Photo of Janet Jackson at 2015 BET Awards, courtesy Getty
Following reports Tuesday that Instagram users were seeing their accounts disabled after posting pictures from a Janet Jackson concert, the photo sharing platform says a "bug" resulted in the removal of multiple accounts.
Some fans who shared photos and videos from recent shows received an email stating that “a third party reported that the content violates their copyright”. Others, however, learned their Instagram accounts had been completely removed.
A spokesperson for Instagram suggested in a statement to Variance that someone did complain about the content in question, although the deletion of accounts was not intentional.
“When we receive a valid report of intellectual property infringement, we’re legally required to remove the reported content and to disable the accounts of repeat infringers," the spokesperson said. "However, in this instance, we have identified a bug that resulted in the removal of accounts that shouldn’t have been removed. We have fixed the bug and are in the process of restoring the impacted accounts.”
Jackson has since released a statement encouraging fans to "keep posting" videos (preferably short ones), explaining that her team is "passionate about protecting the intellectual property we are creating for the tour" but she's asked them to "change their approach."
"It was never their intention, acting on my behalf, to have social media accounts removed," Jackson said. "Permitting the use of long clips does present a contractual problem for these projects. I hope you understand. I trust the fans will use their short recordings for their own memories and to share on their social media networks of choice."