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Court Rules It's Ok To Tag Pics On Facebook Without Permission

Posted by samzenpus on from the random-acts-of-tagging dept.

neoflexycurrent writes "A federal court has ruled that photos of a woman on Facebook showing her drinking were properly used as evidence in a child custody case. She had argued she was identified without permission. But the court rejected that argument. In reaching that decision, the court made the interesting observation that: '[t]here is nothing within the law that requires [one's] permission when someone takes a picture and posts it on a Facebook page. There is nothing that requires [one's] permission when she [is] "tagged" or identified as a person in those pictures.'"

4 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. tagging is fine by devxo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why wouldn't tagging be within law? Tagging a photo is similar to someone asking "who is that person" and the photographer telling him. Sure, Facebook gets extra data, but then you should tell your friends not to tag you in photos.

    1. Re:tagging is fine by andrea.sartori · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Tagging a photo is similar to someone asking "who is that person" and the photographer telling him.

      Exactly. Besides, she used the wrong defence: she should have said she's wasn't drinking that much.

      --
      Mostly harmless.
    2. Re:tagging is fine by Moryath · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The phrase you are looking for is "easy cases make bad law.

      For those who are unclear: the WORST law, in terms of setting precedents to be relied on later, comes from cases in which a defendant is "obviously guilty of something" or just plain unsympathetic. The end result is a jury ruling on the emotional bounds of what they are presented, rather than on facts in the case, or in the appellate side, a bunch of judges making "fuck it we can see they are guilty why are you bothering us with this crap" rulings.

      Ironically, the counterargument - hard cases make bad law - is also valid. Hard cases require very case-specific rulings and legal hair-splitting in order to arrive at the verdict or appellate review result, but then inevitably someone comes along and tries to apply them to completely different situations as precedent.

  2. Question from a Facebook newbie by PPH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Actually, a Facebook non-user. If someone on Facebook takes a photo with me in it and 'links' it to my account, what you say may be true. But if I don't have a Facebook account and I am simply identified as PPH, how do I stop someone from searching through others Facebook accounts (which may be unsecured) for instances of PPH?

    Do I have to have a Facebook account to control this sort of third party tagging? Isn't that a form of blackmail?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.