Chelsea Chaney has filed a $2 million lawsuit over bikini photos. At the age of 17, Chaney posted a photo of herself, wearing a bikini, on her Facebook page. She was shocked to discover that an instructor, with the Fayetteville County School district in Georgia, used the photo in a presentation.
Chaney was on a vacation with her family when she posed next to a cardboard cutout of Snoop Dog/Lion . The teen thought the photo was funny and posted it to her Facebook page. She never intended the photo to be used in a seminar.
As reported by WSBTV , the photo was presented by the Fayette County Schools Director of Technology during a seminar warning students and parents about misuse of social media.
Chelsea Chaney was not only embarrassed, she was incredibly angry. She and her attorney, Pete Wellborn, contend that the photo was only meant to be shared with friends and family. They further contend that the school never asked for permission to use the photo.
School officials offered an apology to Chaney and her family. However, they do not believe school officials were sincere. A spokesman with the school district asserts that they have no legal liability to the former student.
As reported by International Digital Times , Chaney and her attorney are now suing the school district for $2 million. Attorney Wellborn explains their decision to file the lawsuit:
“Their idea that putting something on Facebook gives them a license to steal it and carte blanche to do with it what they did is wrong ethically, it’s wrong morally and it’s absolutely wrong legally.”
Wellborn explains that the photo was used in a way that suggests Chaney “is a promiscuous abuser of alcohol.”
Officials with the school district have refused comment on the pending lawsuit. In an earlier interview they explained that the photo was chosen at random.
Chelsea Chaney has learned a very embarrassing and valuable lesson. What is posted on the internet is rarely private, and is not likely to go away. Ironically, the topic of the seminar in which the photo was used.
[Image via Facebook ]
