Instagram usage policy change draws ire

BALTIMORE - The gulls standing majestically on the sea wall..

Or how about the view of the city looking back from Federal Hill.

and there's a good shot; folks walking down the brick path on a sunny day.

This place was made for pictures.

And pictures are made for sharing.

 The Rivera's use social media to share things with their large family around the county and it's only for their eyes.

"The pictures that I took for myself I wouldn't like the idea that anyone would be using them out in anywhere in my opinion it's my pictures, it's mine." Evan Rivera says.

But it may not be just yours anymore.

After January 16th, if you are on Instagram you are giving the photo service unrestricted rights to use your photographs.

The new policy says you still own that nice shot of the seagulls but if the Seagull Widget company likes the photo, Instagram can license it to them for an ad and not give you a dime.

Or say you have a cute kid; Instagram can now license your child's picture to the highest bidder.

 “We still have creative rights we just have to be careful how we give them up”.

Intellectual Property Attorney Ned Himmelrich with the Gordon Feinblatt Law Firm says this is kind of typical.

Users are signing up to services and giving away their rights, in some cases without realizing what they're doing

He says it's important to read terms of service and privacy agreements for anything.

You can only have privacy on the web as long as you don't voluntarily sign it away.

 “You've got to make sure you're not giving away something you cannot take back or if you take a picture of your friend you're not giving away something of your friend they have a right to their own likeness if you put out a picture of your friend and although this says you acknowledge you have the right to give that out and you may not." Himmelrich says.

And for social media users that nice shot of your mom or sweetheart in the harbor could star in the next big ad campaign.

Your mom could be exploited and you'd have no way to protect her.

 “I took the pictures and I want to share them but I don't want them to appear in some ad. I didn't really give them permission to do that. ”    Egard Rivera says.           

Late today after a firestorm of criticism by bloggers and others Instagram says that it will revisit its new policy in an attempt to make it clearer to users.

The company says it has no plans to use user photos in ads, but says it is a company that is out to make a profit and is experimenting with ways to make money.