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Vkontakte service for uploading content from Instagram raised doubts among lawyers

Recently, Vkontakte launched a service for transferring photos from the Instagram social network to its platform. Some lawyers saw this as a potential problem, namely the emergence of lawsuits and the possibility of blocking profiles.

According to experts, the content transfer tool may violate the terms of the Instagram user agreement. The rights to the photos belong to the user, and the rights to how they are structured belong to Instagram.

Instagram itself has an official way to download the data. However, according to Kommersant, VKontakte does not currently accept these uploads. The implementation of the VKontakte import may cause Meta claims, and users will receive blocks.

The method that the lawyers are talking about looks like this: the owner enters the username or address of the Instagram page, after which the content starts downloading. If the profile is private, it must be made public. The automated collection of information from a web page from VKontakte violates Instagram's right to a database, that is, to how the social network organizes user content.

Aleksandra OrekhovichDirector for Legal Initiatives, Internet Initiatives Development Fund

"Instagram has the right to block the account of a user who tries to use unauthorized means to download content."

The rules of social networks owned by Meta, Instagram and Facebook include a clause stating that users do not have the right to collect information in unauthorized ways, including through automated means. In 2020-2021, Meta permanently blocked the accounts of users who used such tools.

In addition, Meta filed lawsuits against the companies that stored this data, demanding their deletion. But there is a caveat here: since Instagram does not own the rights to the photos that users upload, but only licenses them, such a license leaves the opportunity to grant the rights to use the content to other persons, for example, the VKontakte social network. But what threatens Russian users of Instagram and Facebook if they are recognized as extremist resources is not clear. After all, any interaction with a recognized extremist platform can have legal consequences. How Meta will behave if it convicts users of using the service from Vkontakte is also not clear. Apparently, users will simply be blocked.

Vkontakte service for uploading content from Instagram raised doubts among lawyers