Family sues media companies for ‘offensive’ images of son with Down syndrome

In a lawsuit against three media companies -- Cox Media, Flickr, and Sign Generator -- a Tennessee couple are suing for the use of altered and "offensive" images of their son with Down syndrome.

The images in question allegedly included captions along side the boy that read "Retarded News," "Retarded Handicap Generator" and "I got a boner" when posted online, ABC reports.

Nashville-based Pamela and Bernard Holland claim they were shocked to learn an image of their son, Adam, that was taken in July 2004 when he was 17, was used for commercial use with "defamatory" descriptions.

In the original photo, Adam is holding a sketch he created while attending an art class. Yet in the three instances mentioned in the lawsuit, specific to each of the three media companies, the photo was altered in some way.

Cox Media admitted to the use the image on one of its radio station websites in which Adam holds a sign that says "Retarded News."

Last summer, a program director at the radio station apologized to an advocacy group inquiring about the image.

"The segment 'Retarded News' is designed to highlight odd stories that are seemingly always in the news," reads the email that was included in court papers.

"These stories are NOT about disabled individuals. However, in our investigation, we noted the picture that he was using did denote a person with Down syndrome," it continues.

Sign Generator also allegedly used Adam's image under the heading "Retarded Handicap Generator."

And a Flickr user in Minnesota allegedly used his image with the words "I got a boner."

The original photo is believed to have been posted by the art class, reports the Toronto Star.

The use of unauthorized or stolen images online has become a hot topic as of late. There are legions of news stories about social media users claiming their personal images have been used for everything from pornography to advertisements.

In a recent case closer to home, the Toronto Star reports that an Ontario mother claims her 5-month-old child's baby photos were stolen from Instagram and used for sexual role playing. Toronto police say it may be classified as child pornography.

What are your thoughts on the safety of the images you post online? Do you worry about them being misused? Tell us in the comments.