CorpComms Magazine

Has the BBC done something wrong?

It depends what you see as wrong. During the riots, various corporations which include the BBC publicised photographs that they had taken directly from Twitter.

What's wrong with that?

Some say that it was a breach of copyright to use the images without seeking permission from the people who had taken the original photographs, because without that information it is not possible to attribute the images to anyone.

So presumably the BBC can't argue their case then.

Well not so. The BBC said that there are certain times where sticking to copyright laws just isn't possible. Chris Hamilton, the projects' editor of the BBC, said: 'In exceptional situations, where there is a strong public interest and often time constraints, such as a major news story...we may use a photo before we've cleared it.'

There are major news stories so often, surely the BBC can't just go around breaching copyright willy-nilly.

They don't! Hamilton said: 'We don't make this decision lightly - a senior editor has to judge that there is indeed a strong public interest in making a photo available to a wide audience.'

I don't see why the BBC shouldn't be able to use any Twitter picture they like, after all, the images are already visible to the public.

The BBC agrees with you, and at least says where each photo has come from even if it is unable to attribute the photo to someone. So the image will be labelled 'From Twitter' for example.

So why are people so angry?

Some believe full credit should always be given to the photographers, while Andy Mabbett, a journalist and editor of website Pigsonthewing, complained directly to the BBC about this.

What did the BBC say?

It replied saying: 'Twitter is a social network platform which is available to most people who have a computer and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain.'

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