NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > Irish father sues Facebook over sexually explicit child photos

Irish father sues Facebook over sexually explicit child photos

Underage 12-year-old daughter posted compromising pictures online

ANTOINETTE KELLY,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 7:01 AM

Updated Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 10:45 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

10 Comments

Patrick Kissane charged with inciting hatred through his Facebook page

Photo by Google Images

Facebook, the international social network, is being sued by an Irish father who discovered his 12-year-old daughter had taken sexually suggestive photos of herself that had then appeared on the website.

The unnamed father claimed his daughter has been put at risk from paedophiles after the images were published.

Hilary Carmichael, lawyer for the Irish father, told the Herald newspaper this week that Facebook has not put any checks in place to ensure that children are over the permitted age of 13 when they open a Facebook account.
___________________________

Bono’s Facebook investment worth almost $1 billion

Bono's company buys $120 million stake in Facebook
___________________________
'I was able to access this girl's Facebook page myself before we issued the writ. She has more than 485 friends -some from the western provinces of Nigeria,' Carmichael claimed.

The suit lodged in Belfast High Court last week alleges Facebook is guilty of negligence and has created a risk of sexual and physical harm to the child.

Thee suit also claims the girl has received sexually explicit text messages from adult men who asked her to post images of herself online.

The 12 year old girl, who is from County Antrim, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

It is believed she posted her photographs herself, also revealing personal details like where she lived, the name of her school and areas she frequents.

It's understood the girl suffers from behavioral problems and is currently being housed in a voluntary care institution.

Carmichael, who is a parent herself, told the Herald that parents should remain vigilant.

'We've had parents who've been in contact with us whose children live in the Republic and operate Facebook pages in the Republic. If they have any concerns, they should shut it down straight away,' the lawyer said.

'A lot of children are innocent and they don't know the dangers. That's why they shouldn't be allowed Facebook pages - they're too young,' added Carmichael, who has launched the new website childrenonfacebook.com to warn parents about the risks.

Facebook, whose international headquarters are located in Dublin, said it is committed to removing inappropriate photos once a complaint has been made.

Facebook is the world's largest social networking site, with over 730 million users around the world.

Nster.com

E-mail

10 Comments

See all comments

Angels66 | Sep 08, 2011, 08:51 AM EDT

Another case of poor parenting. Truely, a case parental neglect. A good parent monitors and sensors what thier 12 yr. old posts. I always have and my kids are now 16 and 18. Sorry, I find him a lazy parent suing Facebook for thier lack of parenting.

Report abuse

mamaginnty | Sep 07, 2011, 03:54 PM EDT

This child is quite clever in being able to take and download pics, plus seems to know a lot more than the father about the internet, the father should have looked into the do's and dont's about children on the internet before he let her use it, he does not know that parents can block certain sites from children. He should be getting help for this child, not looking for money.

Report abuse

KatherineZ | Sep 07, 2011, 02:21 PM EDT

so tired of people who pass the responsiblity of their actions (or in this case their non-actions in the monitoring their child's activity on the computer)onto others. sorry Da but you need to monitor your children's pass times before they get out of control. hope the child is being punished as well.

Report abuse

bunbegdonegal | Sep 07, 2011, 02:12 PM EDT

Come on Zuckey, give the fella a wee million to ease his pain. Sure, it will do wonders for the local economy(pub) and the family could take a holiday to Spain and sort the wee girl out! Whatta ya say, mate?

Report abuse

alabamadave | Sep 07, 2011, 01:52 PM EDT

With the fathers way of thinking... Shouldn't he be suing the manufacture of the camera or cell phone that the girl used to take those lewd pictures. Aren't they just as responsible as facebook?

Report abuse

Maiamar | Sep 07, 2011, 01:46 PM EDT

It is the responsibility of the parents to police their child, not Facebook's. Just what kind of "fence" are they supposed to put up???? I'm telling you right now that any kind of "fence" will be easily crawled over by any kid with the desire to do so. Parents need to monitor their children. Allow 1 hour to use it for homework only or if they feel that their child has EARNED the right to have a page on a social networking site then ALL friend requests should be approved by the parent. This girl had over 400 "friends" for crying out loud!!!! The parents obviously weren't doing their job. Don't blame Facebook.

Report abuse

eiriamach | Sep 07, 2011, 12:45 PM EDT

Although I do not disagree with the commenters who call for parents to take responsibility, I also think that Facebook bears some responsibility and this father's lawsuit is right. Young people should be using the Internet for educational purposes and to connect with their peers; they can gain a great deal from visiting web sites and interacting with Internet users around the world. And when all their friends are on Facebook, youngsters rightly feel left out and punished if they cannot avail of social media sites. But Facebook is also like an "attractive nuisance" in the legal sense. Example: when a property owner builds a beautiful swimming pool on his site and does not bother to put a fence around it to keep trespassers out, he is responsible for a youngster who drowns or gets hurt in his pool. Similarly, Facebook is responsible for its "attractive nuisances." Facebook must put a fence in place and patrol it so that minors are not exposed to dangers like pedophiles and cyber-bullies on line. Young people need to find their place in the on-line world, but Facebook is a minefield in cyberspace.

Report abuse

pugsmom | Sep 07, 2011, 11:14 AM EDT

"It is understood that the girl suffers from behavioral problems....." That one statement says about all that needs to be said concerning this frivolous lawsuit! And with over 730 million users, FaceBook should be tracking down and policing every parents' child who has the where-with-all to run circles around the adults who don't have the time, inclination or the computer savvy to monitor the child's activities? Get over yourself, get rid of the computer if need be, and get a grip on raising your own child.

Report abuse

feliciamaisey | Sep 07, 2011, 10:38 AM EDT

Facebook is a public networking site, and it is the responsibility of the parents and guardians to make sure their children do not have access to any site which could put them in harm's way. The parent should consider these sites as they would an automobile--when a child is not responsible, careful and intelligent enough (or old enough) to be in the driver's seat, they are not old enough, intelligent, responsible and careful enough to be given access to Facebook and other sites like it. As frustrating as it is, when one has children (mother of 4 speaking here: aged 28,21,18,11)it is their job to protect them above anyone else, including themselves! My 11 year old is always complaining that I am too strict because she can run the streets at will or be on social websites that are inappropriate for her age--I am doing my job, and this father should have been doing his--why should FB do it for him,??

Report abuse

sirpeter | Sep 07, 2011, 08:06 AM EDT

What is it with some people.They always shift the blame to someone else.If he did his job and instilled some common sense into his child she wouldn't do these things.But they are to busy to be aware of the dangers their kids are in.Then they blame anyone but themselves.Cop yourself on Dad!!

Report abuse