14 DAY TRIAL // An 18-year-old teen from the town of Carinthia in Austria is suing her parents for posting embarrassing childhood photos on their Facebook accounts, which they refused to take down following repeated requests.
The teen says that her parents uploaded over 500 photos from her childhood, some of which were both intimate and embarrassing.
She says this has been happening since 2009 when she was eleven. Her parents shared the photos with their 700+ friends, making her feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Photos violate my right to a private life, teen argues
The teen argues that the photos violate her right to a private life. Her father says that he has the copyright over the images since he took the pictures.
A judge will decide on this matter, but theoretically, the girl has a high chance of winning.
"They knew no shame and no limit - and didn’t care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot - every stage was photographed and then made public," the girl told a local Austrian newspaper.
Second time when a child sues his parents over Facebook photos
This is not the first time a child has sued their parents. In March 2015, a UK court ruled in favor of an unnamed teen that had sued his parents, also for uploading intimate childhood photos on Facebook.
The court awarded the teen £250,000 ($325,000). Justifying his decision, the UK judge said "Looking at the photos it is clear that you have exploited your own child for Facebook likes! It’s disgraceful that you would do this to your own child! What’s next? Sell your granny?"
Earlier this year, France has warned parents not to upload pictures of their young children online. Parents who do so will face fines of up to €45,000 ($50,000).
French legislators argued that these photos, sometimes showing children in intimate moments, would upset them when they grow up.
Further, French authorities also cited safety reasons, saying that kidnappers could use these photos to target and identify a rich family's children.