An 18-year-old girl from Austria has started legal proceedings against her own parents over their posting of embarrassing photos of her childhood on Facebook which she claims have made her life miserable.
The girl’s lawyer, Michael Rami, claims the girl’s parents have posted over 500 photos of her since 2009 without her consent, including photos of her having her nappy changed as an infant as well as her in toilet training.
Furthermore, her parents have refused to delete the images, which were shared with over 700 Facebook friends, with her father claiming they are his intellectual property.
“I’m tired of not being taken seriously by my parents,” the girl said. “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.”
Austrian courts will hear the case in November. The outcome will depend on whether the photos are judged to have violated the girl’s privacy, and whether this caused the girl genuine pain and suffering.
Should the parents lose, they will be forced to pay her damages as well as covering her legal costs.
The case is the first of its kind in Austria, with potential consequences for parents who choose to post images on social media of their children without their prior permission.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at ben@yiannopoulos.net
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