Cosgrove Gaynard Solicitors

A fourteen-year-old girl has settled her case with Facebook after nude photos of her were posted on the social media sharing website.

A landmark legal action has been settled in Ireland in one of the first cases of its kind regarding ‘nude images’ posted online.

The girl brought an action against Facebook and the man who allegedly posted the pictures on a ‘shame’ page as a form of ‘revenge porn’ several times between November 2014 and January 2016. The girl was seeking damages under the Data Protection Act for misuse of private information, negligence and a breach under the Act.  The social media website claimed they deal with all complaints brought to their attention, however failed in an attempt to get the case dismissed in September 2016.

The case was settled outside of court in a confidential agreement which held the teenager’s legal costs will be paid for by Facebook and the outcome was praised by the High Court in Belfast once told of the agreement.

Should this case have been decided in court, it is believed the case would have brought clarity to the area of ‘revenge porn’ in what would have been a landmark decision. It would have set precedent for further cases to be taken in this area of law.