TikTok has become a melting pot for content creators from any background or profession to be able to share original content. And some companies have used it to their advantage.
Anna Konstantopoulous, a content creator who, after being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, advocates for those with chronic illness, posted a relatable video to TikTok on Sept. 4.
“You can always just take a nap and ignore your problems,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay as she pointed to herself in the mirror.
But three weeks after her initial video was uploaded, she noticed that self-care brand TheraBox tagged her in one of its recent Instagram Reels.
To her dismay, it wasn’t one of the company’s videos. It was her exact video, which the brand downloaded and reuploaded for its own marketing purposes, something she normally charges brands to do.
“It’s because they technically did give me credit for my video, I think they thought that that was fine,” Konstantopoulous told the Daily Dot in an interview. “But again, I don’t even know that brand. I’ve never partnered with them before. I’ve never used any of their products. And so it felt like I was endorsing a product that I’ve never used before.”
The video has since been deleted.
But Konstantoupolous isn’t alone. In recent years, more and more brands have begun using creators’ content without permission.
@unseenandbelieved Sometimes a nap is the best solution to clear your mind and avoid life's problems. ????✨ #SelfCare #NapTime #MentalHealth #StressRelief #TakeABreak #LifeHacks #WellnessJourney ♬ gravity falls vocal stims - ava lily☕️
As companies from nearly every niche migrate away from traditional practices like billboards and radio advertisements, they’re latching onto social media marketing.
For most brands, this means hiring influencers to create content that companies can use to promote their products. However, some attempt to cut corners and use the social media landscape to acquire “free” promotion.
Social media marketers refer to this as User-Generated Content.
A University of California study showed that millennial shoppers find UGC content, which is typically seen as honest and authentic, to be 35% more memorable than content from other sources.
Thus, the desire to have genuine, unsponsored people marketing its products is the new goal for companies. However, whether or not these brands are getting permission to use this material is an ongoing issue.
Content creators have had enough.
Konstantopoulous said, in TheraBox’s case, she doesn’t know how much the company potentially profited off of her content because she was completely left out of the conversation. While she reached out to TheraBox about the video in hopes of potentially receiving compensation, the company has yet to respond.
Even if the wellness brand did not profit from her video, the re-uploaded Reel has garnered over 8,000 views. The company earned exposure from the misleading advertisement, which Konstantopoulous believes was intentional given her health background.
“Especially because I am a chronic illness creator and their brand is a health and wellness brand, so obviously if you see someone who is a chronic illness creator supposedly supporting a brand, that’s going to increase their credibility,” she explained.
A similar situation occurred with Kylen Chen-Troester, a rising actress and small content creator. She took to TikTok in January 2024 to vent about her content being stolen by skincare brand Soft Services.
In an earlier video, she shared an unsponsored glimpse at the Soft Service product she’d purchased. The brand then clipped a still of her video and used it in a paid Instagram ad.
Ultimately, Kylen received an apology from the Soft Service team, and the ad was taken down. She didn’t receive any monetary compensation from the advertisement that had her content at the forefront.
Both TheraBox and Soft Services have yet to respond to the Daily Dot's request for comment.
While TikTok handles copyright infringement claims on the app, there are no specifications for handling claims against brands using unauthorized TikTok content from small creators.
The question is, whose responsibility is it to fix the situation? In the eyes of these creators, the brands are at fault.
“I think brands do have a responsibility to not steal content,” Konstantopoulos quipped. “I think they don’t really value the work that we put into our videos, and how long it takes to cultivate a brand and so when they just take that work and profit off of it without giving us any heads up, or even compensating us in any way, is incredibly frustrating.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to TikTok via contact form for comment on these concerns.
While these situations can be frustrating for influencers, the legal state of social media may not be in their favor.
@kylenct stealing from creators is lame :/ @Soft Services ♬ original sound - Kylen
Associate Professor Christopher Terry teaches his students the ins and outs of media law at the University of Minnesota daily. Social media is a fairly new addition to the law, but when it comes to public content protection, the law surrounding this general practice is simple.
“As soon as someone posts on TikTok, it is no longer their property,” Terry told the Daily Dot in an interview.
“It's the same as posting a picture and seeing it used on those free picture platforms; it's now public domain. There's no real copyright on social media platforms. TikTok has a consensual agreement with its users so that when someone posts content, the platform has right to use it. Thus, it has no legal responsibility to handle situations in terms of potential copyright infringement as there's no copyright in effect.”
The only stipulation to this that may be arguable in court is the dealings of identity. As Konstantopoulous reflected, it wasn’t just about her content being used by TheraBox without her permission, it was also about the brand misusing her identity, which can be prosecutable.
“For example, if someone were to use a Kardashian's content in order to promote their products without their permission, it can be legally disputed because their identity as a popular celebrity is being misused,” Kerry continued.
However, the growing pool of small content creators often aren't considered public figures like massive celebrities. This opens up a grey area for social media users with growing followings.
For creators, the size of the brand in offense matters when they consider taking action against those who have taken their content.
“When it’s a small brand and there’s just kind of one person behind it and the situation was clearly an accident or a misunderstanding, I think there should be a level of grace that should be extended,” Chen-Troester told The Daily Dot.
“But when it comes to large corporations that are constantly ripping people off, stealing IP, and just don’t really have a moral compass," she concluded. "I absolutely think that creators should be going after them and demand monetary compensation.”
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The post ‘I was endorsing a product that I’ve never used before’: Brands are using anything you post online in advertisements. Is that legal? appeared first on The Daily Dot.
