Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
family and friends on Path and to let them know when people in their address book
join Path. Morin's statement also labeled Path's actions as an “industry best practice.”
However, it didn't take long for the Internet community to weigh in and point out that
Apple's guidelines require apps to ask for permission before uploading information from
address books. Facing a storm of negative publicity, Morin issued another statement in
which he apologized for what Path had done, promised that the company would destroy
the data it had collected, and announced that the app would be changed so that it would
no longer upload address books without permission [65].
As the Path controversy erupted, the media pointed out that other popular iPhone
apps, including Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram, were also gathering information
from address books without asking for permission. All the aforementioned companies
responded by announcing that they, too, would release new versions of their apps that
explicitly asked users for permission before uploading contact information from address
books [66].
In December 2012, the popular photo-sharing service Instagram announced an upcom-
ing change in its privacy policy and terms-of-service agreement. The terms-of-service
agreement appeared to change how Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, could
use photographs uploaded by Instagram users. The proposed agreement included the
following statement:
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 compen-
sation to you. [67]
After some legal experts said that the new terms-of-service agreement would allow
Instagram or Facebook to use photos on the Instagram site in advertisements without
compensating or even getting the permission of the person who uploaded them, the
reaction was swift. The hashtag #Boycottinstagram began trending on Twitter, and many
Instagram users downloaded alternative photo-sharing apps. The number of people
using the Pheed and Flickr increased significantly, though the total number of users of
these services remained far below the 100-plus million using Instagram [68].
Responding to the uproar, Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom issued a statement
saying that the new privacy policy and terms-of-service had been misunderstood. He
also announced that the advertising section in the terms of service agreement was being
changed back to its original version [69].
This chapter has focused on privacy issues brought to the forefront by the introduction
of information technology. The issues of privacy and intellectual property are similar
in the sense that both issues relate to how information ought to be controlled. Mod-
ern information technology makes it much easier to collect and transmit information,
