Blog: Facebook’s Continuing Privacy Policy Battle: Parents Concerned Over the Use of Children’s Information in Advertisements

By: Jasmine McKinney, Associate Manuscripts Editor   

By now, most of us probably know that Facebook is no stranger to lawsuits.  Just a mere two years ago, Facebook was involved in a class-action lawsuit where the social networking giant was found to have used members’ images without their permission in advertisements commonly called “sponsored stories”.[1]  Facebook users involved in the suit reported that Facebook had used their personal images shared on the website for various commercial activities.[2]  Though at the time users had no choice to opt out of being featured in sponsored stories, they could configure their privacy settings to share information with only certain people.[3]  The suit that was settled in 2012 cost Facebook a whopping $10 million.[4]

Fast-forward to today and throngs of people are still up in arms over Facebook’s lackadaisical privacy policies.  The settlement has yet to take effect due to the large number of appeals making their way through court.  However, under the settlement, Facebook agreed to change its privacy policies so that Facebook users between the ages of thirteen and eighteen could indication whether their parents were also Facebook users and give the parents control over the use of their children’s ‘likes’ and comments for advertising purposes.[5]  For children whose parents were not Facebook users, the site promised to opt their children out of social advertising until age eighteen.[6]  Still many are unsatisfied.

Now, a group of parents as well as child advocacy and privacy groups are asking a federal appeals court to throw out the 2012 settlement with Facebook over the website’s use of children’s images in these advertisements or sponsored stories.[7]  The plaintiffs and other public interest groups claim that despite the 2012 action, Facebook still uses children’s images without the proper authorization.[8]  Though parents have the ability to ask Facebook, to remove an image used in advertisements on the site, many still believe Facebook should ask for permission first.[9]  Plaintiffs in the case claim that Facebook’s practices continue to violate laws prohibiting the use of a minor’s image without parental permission in several states, including: California, Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.[10]

Scott Michelman, a lawyer for the nonprofit group Public Citizen argues that Facebook is currently exercising a backwards approach to privacy concerning it’s younger users.  “The default should be that a minor’s image should not be used for advertising unless the parent opts in.  Putting the burden on the parent to opt the child out gets it exactly backward.”[11]  Another group known as the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood has also concluded that the previous settlement offers little protection to children and has taken the same stance as Public Citizen on the issue.[12]

Over the years, Facebook has continued to emphasize that its takes the privacy of its users seriously, but many may question how this can be true given the company’s history of frequently making changes to its privacy policy (some of which have not always been the best in terms of privacy).[13]  The safety of minors online is undoubtedly an important issue and the result of this new suit is bound to show Facebook’s true stance on protecting the privacy of its younger users.