Olympic athletes can't post videos of Games because of broadcasting rights, IOC says

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The International Olympic Committee told athletes on Thursday that they are not allowed to share videos from their events in Tokyo in response to Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah who had her Instagram account suspended just a day earlier after she posted her gold medal runs there. 

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said that while athletes can post stills, posting videos infringe upon the broadcasters’ rights. 

“We encourage people, we encourage everybody, to share still pictures of performances, but the video obviously belongs to the rights-holding broadcasters,” the statement read, via Reuters. 

Adams added that 90% of the money the IOC gets from the broadcasters eventually gets redistributed. 

“That money comes to the IOC. We have to protect their rights and therefore the income which we can redistribute to athletes and sports,” he said.

Thompson-Herah won gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints this week. On Wednesday, she said her Instagram had been suspended for posting a video of her runs to her account. 

“I was blocked on Instagram for posting the races of the Olympics because I did not own the right to do so. So see y’all in 2 days,” she said in a tweet. 

A spokesperson for Facebook which owns Instagram, later said the content was taken down but the Olympian’s page was mistakenly suspended, NBC Sports reported. 

Thompson-Herah’s Instagram appeared to be up and running as of Thursday morning.

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