Remove my face from Facebook?

December 29, 2007 5:51 PM

Can I get photos uploaded to Facebook that include me against my wishes removed if the person who uploaded them will not take them down?

I know this sounds like the height of vanity, but it isn't.

Someone I am close to has uploaded photographs to Facebook in which I look horrendous. I asked that s/he not upload them but my request was met with hostility and ignored. (This person has some, umm, socialization issues.)

In the past year I have been the target of a very public online attack based on my appearance. I have since become hyper-vigilant regarding what images of me appear online, partly due to trauma and partly due to not wanting to provide additional fodder to that instigator. I have untagged my name but it isn't difficult to figure out they are images of me, based on other stuff in the photos and tags.

More info: The person who uploaded the images does not have a signed release or anything from me. I am not a celebrity or model. They are just standard digital vacation/family photos I assumed were for personal use or printing, not online sharing. S/he did have my permission to take them, but not share or distribute them. I made my request that they not be published at the time s/he was uploading them, not when they were taken.

Can I get Facebook to remove them, and how would I do that?

posted by anonymous to Computers & Internet (24 answers total)

IANAL, and am speaking from my memories of an introductory law class many years ago, so take this with a grain (or bucket) of salt.

I think that it depends on where the images were taken, and whether you had a reasonable expectation of privacy. If they were taken in a public place, or somewhere like creepy-person's house, then I don't think you have a legal leg to stand on.

Some derivative thoughts:

- What Facebook will do and what a judge would say are two separate things. I'm under the impression that, if you contact a site with what sounds like a reasonably legitimate-sounding claim, they seem to err on the side of caution and pull the material.

- The fact that you were stalked and believe yourself to be at risk of some form of danger can only help. I don't know about the legal implications, but a string of continuing harassment and threats may increase the legitimacy of your claim on Facebook's end.

- I don't know the situation, but it sounds to me like this is a friend or someone that's posting these pictures... The fact that they're refusing to take them down, when it's clearly quite distressing to you, suggests that this is a person who you should very deliberately distance yourself from if possible.
posted by fogster at 6:02 PM on December 29, 2007

It's not the answer you want to hear, but according to the facebook help page, they cannot do anything about it.

"If you don't want the photo to be shown at all, please talk to the person who posted it. They should be respectful enough to remove unwanted photos. Unfortunately, Facebook CANNOT make people remove photos that do not violate our Terms of Use."

From the photos help page (scroll down to the bottom and click on the first link under "General Photos Questions."

It sounds like unless the photo violates facebook's terms of use, they aren't going to do anything about it. Your best bet is probably to try to reason with that person again and see if they might change their mind and take them down.

You could also try contacting facebook support, but from my experience they are anything but helpful. You will probably just get a form letter emailed to you quoting the FAQ I just posted, and saying that these policies are in place "to maximize the user experience" (or something similarly vague).
posted by stilly at 6:03 PM on December 29, 2007

From what you have described, the pictures were quite legally posted to Facebook. There is no need to obtain a signed release to publish photos of another person. In general, unless photos are taken of you when the photographer is trespassing onto your property, the photographer can do whatever they like with the photos.

You can send a polite email to Facebook documenting why you want the photos removed. However, realize they have no legal obligation to do so. Hence, you want to appeal to their sense of decency, not legality. I would suggest making a very concise request with references to the harms the pictures have/will cause. Please ensure the harms are well-established and do not come across as "I had a bad hair day."

I'm rather pessimistic about your chances pursuing that route. I would suggest figuring out how to deal with the pictures being there.
posted by saeculorum at 6:04 PM on December 29, 2007

you might not have a legal leg to stand on, but facebook might help you out as a courtesy. i know on myspace all you have to do is scream "penis!" and the page disappears immediately, with or without said offending organ.
posted by camdan at 6:07 PM on December 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

i'm not saying you should be b/irl who cries "penis!" just to get this pic taken down, but tell the moderator the situation and that the picture offends you, it might be good enough.
posted by camdan at 6:08 PM on December 29, 2007

stilly wrote (4 comments ago) quoting Facebook: "Facebook CANNOT make people remove photos that do not violate our Terms of Use".

Interesting phrasing they used, though -- indeed, they can't make anyone do anything, but that statement doesn't preclude the admins of Facebook, itself, doing whatever they want. I suspect they'd want to reserve that right.
posted by astrochimp at 6:23 PM on December 29, 2007

"Facebook CANNOT make people remove photos that do not violate our Terms of Use".

Which is an interesting way of putting it, because part of the Terms of Use (under the "User Content Posted on the Site" section) says: You may not post, transmit, or share User Content on the Site or Service that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:33 PM on December 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

saeculorum writes "In general, unless photos are taken of you when the photographer is trespassing onto your property, the photographer can do whatever they like with the photos"

This isn't true. Photographers for example can't use photos of recognizable individuals for commercial purposes (exception news and parody) without a model release.
posted by Mitheral at 6:42 PM on December 29, 2007

Mitheral: I doubt the OP is a recognizable individual, and this instance is not commercial. Hence the, "in general" caveat rather than "in all cases."
posted by saeculorum at 6:45 PM on December 29, 2007

In the future, when you are in a situation where cameras are whipped out, say something like, "Please don't upload these photos to Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, etc."
posted by k8t at 6:58 PM on December 29, 2007

If nothing can be done the very least you can do is untag yourself if you're tagged in the pictures.
posted by hiptobesquare at 7:50 PM on December 29, 2007

And remove the offending 'friend' from your list. Why they haven't listened to your concerns is puzzling.
posted by typewriter at 8:38 PM on December 29, 2007

First you need to understand that unless these are naked pictures of you facebook will not take them down. Second, you need to untag them if you havnet done so already, that will basically remove them from the attention of your friends. Finally you need to block this person, that will do you pretty well.
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:43 PM on December 29, 2007

is there anyone else in the photos who could ask the uploader to take them down? maybe if you ask them to ask for you, the person (who sounds like they're being a total jerk, btw), might do it for them?
posted by twistofrhyme at 10:02 PM on December 29, 2007

ThePinkSuperhero: You may not post, transmit, or share User Content on the Site or Service that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post.

I suspect that "do not have permission to post" refers to copyright permissions, not permission from the people in the photographs - meaning I can't copy and post a photo from your Flickr stream without asking you, but I can post my photograph of you with no problems.
posted by Infinite Jest at 10:22 PM on December 29, 2007

I doubt the OP is a recognizable individual

Not that it applies here, since facebook isn't commercial use, but 'recognizable' in that context means 'visible as a single individual in the photo' and not 'celebrity that people would be able to name'. It's meant to distinguish between people in the backgrounds of shots of other things and people who are the focus of the photo in question when it comes to determining if a model release is required.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:40 PM on December 29, 2007

Photographers for example can't use photos of recognizable individuals for commercial purposes (exception news and parody) without a model release.

Actually, I don't think that is correct except in very limited circumstances. But photographers will still seek releases in cases where they are unnecessary to avoid even the possibility of trouble. In any case, this is not a commercial use.

You may not post, transmit, or share User Content on the Site or Service that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post.

It's pretty clear that "permission to post" is from the copyright holder, not permission from the subject, my pet gerbil, or anyone else. I'm sure Facebook will be happy to clear this up for you if you e-mail them.

Block the so-called friend, which will (a) send a message about how seriously you take this, and (b) keep anyone trying to stalk you from finding untagged pictures of you by scanning through your friends list. If you ask in the right way you might be able to get Facebook to take the photos down for you, but I wouldn't count on it.

This person has some, umm, socialization issues.

You might keep in mind that if you make a really big deal out of this, you are going to be the one who will appear to have socialization issues.
posted by grouse at 11:29 PM on December 29, 2007

My main reaction to all this: knowing that you've already had people use your online pictures to make you look bad, what difference does it make (since they already have some bad pictures of you) if they get a hold of a few more? First, you've got to respect yourself enough to ignore generally what other people are doing with your photos, even if it bothers you at times.

Second, assuming you're generally a reasonable person with the exception of this neurosis, you need to find friends who care about you enough to be willing to entertain your one deeply-held (if ultimately unwarranted) fear of bad photographs falling into the wrong hands. Either the person who uploaded the images isn't a very understanding friend, or you make too many irrational demands of him and he's going to pick and choose which demands he takes seriously. If the problem is the latter, you'd do better to pick which pet peeves or bothersome things you want to make priorities, otherwise you may be "crying wolf" too much.

Also, I agree with everyone who said there's no legal issue, most importantly because the photographs are not being used for the other person's profit. (Expectation of privacy I think has more to do with things like governmental surveillance, though I'm not sure on that one.)
posted by monkey85 at 12:45 AM on December 30, 2007

Get a third party to say that *they* took the pictures, and this person is posting his copyrighted works without his permission (perhaps he stole the memory card or similar). FB won't want the hassle of deciding the truth.
posted by bonaldi at 9:37 AM on December 30, 2007

Facebook says that to remove copyrighted material, they want a proper DMCA notification, which requires a statement made under penalty of perjury. I hope you wouldn't suggest that someone commit perjury to remove some unflattering photos. Someone who persuades someone else to commit perjury can also be guilty of suborning perjury. The penalty for both of these is up to five years in federal prison, plus a criminal record that will prevent employment in many areas.
posted by grouse at 4:42 PM on December 30, 2007

Have a foreigner do it.
posted by bonaldi at 6:31 PM on December 30, 2007

Since I presume the OP is not a foreigner, that won't really help the OP avoid the criminal conviction for subornation of perjury.
posted by grouse at 8:07 PM on December 30, 2007

Well, if OP lived in the fevered world where this would get to court.
posted by bonaldi at 5:03 AM on December 31, 2007

Maybe. I certainly wouldn't want to try my luck against a "hostile" person with "socialization issues." Even if he decides not to press charges, he can easily send a DMCA counter-notification so the photos will be back up again in a week, so it gains the OP nothing. And perjury is seriously wrong, it's not something that should be suggested lightly (or really, ever).
posted by grouse at 5:36 AM on December 31, 2007