‘All Hell’s Breakin‘ Loose’1
When you decide to publish content online, you quickly encounter two invisible giants: data protection and copyright! And let’s get one thing straight: both are important and fundamentally sensible. In a broken internet, something like the GDPR is one of the last bastions, even if it’s being undermined or carelessly clicked away by users. So, if you want to make a website GDPR-compliant, it quickly becomes complicated. Or you can keep it as simple as possible: no third-party providers, no newsletters, no Google Fonts, etc.
‘Shout It Out Loud’2
Therefore, none of that applies to this site. Of course, you don’t just want to stay within your own confines, but also broaden your horizons. Interesting photographers, a worthwhile exhibition. You’d love to report on it. That’s where the second giant comes into play: copyright! The (Austrian) copyright law protects the intellectual property of creators. There’s a simple rule of thumb on the internet: Anything you didn’t create yourself is, in all likelihood, copyrighted and cannot be used without permission. No, even proper attribution isn’t enough. And it doesn’t matter whether you have a purely private site, like this one, or a commercial blog with thousands of readers.
Again, I also don’t want my images appearing on dubious websites, in advertising brochures, or on T-shirts without my knowledge and permission! But another absurdity of our current society is that some „artists“ or their legal representatives have made a business model out of simply sending out cease-and-desist letters without warning to every website where they can find their work. And finding it isn’t difficult these days. I’m not interested in that!
‘Lick it up’3
That leaves only three options:
Use only your own content. Even then, problems can arise (personal rights, property rights, etc.), which we’ll discuss another time. But all in all, you’re safe!
Another option is embedding external sources. But that immediately brings the other giant into play: data privacy, since user data can quickly flow out without their consent.
The only truly reliable solution is to use simple text links. This way, no external files end up on your server (no copyright infringement), and your visitor’s browser doesn’t establish an unwanted connection to third-party providers in the background (no GDPR violation). Only when readers actively click on the link do they leave your blog and see the content on the official platform. And that’s how I’ll continue to do it here for the time being.
KISS, keep it simple, stupid!
See you later!
PS: Disclaimer: If anyone wants to engage with my photography, they’re welcome to do so. And they can even use it as an example. I’ve given my permission! Please just cite the source and link back to it. Any commercial use beyond that is, of course, out of the question! I know a lawyer, too…
from the album Lick It Up by KISS, Released February 6, 1984 ↩︎- from the album Destroyer by KISS, Released March 1, 1976 ↩︎
- from the album Lick It Up by KISS, Released September 18, 1983 ↩︎