Instagram Boycott Grows: Photo Sharing Service Backpedals on Changes to Terms of Use, But Privacy Concerns Still Remain

After backlash from members and threats of boycotts from media organizations, Instagram has backpedaled on its proposed changes to its terms of use which would have allowed the company to use members' photos in advertisements without their prior consent.

New terms of service will still go into effect on Jan. 16, but the offending passages have been removed.

Organizations as varied as National Geographic--which originally made a name for itself in wildlife photography--and the hacker collective Anonymous have joined calls to boycott Instagram.

The new agreement would have given Instagram, now owned by Facebook, the right to use member photos in advertisements without offering compensation, adding to fears over privacy concerns and use of content uploaded to social networking sites.

The problematic portion of the terms of service said, "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."

That would have meant that users photos, information and activity on Instagram could have appeared in advertisements displayed to other users, without necessarily being identified as ads. Facebook has already rolled out a similar program, but users were able to opt out.

Since all photos posted on Instagram would have been affected, even people without Instagram accounts could have appeared in the ads if someone took a photo of them and posted it to the sharing service.

The revised terms of service now simply state that user photos could be used "in connection with paid or sponsored content." Instagram continues to maintain that it must find a way to monetize its content.

That still doesn't sit well with many users, who are also mounting a campaign on Twitter to get people to cancel their Instagram accounts. As there is no way to opt out of the new terms of service, deleting photos and closing accounts are the only way to ensure uploaded content isn't abused for profit.