The family of a Canadian teen who committed suicide in April received an apology from her Facebook after their daughter's photos were used on dating ads.
"This is an extremely unfortunate example of an advertiser scraping an image from the Internet and using it in their ad campaign," Facebook said in a statement to TheStar.com.
Retaeh Parsons, 17, was a victim of cyber bullying when a photo of her alleged rape made its way onto the Internet, according to The Independent. Parsons' alleged attack occurred during a party she attend two years before her suicide.
The girl's images appeared on a Facebook ad for ionechat.com, titled "Find Love in Canada." The ad was reportedly removed less than two hours later, according to TheStar.com.
The social media company issued the following statement about the mistake:
"This is an extremely unfortunate example of an advertiser scraping an image from the internet and using it in their ad campaign," a spokesman said.
"This is a gross violation of our ad policies and we have removed the ad and permanently deleted the advertiser's account.
"We apologize for any harm this caused."
Parsons' father, Glenn Canning, took to his personal website to express how appalled he was over the use of his daughter's photo.
"I am completely bewildered and disgusted by this," Canning wrote on his blog. "This is my daughter, Rehtaeh. They have her in an ad for meeting singles. I don't even know what to say."
Two 18-year-old males have been arrested in Canada in connection to Parsons' alleged assault, and charged with distributing child pornography, The Independent reports.
According to TheStar.com, Parsons' parents believe authorities failed to adequately investigate their daughter's alleged sexual assault, causing her to attempt suicide as an "act of desperation." Parsons was reportedly treated for depression before her suicide attempt.
