A basic Google image search shows whether an image is free to use or not.
I have not found this to be true.
Facebook: not a problem. It is non-exclusive.
you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content
(From Facebook TOS)
Also, you said this:
With Getty & ShutterStock, what is the USP of your image project?
what do you mean by USP?
• A filtered Google Image search will indicate whether an image is licensed or not. Google calls it usage rights.
• USP: unique selling propisition
• On Facebook:
the unique selling position should be obvious.
For Steemians, we love other Steemians and Steemian products and services.
With my proposed stock image site, I would enable Steem photogs to make Steem currency directly. For the Steemian blogger, there is an innate trust of other Steemians who produce artwork. And as a Steemian project, my site would have significant advantage over any stock photo site. Furthermore, the "cheetah" style bot will be pointing people to my site.
In other words.... it will be sufficiently unique to acquire new users daily.
And as for Facebook licensing, I am not interested in your diversion.
Here's why: It's irrelevant
Facebook is not where real professional photographers post their work. That is plain and simple. Facebook is full of junk, and no one is interested in licensing junk for their blog anyway. There may be a news story periodically, but the bloggers needing those images can usually get by with fair use of those kinds of images.
So who cares about the Facebook TOS?
Not the billion users who post photos on it every day. And certainly not me.
All the very best with your project, @uruiamme
Your expertise on this issue is vastly superior to mine, sir.
Yet, there was a question posed to me on images in one of my posts. 😊