One-page guidance far simpler than app’s official 17-page privacy policy
A London lawyer has used her privacy law expertise for the greater good by rewriting Instagram’s terms and conditions so even children can understand them.
Jenny Afia — who is a partner at reputation and privacy firm Schillings — used child-friendly language to rephrase and condense the popular social media app’s 17-page privacy policy into one page. This guidance featured in a Children’s Commissioner report called ‘Growing Up Digital’, which recommends “a step change in how we prepare children for digital life”.
Cambridge University graduate and former Jones Day corporate litigator Afia told business news outlet Quartz:
One-third of internet users are children, but the internet wasn’t created for children.
Afia — whose firm is representing Brad Pitt in his divorce from Angelina Jolie — hopes awareness means users will demand better terms. And this may well happen, given the number of home truths present in Afia’s guidance.
Though some T&Cs are rather humdrum — “don’t use Instagram to do anything illegal”, for example — some users may be shocked to know:
Officially you [the user] own any original pictures and videos you post, but we [Instagram] are allowed to use them, and we can let others use them as well, anywhere around the world. Other people might pay us to use them and we will not pay you for that.
Similarly, Instagrammers should be aware the image-sharing site “may keep, use and share” personal information with companies connected to the site. This doesn’t just include your name and pictures, but also your email address, school, address, phone number, your friends and who you are chatting via DM.