Editor’s Update: At 5:00 pm EST, Instagram posted an official statement. View it here: http://ilink.me/12fe1

Editor’s Update: As of roughly 3:30 pm EST, Instagram Tweeted that it will have “more to share very soon” regarding the changes to the Privacy Policy & Terms of Service. We will update this post as soon as that information surfaces.

A Grow Socially Op-Ed

Your business card may not list you as a professional photographer, but you may soon find yourself staring at a photo you took of your family on a tourism web site. You check your bank account or mail for a royalty check before you realize you were never even asked for consent to use this photo.

So how did it get there? Simple. You uploaded it to Facebook’s Instagram.

Instagram and Facebook announced on December 17 that they will begin selling user uploaded photos for all accounts that remain on the site come January 16. The broad language written in their amended terms of service states that anything a user uploads is fair game for them to sell and they don’t need to request your consent, notify you of its use, or pay you a cent for all of the money they make selling it.

No photos are off limits – this includes children, unflattering photos of yourself, last night’s dinner at your favorite restaurant, or even the notorious artsy door shots.

We’re at a cross-roads right now with social media responsibility and terms of service. The fact is, the vast majority of people don’t read terms of service. It is the responsibility of the networks to make sure that they cover their legal bases and put it all in writing, but they also have a responsibility to their users to protect them.

Facebook has increased their privacy recently and while this isn’t necessarily a privacy issue, there will be outrage if a photo of someone’s child appears in a marketing slick without consent. They need to monetize their service, which is understandable, but a line has to be drawn at personal photos.

In all reality, it is my opinion that the outrage over this will force their hand into making some changes to this policy prior to January 16. If not, they risk losing a large number of accounts.

The goal of social media is to allow us all to interact, share, and contribute. It’s a

community, not a commodity. Many users on Instagram have beautiful photos that are absolutely sellable. In the spirit of sharing and contributing, it would be great to see this become a partnership with users instead of a dictatorship.

What do you think? Will you close your Instagram account? Sound off in the comments.

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Tags: advertising, donna vieira, Facebook, grow socially, Instagram, instagram monetize, John Foley, Marketing, photo sharing, privacy policy, selling photos, social media marketing, social networks, stock photos, terms and conditions, wilmington ma