Northern Ireland girl, 14, to sue Facebook over naked photo

Facebook tried to have the matter of the girl suing thrown out. But a High Court judge in Belfast rejected the social media giant's argument. Photo / Ben Fraser

A 14- year-old girl has been given the go ahead to sue Facebook after a naked picture of her was posted on a "shame page" on the site.

Facebook tried to have the matter thrown out. But a High Court judge in Belfast rejected the social media giant's argument.

Lawyers for the Northern Ireland teenager say the image should have been blocked, but Facebook insists it doesn't have to do that under European law, Dublin's 98FM reports.

She's suing Facebook and the person who uploaded the photo in what lawyers claim is believed to be the first case of its kind in the world.

The girl's lawyers allege that the photo was obtained through blackmail and then repeatedly posted on a "shame page" on Facebook several times between November 2014 and January this year, Sky News UK reports.

Her lawyers argued that Facebook could use a "fingerprinting" technology to prevent the photo being re-uploaded.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is seeking damages for misuse of private information, negligence and breach of the Data Protection Act.

She is also suing the person who allegedly posted the photo in an act of revenge.

It's the latest in a series of issues involving the censorship of content on Facebook.

Last week, a Norwegian newspaper wrote a front page open letter to founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg slamming its decision to remove a historic photo of a nine-year-old girl fleeing after a napalm bomb was dropped in her town during the Vietnam War.

Facebook was forced to defend it's decision to block the use of the famous 'napalm girl' photo from the Vietnam War.Photo / AP

Facebook said the photo violated its community standards on nudity. The company later reinstated the post after succumbing to public pressure.