Couple says stranger used their baby’s photo repeatedly on Facebook
A Chipita Park couple said a stranger took their daughter’s photo off Facebook and used it repeatedly on his Facebook page, and they said Facebook has done nothing to intervene.
Danny Norris said his mother got a notification on her Facebook page that a man had taken one of her photos and made it into his profile picture. The photo he used was of Danny and Nicole Norris’ baby, Aspen.
Nicole and Danny contacted Harris Pankin and asked him to remove the photo, but he didn’t respond. In the days that followed, the couple said Pankin posted the photos six times and commented on the photo with political jabs and drug references.
“I was kind of taken back because she is a four-month-old baby and he is posting pictures of drugs along pictures of a baby,” said Nicole Norris.
“What is the world coming to that you had to take about my daughter this way and use her picture? It just doesn’t make sense,” said Danny Norris.
The couple said while they are frustrated Pankin took the photo, they are even more frustrated by the response from Facebook.
Nicole said she reported the photo to Facebook more than 50 times.
“The point is not that he took the picture, it’s that we are trying to do something to take the picture down and we haven’t gotten anywhere,” said Nicole.
At one point, Danny said he called a customer service line for Facebook.
“I talked to three people that could barely speak English. It took them a very long time to understand what I was saying. I was told I wouldn’t be able to see his profile anymore or he’d search anything to me. It’s been two weeks and nothing has happened,” said Danny.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 contacted Pankin. He said he believed the photo was of him as a baby. After being told the baby belonged to the Norris family, Pankin said he would still not remove the photo.
A Facebook spokesperson responded to KRDO NewsChannel 13’s request for an interview and said Facebook took the issue seriously and a team would now investigate the Norris’ complaint.
“Facebook takes intellectual property rights seriously and we work quickly to remove infringing images when they’re reported by the person or organization who owns the rights. If a rights holder sees their image being improperly used on Facebook, they can file a complaint using this link and we will promptly evaluate and take the appropriate action,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
