Because it’s the holidays and people will sue anything and everything is horrible, a California Instagram user has filed a class action lawsuit over that terms of service kerfuffle last week. Needless to say, this is dumb. While Instagram likely overreached by claiming it could receive compensation by selling your photos for companies who may want to advertise with them, it quickly recanted. Not only that, but the terms of service that users took such issue with never even had a chance to go into effect. So why the suit? Because Instagram is still insisting that it might—heavens forbid—show you ads. And if you decide to leave the service over it, you forfeit all your old photos. Let’s be clear about one thing: there’s no way this lawsuit goes anywhere. At all. Instagram is a company, not a public utility.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.