Legal Question in Technology Law in New York

Is it legal for a website to take my picture and post it on their webpage?

I was out at a bar that allows this website to take pictures of people in their bar. They took several pictures of me and posted them on their website. I never gave them permission to put any of these pictures up there. These pictures are ending up on other websites. There is at least 25 pictures of me and some friends wearing some boy cut shorts, which are a smaller version of bikini bottoms.I am a NY resident. I have asked these people several times to take the pictures off, but they just refuse to.I have a lawyer but I am not sure if he is handleing it the proper way. I called the FBI and they told me to stick with the lawyer, kind of hinting to me somethings up.One of the pictures that was taken with the website owners, not knowing they were taking a picture, squatting behing me and the other two girls next to me with our butts covered in shorts, had caption that was added to it underneath the picture saying, ''(someones name) and (someones name) pimping'' which makes me look like a hoe/prostitute.The following week they took a picture of me, without knowing, a picture of my butt. My question is,Is there a way to get these pictures down and are these people allowed to have my picture on their website?What is illegal about it?


Asked on 12/18/06, 3:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Silverman Law Firm of Lawrence Silverman

Re: Is it legal for a website to take my picture and post it on their webpage?

You may sue for DAMAGES for this tortious invasion of your privacy, illegal under N.Y. Civil Rights Law Section 50 which makes it a criminal misdemeanor to misappropriate a person's picture, likeness, or name for commercial purposes (e.g., advertising or promotion of a business) WITHOUT that person's WRITTEN consent. MOREOVER, Section 51 of New York State's Civil Rights Law enables you to bring a civil action to sue for both MONETARY DAMAGES and to COMPEL them to remove your picture from the website ("INJUNCTIVE RELIEF", in legal jargon).

You might also be able to sue for their infliction of emotional distess which you have suffered from their unauthorized use of photographs of you.

The website may also be violating other laws in their unauthorized use of your image, and that might be worth researching.

As a first step, the standard procedure would be to have your lawyer write them a "CEASE AND DESIST" letter demanding that they remove any and all photographs of you from their website immediately.

You may be able to get a wider variety of points of view from OTHER lawyers by

RE-SUBMITTING this question to the LawGuru "PERSONAL INJURY AND TORT LAW" category and/or the "GENERAL CIVIL LITIGATION" category or pperhaps also under LawGuru's "CIVIL RIGHTS LAW" category.

Read more
Answered on 12/20/06, 12:11 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Computer & Technology Law questions and answers in New York