Facebook Sued in Northern Ireland for Racy Photos of a Young Girl
Facebook is facing another lawsuit and in Northern Ireland this time as a father sued the globally popular social networking site for its lack of security measures that reportedly allowed the man's young daughter to display her racy images on the website.
In a report by tech news site Digital Trends, Hilary Carmichael filed a lawsuit before the Belfast High Court on Monday, blaming the website for gross negligence that he claimed led to the posting of her 12-year-old daughter's lewd photos.
Carmichael said in the lawsuit that Facebook surprisingly 'allowed' the sexually explicit photos to be uploaded, which depicted his young child "in a provocative pose (and looking) ... much older than her (actual) 12 years."
Not only that the minor Facebook member was able to display her uncensored images, the plaintiff also lamented that her personal information were flashed on her profile page, with the company not making a move despite glaring indications that she's under 13.
Facebook prohibits minors under 13 from opening accounts on its site and is regularly purging pages that are determined to be owned by members belonging in the age bracket, which prompted Carmichael to ask the company why his daughter's page remains active to date.
He also argued on his filings that Facebook needs to implement verifications measures that would confirm a person's actual age before he or she is allowed to open and maintain an account.
That can be done by a simple "age check, like asking for a passport number, would be a simple measure for Facebook to implement," Carmichael suggested on his lawsuit.
Fearing that her daughter might unwittingly invite sexual and physical harm, Carmichael demanded that Facebook immediately deactivates the young girl's account or a separate "application will be made to stop Facebook operating in Northern Ireland."
Facebook has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, according to Digital Trends, but in a publicised position on the subject of protecting young kids venturing on social media sites, which was released in 2008 by former chief privacy officer Chris Kelly, the company called for the close cooperation of parents in ensuring that their children stay safe from preying individuals.
"There are multiple layers of responsibility and the core for us is to provide the tools that will be effective at protecting kids ... One of the things that you have to do is educate kids not to meet anyone that they only know online," Kelly was quoted as saying by The Sunday Times of London in the statement.
Facebook also enjoined kids "to tell their parents where they're going and what they're doing, and have the parents be an active participant in their lives."