Pinterest Responds to User Concerns by Updating Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy

Despite being one of the fastest growing social media sites on the Internet, Pinterest has been under heavy scrutiny for the past several weeks due to a clause in its Terms of Service that granted Pinterest the right to sell any content posted on the site. On top of that, many photographers, illustrators and other creative personalities have been less than pleased with the lack of concern that Pinterest seems to show when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights.

So, what does Pinterest have to say about all these concerns? Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, seems not only to be listening to these concerns, but also taking active measures in response.

On March 23, a post was made on the official Pinterest blog to notify users that an updated Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and Privacy Policy will go into effect on April 6. This same post was sent out in an email to all Pinterest users, with a link to the updated terms. The first point noted in this communication should please all users:

Our original Terms stated that by posting content to Pinterest you grant Pinterest the right for to sell your content. Selling content was never our intention and we removed this from our updated Terms.

Very nice. I love the fact that Pinterest didn't try to just tweak its policy on this matter, but instead, removed it altogether.

But what about the concerns of copyright holders? That's a more complicated situation -- and to be quite honest, Pinterest's response could greatly affect how other sharing sites deal with the same types of issues. For the most part, Pinterest seems to be following the same path as other social media platforms by making a general statement in its Acceptable Use Policy that pinners are not allowed to post anything that "infringes any third party's Intellectual Property Rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other personal or proprietary rights" and then following up by checking out any content that has been flagged as being in violation of this agreement.

However, unlike many other leading social media sites, Pinterest does appear committed to taking this issue more seriously. For instance, last month Pinterest introduced a No Pin Tool that site owners could use to block people from pinning content from their sites. While many have pointed out that there are still lots of ways to get around this type of blocking, it's definitely a major step in the right direction -- and a step that shows Pinterest is genuinely interested in finding innovative solutions to a problem that is plaguing freelancers and independent content creators.

Awesome start, Pinterest. I love the Pinterest concept, but I've been very hesitant about pinning any items or getting involved in the user community because of the "selling content" and IP concerns. Now, I look forward to pinning away when April 6 rolls around and the new TOS goes into effect.

Image Credit: PhotoSpin/MonkeyBusiness Images