Retailers’ Use of Their Fans’ Photos Draws Scrutiny – The New York Times

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by

Trent
in

On Instagram and Other Social Media, Redefining ‘User Engagement’

The intersection between brands trying to capitalize on social media activity and people’s expectation of privacy has become murky.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/business/media/retailers-use-of-their-fans-photos-draws-scrutiny.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Crocs, which Ms. Way had identified with a hashtag, pulled the snapshot from Instagram and featured it in a gallery of user-generated photographs on its website. The company had not asked Ms. Way for permission, and she was not aware that Crocs had used the photo until a reporter contacted her on Instagram.

“No one reached out to me,” Ms. Way, 37, of Pearl River, N.Y., said in a phone interview. “I feel a little weirded out.”