Facebook runs into a legal squall over using children in advertising
It's all new territory - now parents are going to law over whether the social network can use their children's images in ads without their say-so.
More than14.4 million Facebook users in the US are between 13 and 17, under the age of legal consent across most of America. Should they be used in advertising?
When US magazine AdAge asked Facebook about its use of minors' images in ads, the social network referred the reporter to its Teens Safety Tips page - and declined to comment further.
The page does have suggestions on staying safe on Facebook - but it does not mention parental consent for any activities. In fact, says AdAge, it doesn't mention advertising at all.
At the moment, Facebook is facing three lawsuits in California and New York over its failure to obtain parental consent for the use of minors' images.
New York resident Scott Nastro claims Facebook has regularly and repeatedly used the names and/or likenesses of the plaintiff his son Justin " for the commercial purpose of marketing, advertising, selling and soliciting the purchase of goods and services."
To guide parents, the Facebook tips page states: "Think of social media as a get-together at one of your child's friends' houses. You can give permission for your teen to attend, and even though you won't be there to monitor their behaviour, you trust your teen to have good judgment around peers and other parents."
The "like" button is at the centre of it all. When a user "likes" a brand page or a piece of branded content, that user's name and image is displayed along with the "like" thumbs-up logo. If a youngster likes the Coke page, all his friends see his endorsement of Coke.
The New York complaint says bluntly,"There is no mechanism in place by which a user can prevent their name and likeness from appearing on a Facebook page if they have 'liked' it."
Facebook told AdAge it believes these lawsuits are without merit and that it planned to fight them "vigorously."
The social network has joined Google, Skype, Yahoo, Twitter, Zynga and eHarmony in opposing a California children's privacy bill. Facebook claims that following a newly stringent children's privacy law would do "significant damage to California's vibrant Internet commerce industry at a time when the state can least afford it."