In watching the documentary, the question of ownership repeatedly came up, making me wonder about who really owns the content we put out into the world. (Spoiler alert: it’s not us.)
Ownership of content, especially on more modern and high volume platforms like Twitter and Instagram, is a tricky business, one where reposting is half complimentary, half copying. When thieves profit off of stealing (see this article of an artist selling screenshots of others’ Instagram photos for $90,000 a pop), the issue of morality becomes even more confusing.
Photo: CNN
One of the topics that struck me during the film was the company Toysmart selling its customer database besides promising not to in a user agreement. This seemed to be the epitome of declining morality in the face of financial gain, a policy adapted by companies that followed in Toysmart’s lead—for example, Google’s privacy policy changing from guaranteeing anonymity in 2000 to taking away the promise of anonymity in 2001. The third fact the movie brought to my attention that spoke to a lack of digital morality was Facebook’s policy of sharing all information. I was stunned to learn that Facebook had replaced almost all CIA information-gathering programs by way of users voluntarily offering up information.
Perhaps social media and oversharing has become too big for us to care about our privacy…but the issue of ownership remains a disturbing reality.
Questions
- How would you react if one of your Instagram photos was “stolen” and sold as art, with you making none of the profit?
- Why do you think people are OK with willingly sharing so much of their personal lives on Facebook? (school, neighborhood, job, etc.)