Facebook fears emerge as dad sues
September 7, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
The man launched legal proceedings against the company when his 12-year-old daughter posted explicit photographs of herself online.
He fears she has put herself in extreme danger from paedophiles who may be using Facebook to target young people.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his daughter’s identity, told UTV he was disgusted and horrified when he accessed her account and saw the images.
He says every time he got her to close one account on Facebook, she would open another – so now, as a last resort, he is suing the company to try and ensure her safety.
The case is the first of its kind in the UK and is being taken by Londonderry solicitor Hilary Carmichael.
She is accusing Facebook of failing to properly verify the age of its users.
“This girl has been able to organise various pages, giving false dates of birth and various variations of her name,” Hilary Carmichael told UTV.
“And yet there is no control by Facebook over the age of anyone who access their site and who creates pages.”
The solicitor has established an online survey to find other parents with similar concerns – in just over 24 hours nearly 400 people have responded.
One mother claims she found a picture she had posted of her disabled daughter was being used in an adults-only site.
Facebook has released a statement defending its child protection measures.
The company says it “invests heavily in educating people on how to stay safe” and has a “good working relationship with law enforcement agencies”.
It added that information submitted through the site’s “robust reporting infrastructure” is prioritised “to monitor offensive or potentially dangerous content.”
Facebook requires members to be over 13 years old but does not use any checks.
It is now thought the internet giant could be sued by hundreds of families.
© UTV News
