It sounds like science fiction. But the legal framework that would allow it? That’s already here - or at least being argued.
Right now, companies like Adobe are arguing that because you uploaded content to their platforms, you gave them the rights to your likeness, your creative work, and your life’s output - to do anything they want with it. Today, that means training AI models that can reproduce your work. Tomorrow? Where exactly does it stop?
What happens when a company decides it wants to create a robot sex worker that looks like you - and claims your terms of service gave them permission?
This Isn’t Hypothetical. I Lived It.
In 2018, my company Diversity Photos was recruited by Adobe. They came to us in 2018, specifically because of our unique catalog of diverse content. Then they took our work and used it to train their AI models - without telling us, without asking, and without paying us a dime.
When I found out and reached out to Adobe, I was ignored. Repeatedly. When they finally responded, they told me I had already given them permission. Their argument? Buried in the Stock Contributor Agreement was language granting Adobe a license for “developing new features and services.” According to Adobe, that phrase - written in 2018, before generative AI even existed as a commercial product - covered training AI models on our work forever, royalty-free.
The “New Features and Services” Trap
Here’s what should scare every creator reading this: the phrase “new features and services [to promote your work]” is everywhere. It’s in Adobe’s terms and likely in many other platform terms - virtually every platform where you host content.
These companies wrote those terms years ago, long before generative AI. But now they’re using that language as a blank check. The arbitrator in our case literally looked up the dictionary definition of “new” - meaning “having recently come into existence” - and concluded that AI training qualified because it was, by definition, new.
Think about what that means. Under that interpretation, any future technology qualifies. AI-generated clones of your face? New feature. Synthetic voices trained on your speech? New service. A physical robot built using your likeness? If it’s new, it’s covered.
Companies are ignoring all other terms within the contract and ONLY highlighting the term “new” as the catch all for anything. And that’s the point.
Why I Need Your Help
I’m not sharing this story just to vent. I’m sharing it because this isn’t just about me. Every creator on every platform is sitting on a ticking time bomb hidden in their terms of service.
So here’s what I’m asking:
Go to every platform where you have content. Adobe. Getty. YouTube. Instagram. Google. Wherever you create.
Find the terms of service. Look for language about “new features,” “new services,” “developing products,” or anything that gives the platform broad rights to your content beyond its original purpose.
Screenshot it. Document what you find.
Share it with me. Tag me. Let’s build the receipts together.
Because right now, these companies are banking on the fact that nobody reads the fine print. They’re betting that creators will keep uploading, keep contributing, keep feeding the machine - without ever realizing what they signed away.
The law hasn’t caught up to the technology. The courts haven’t drawn clear lines. And the arbitration system is designed to favor the companies that can afford the best lawyers and the highest fees.
But if enough of us shine a light on what’s actually in these agreements - if we can show the world exactly how these platforms claim ownership over our creative lives - we can start to change the conversation.
They took my work. They trained their AI on images of real people - our friends, kids, and community - without consent. And when I tried to fight back, they used the legal system to try and stop me.
I’m still fighting. But I can’t do it alone.
Let’s create the receipts. Together.
