Congratulations on being curated, Anna! Coincidentally, my post from yesterday about a summer storm was also curated. I guess there was a storm-loving editor working yesterday!
Regarding the Terms & Conditions, I don't think much has changed. The wording is more disconcerting but I think it sounds worse than it is. Having worked for attorneys most of my life, I know that the legalese is nearly always bombastic and overly-protective of the source.
I believe all that jargon is to say that Medium can use your content to advertise the site. Which, I believe, is reasonable, considering the benefits we derive for very little monetary investment. Because advertising the site can potentially generate money for the owner(s) in the future, there has to be wordage saying that the site owner(s) may use your content and make money from it. There is no indication they will sell your work. I can imagine they might use tidbits of work as examples of the site for advertising purposes. It would be unreasonable for them to ask permission over and over so the T&C provides for blanket approval from writers by their continued use of Medium.
Of course, the permissions are very broad but elsewhere, the terms say that we own our content, not the site or the holders of the site. Again, we own the content but they can use it, probably for advertising purposes, and can potentially generate profit from the used content. Very typical for these types of sites.
On a personal level, I really don't care. It's not like I plan on writing a book or compiling my work in an anthology. For others who have such aspirations, I'm sure the unlikely implications of the terms are worrisome. I am happy with the little bit I make on Medium each month. I write more for pleasure and connection than income.
