In the first case of its kind, a fourteen year old teenage girl from Northern Ireland is to sue Facebook over a naked photograph of her was repeatedly posted on Facebook. This came after the post had been reported and unsuitable content for the social media colossus.
The girl claimed she was blackmailed into providing the naked shot of herself, and that the photograph was then posted on one of the so-called ‘shame’ pages on Facebook. Here the picture was posted by persons known to the girl as a form of revenge, BBC Northern Ireland News reports.
The initial hearing of the case in a U.K. court has heard how the girl complained to Facebook and the post was removed. The photograph was subsequently re-posted on more than one occasion (between November 2014 and January 2016). The girl’s lawyers argue, according to Irish News, that the first flagging of the post as unsuitable and unwarranted should have been enough for the social media company to have taken action to prevent any further postings. The legal team are arguing that Facebook broke several laws pertaining to misuse of private information, negligence and breach of the Data Protection Act.
In its initial defense, Facebook is seeking to have the claim against it dismissed, arguing that it always took the picture down once notified and that it could not control the actions of those wishing to post such content. In turn the girl’s legal team say that Facebook’s software was sophisticated enough to have detected the image once ‘post’ was pressed and could have automatically blocked publication.
The case continues.
