Exploitation for fun

I belong to a fantastic and massive photography community called flickr. Ive been apart of this community for just under a year..and what a year its been..the best ride of my life!!
But recently..what was a wonderful exciting experience has turned into a nightmare for some of my contacts and their friends.
There is a website owned by google called www.orkut.com,kinda like a myspace style site. Apparently its all the rage in Brazil to steal photos of children from flickr and other places and make 'fake' profiles on orkut with albums full of these childrens pictures.
What they are doing is theft...these photos are protected by copyright laws. No matter what they think. A little green box and the words 'this photo is public' does not mean it is free for your to take.

Click the photo for the original story

Now,photographers all over the world are having to take a stand against this blatant disregard for other peoples property..the stealing of photos is wrong..it is as much a crime as breaking into someones house and stealing their property.
Trying to make a bunch of brazilian teenagers who couldnt give a crap about it is another story entirely...some dont believe that the photos are yours or that you know the people whose photos they are and want proof...proof...why should we have to prove anything to them..they stole our photos..they are the ones in the wrong..not us!! Although,they would have you believe that you are. More than i once ive been faced with the responce "you put your photos there,if you didnt want to have them taken you shouldnt of put them on flickr. Its your fault for putting them there." Really? Well personally i dont see it like that. For some strange reason,i didnt foresee a bunch of stupid teenagers in brazil setting up hundreds of 'fake' profiles with images of little children stolen from flickr. Maybe thats just me...
Other people you ask to remove the photos merely say "no" and leave it at that but the best responce of all is surely "why? you should be proud of your children,they are famous in brazil"
Somehow..that really just doesnt make me feel any better!!

I must admit..me ranting and raving like i am is probably going to be the most annoying thing to some people..personally...i havent been affected by this terrible thing. I havent got any chidren so no photos can be stolen from me..i feel its unlikely that they would anyway..but that defeats the object. Maybe me and my high horse will annoy people who have been affected but at the end of the day...i feel sick to my stomach by what is happening. Flickr has been such an inspiration and joy for me..the positive feedback and wonderful people have given me a new
Now,that world is threatened and it makes me sad,angry,annoyed...maybe even slightly selfish..but surely that is my right...like its the right of mothers & fathers all over flickr to display images of their children and their work without fear it will be stolen and placed somewhere else illegally. We all need to take a stand and let google and these people know that we wont sit back any longer...visit the site...if you have a flickr account,leave a comment on the image..fave it..leave a note and support the cause. AND....dont gorget to sign the petition!! lease on life recently. Ive always enjoyed and loved photography but never took the leap into it until recently but since doing so..i have never been happier. Flickr is a constant inspiration and world of wonder with people from all over the world sharing their lives and knowledge with others.