A press group has apologized after it violated the privacy of the six-year-old daughter of Hollywood actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard by posting an uncut photo of her at a private family outing.
MailOnline, part of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), included a 2018 photo of Delta Bell Shepard sitting on her father’s shoulders in a Los Angeles park in an article published on June 11 last year.
The couple, on behalf of their daughter, claimed that posting the photo was an abuse of her private information and a violation of her rights under the GDPR and they requested an injunction and damages.
But their lawyer, Ben Hammer, told the UK High Court on Tuesday that ANL accepted that «the privacy of the six-year-old had been breached by publishing the photo and accepting responsibility».
And in a brief statement before Judge Nicklin, he added that MailOnline «publicly apologizes to the plaintiff for the inconvenience it has caused for the invasion of her privacy and the violation of her rights.»
Hammer said the photo captured a «special moment» that was «disseminated to millions across the internet».
He added, «Ms. Bell and Mr. Shepherd were completely unfamiliar with filming at the time.»
The court heard that Mrs. Bell, who expresses Princess Anna in frozen Her films and her writer-director husband topped the «No Children Policy» campaign, which «incites media organizations to publish or purchase photographs of children taken without their parents’ or their parents’ consent».
Mr. Hammer said the aim of the campaign against the «commercial exploitation of celebrity children’s images in the press» was to «allow these children to have a decent childhood».
«A childhood free from unwanted, harmful exposure to the general glare and discomfort that photographers cause to be photographed,» he added.
Mr. Hammer said MailOnline had agreed to pledge not to publish unmixed photos of Delta, or any other Hollywood kids, until they turned 18, except for photos taken at public events or those placed in the public domain, or approved by them. , their parents.
Martin Wood, an ANL attorney, told the court that the publisher accepted Mr. Hammer’s statement and «apologizes to the plaintiff and her parents for the ordeal.»
He added: «The image was not commissioned by MailOnline and was accidentally posted in error within a set of proprietary images obtained by MailOnline from a photo agency.
«If MailOnline had made a conscious decision to publish the photo, the plaintiff’s face would be dismembered in accordance with the plaintiff’s parents’ public position regarding the photographs of their children.»
He said MailOnline removed the image from the article as it was posted as soon as Ms. Bell and Mr. Shepherd filed their complaint.
Mr Hammer said MailOnline had agreed to pay the legal costs and that the plaintiff considers the matter closed.
Source: Press Association
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