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Subscribe to RSSThe parents of Army Lt. Peter Burks, who was killed in Iraq in 2007, are suing two dating sites for using their son's photo without permission in ads that say "Military Man Searching for Love." KXAS-TV's Ellen Goldberg reports.
Two dating websites are being sued for allegedly using a fallen soldier's photo in their ads for "Military Man Searching for Love."
Army Lt. Peter Burks' parents have sued PlentyofFish.com and True.com. They say his photo was used in ads without their permission.
"The implication is that, if you click here, this is one of our members. This is somebody you'll meet -- and people like him -- when this fallen hero has been dead three or four years," said attorney Rogge Dunn, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Burks' parents.
Ruben Buell, True.com president, told NBC 5 on Monday that the company is taking the allegation very seriously and is investigating the matter.
"Our hearts go out to the family of Lt. Burks for their loss," he said. "We assure the family that we will fully investigate this matter and take appropriate action once we have the full details of the matter. Management of TRUE.com would never knowingly use a photo of a fallen soldier to promote our business and looks forward to getting the necessary details in order to take appropriate action."
Read the original story on NBCDFW.com
The parents' attorney said Burks' photo was taken days before he was killed in Iraq in 2007. It's on another website that provides supplies to troops.
Burks' photo apparently was removed from the dating ads recently. But the lawsuit said the companies misled customers and commercially benefited while hurting his family.
"It's just as wrong as it can be on so many different levels," said Alan Burks, the soldier's father.
"To trade on the courage of young men and women that volunteer to serve our country and wear that uniform and for somebody to take advantage of that and use that for commercial gain -- it doesn't get any lower than that," he said.
Vancouver-based Plenty Of Fish told NBC 5 on Monday that it did no online advertising in December 2011 and that "hundreds of thousands of third parties advertise via POF.com every month, the majority coming through networks such as Google AdSense and ad exchanges. Third parties control the content of ads run on POF.com."
Additionally, POF.com said it dealt with the photo issue a month ago and that the ad has been blocked from appearing on its website in accordance with DMCA Safe Harbor provisions.
Burks' parents filed the lawsuit Monday in Dallas, where True.com is based.
See a copy of the lawsuit here.
NBC 5's Ellen Goldberg contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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I hope the family gets BANK from this! Is there no end to what companies will do to get a couple of bucks?
What's even better is the auto insurance company that used a picture of Mohammed Atta in one of their Facebook advertisements.
Ask yourself this, Would I patronize ANY website stooping to this level of: (you fill in the blank___________). The only way to clean up corporate america is for all of us consumers NOT patronizing any of them. This is even worse than someone claiming to have won the Medal and saying it was his right under "freedom of speech". Yes that to is being debated now.
Those pictures of US military men and women on dating sites are most often a scam, the person/family of the individual in the picture has no idea it has happened. Scammers steal the pictures from around the web. It should be absolutely illegal and actions taken against those who misuse the pictures of military personnel FOR ANY REASON. It's horrible that profiteers steal the picture of soldiers who actually have been wounded, disabled, or killed in service to their country so some cheap enterprise can profit through lies. Military personnel are heroes who sacrificed, their image is never to be used in shady operations. All my sympathy to the soldier's family who suffered a great loss and now have to deal with this trauma.
Is nothing in this country sacred anymore? Why do I even read the news anymore? I hope this family will get big bucks from this sorry-a** dating site.
that is just low-down. I hope the family gets their due and the company gets hit where it hurts.
what a terrible thing to see if you were looking at either site and came across your recently deceased son or daughter!!! Shame on them.
My girlfriend was on-line (facebook) and a dating site came on and it showed her own son as looking for an "older" women some sort of "cougar site"!! She called him and asked he said HELL NO! He is in a lawsuit now with that company. These people just take anything they want.....
remember people... Posted on WWW means WORLD WIDE WEB....careful what you post.. innocent or not, they have access to it as long as you post it!!!
It IS terrible. Too bad that folks here seem to believe that HOW the photo got on the website is irrelevant to actual culpability.
Yes, that DOES matter.
It matters IF the acutual goal is in finding out WHAT needs to be fixed so that it doesn't happen again to someone else, AND in assigning "blame" correctly for the purposes of assuaging one's grief through monentary compensation. Of course, if neither goal is the actual objective, then carry on.
Some of those "Dating" sites are nothing more than pay per view porn site. One thing you cant stress enough with the younger people now days that once its out there its out there. That little boob shot the young lady sends to her boyfriend thinking nothing of it can come back and haunt you years later, I seen it happen. A lot of the sites are own by parent companies in Gahna etc were there dont have laws in place like we do nor do they cooperate with the U.S. I hope this family gets big bucks but its going to be hard. Best wishes to them!
damned shame...................
"oh but we never knew" yeah riiiiggght! I hope the family is awarded enough to shut their companies down!
Seriously? I cant believe all of you people are jumping so hard at this. Im guessing none of you are in business for yourself. I SERIOUSLY doubt they intentionally used a DEAD soldiers photo. How is that any better than a LIVE soldiers photo? Im sure someone was just searching for "soldier" photos online and came across this one. Not even knowing the circumstances of the photo or who it was they just downloaded it and used it for an advertisement. They had no idea this soldier had died.
This is the internet and pictures are shared and re used millions of times per day. If you put pictures on the internet they are open game, thats just the way it is.
To completely shut down a multimillion dollar business that people have probably put their heart and life and soul into because they used a public image on the internet is a little harsh. How about all the jobs that will be lost if these sites are shut down? You ever think of that? All of the families that will be affected by loss of job and income.
Think rational for a minute before jumping to judgement.
All of you probably whine about a poor economy too and no jobs in the US. Yet you root for frivolous law suits like this that do nothing but line the pockets of very few and the lawyers.
Continue to support the mine field that the US business world is becoming and there really wont be any jobs left. Its hard enough to keep a modern business running without some frivolous law suit or the government butting in and telling you that you are doing it wrong.
That's the problem with most online dating websites, they don't make their business campaign fully legit. Using someone else's photo without asking for his permission would seem rather inappropriate and unprofessional for a business than being trustworthy. Now is this the kind of dating platform you want to get yourself in? There are many well-respected and highly-reviewed dating websites online. Just go to any dating review sites on the web, for example, and read the best rated ones to discover the best dating website for you. Good luck.