Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Instagram

By Cynthia Herbert :: 10:48 AM

Lucy Funes, an Instagram user in California, has filed a class action lawsuit against the photo sharing service in San Francisco federal court.

The suit claims breach of contract in the wake of recent changes that Facebook-owned Instagram has made to its Terms of Service over the past week. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, despite changes to the terms earlier last week that Instagram agreed to make to placate users, who took to Twitter and social media to vent about the company’s policies.

The lawsuit alleges that Instagram is asserting rights over users photographs that it should not be. “Instagram declares that ‘possession is nine-tenths of the law and if you don’t like it, you can’t stop us,” reads part of the suit.

Following user outcries, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom retracted the clause in the new Terms of Service about using photos without compensation to users, but maintained a mandatory arbitration clause as well as a stipulation that the company will display ads based on user’s photographic content.