Obama Adminstration Claims White House Photos Are For News Organizations Only
Normally photos taken by government employees in the course of their duties fall in the public domain. That is apparently changing under the Obama administration, which is now claiming full copyright privilege in asserting that its photos can only be used by news organizations. Why this is happening isn’t entirely clear at this point, but it represents a reversal of longstanding governmental policy. A cynical aside: the White House seemed okay with third parties making use of their photos when it suited them. I’m thinking of the iconic Obama poster by the recently-arrested Shepherd Fairey. But lately, some not-so-flattering uses of White House images have made the rounds. Might this be a response to backlash by a notoriously thin-skinned administration? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it seems like Obama is creating an unnecessary controversy.
