as well. Even though the
majority of them want to use Pinterest to promote their work, according to the
Pinterest terms of service, “you release all rights you have in a picture once
you pin it." So this is pretty much saying once the photo is up on
Pinterest, the photographer is allowing the company to do whatever they like with
the photo. This makes photographers unsure about sharing their photos on the
site any more.
With all of these copyright laws going into effect here,
will cause users to limit their use of Pinterest? Not many people are aware of
this problem and don’t even know they are violating the terms of use. As of now, “there is very little that can be
done to avoid infringing copyright if you are a Pinterest user”
(Kowalski). The only thing users can do
is to pin pictures they have taken themselves. Until this matter is resolved,
pinners should be careful what they pin up.
Sources:
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