Excerpt from: Disability Scoop (click for full article)
In what’s believed to be a first-of-its-kind case, a family is bringing a federal lawsuit after a photo of their son with Down syndrome was doctored and spread across the Internet.
Adam Holland was 17 in 2004 when he was photographed taking part in an art class at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities. In the image, Holland is seen smiling, holding up a piece of paper with a picture that he drew.
Nearly a decade later, however, Holland’s parents, Pamela and Bernard Holland of Nashville, Tenn., say in court papers that they were stunned to find the image of their son altered and reposted numerous times across the Web.
In one case the Hollands found that a Tampa, Fla. radio station posted the photo of their son with his drawing replaced by the words “Retarded News.” Another website called Sign Generator allegedly made a version available to download for a fee under the heading “Retarded Handicap Generator.” And in a third instance, the family says that a Minnesota man posted the image on Flickr with the words “I got a boner” in place of their son’s drawing.
Now the Hollands are suing the radio station’s owner, Cox Media Group, as well as the owner of the Sign Generator website and the Flickr user. In a federal court filing last week the family said that posting the “unauthorized, deceptive, false, misleading and defamatory images” caused “severe mental anguish and emotional distress” and they’re seeking compensatory and punitive damages totaling $18 million.
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