Chinese Stock Photo Giant Faces Backlash Over Black Hole Image Monetization
Visual China Group faces massive public outrage after attempting to sell the historically free black hole image. The controversy exposes the company's controversial practice of claiming copyrights over public domain images.
A major controversy erupts in China as Visual China Group (VCG) attempts to sell the first-ever image of a black hole. The stock photo provider lists the historically significant picture in its commercial library without proper attribution to the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. This action directly contradicts the European Southern Observatory's Creative Commons license, which allows free distribution of the image as long as clear credit is provided.
Internet users quickly express their outrage on social media platforms like Weibo, condemning VCG for trying to monetize a photo intended for all of humanity. The public backlash highlights a broader pattern of unscrupulous licensing practices by the company. VCG frequently claims ownership of public domain images and aggressively seeks financial compensation from people who inadvertently use them.
The incident causes immediate financial damage for VCG as its shares plummet by ten percent on the Shanghai stock exchange. Further scrutiny reveals that the company's massive content library includes copyrighted claims on absurd items like the Chinese national flag and logos of major tech firms. Even the Chinese Communist Youth League publicly mocks the company, questioning how VCG justifies charging fees for the use of the national emblem.