Cloud-based file transfer company Wetransfer has removed terms in its updated terms of service in terms of intellectual property and machine learning models after criticizing online.
On July 14, users expressed concern and alarm about changes to Section 6.3 of WeTransfer’s Terms of Service, which specifically referred to granting the company “a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licenseable license” and allowing it to use uploaded content “for the purposes of operating, developing, commercializing, and improving the Service or new technologies or services, including to improve performance of machine learning models that enhance our content moderation policy and “the right to reproduce, distribute, modify, prepare derivative works based on, broadcast, broadcast with the public, publicly display and execute the content”.
In simpler language, the new term will grant Wetransfer licenses to train any content transmitted by the user and create derivative works based on the transmitted content to allow file sharing companies to allow monetization without having to pay the user.
The company’s new terms of service will come into effect on August 8. Many art galleries, museums and other art institutions use Wetransfer to send digital images of artworks, exhibitions and art fair speeches.
Post-production professional Ashley Lynch also pointed out how the new terminology will conflict with the disclosure agreement with clients in a post on social media platform Bluesky:
Wetransfer was founded in 2009 and was acquired by Italian technology company Bend Spoon last year.
“We do not use machine learning or any form of AI to process shared content,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. Artnews. “The paragraphs under discussion were initially updated to include the possibility of using AI to improve content moderation and further enhance our measures to prevent the distribution of illegal or harmful content on the Wetransfer platform.”
“With that being said, art community members using Wetransfer can rest assured that we won’t use their content to train machine learning models and other AI tools.”
The spokesperson also said: “This passage has caused confusion for our customers” and the company changed the licensing portion of the Terms of Service.
“In order to allow us to operate, provide and improve the Services and our technology, we must obtain from you certain rights related to the content covered by intellectual property rights. You hereby grant us the use of your Content to use your Content to operate, develop and improve the Services and comply with our Privence & Cookie Policy.”
