From Iceland — Dating Site Uses Teenage Girl In Advert

Dating Site Uses Teenage Girl In Advert

Published January 16, 2013

A popular Icelandic dating site received criticism for using an underaged-looking model on their website. A brief search revealed the ad was using a clearly labeled stock photo of a teenage girl.
DV reports that spokesperson of the Feminist Society of Iceland Steinunn Rögnvaldsdóttir, among others, have taken issue with a new ad that had appeared on Einkamál, a dating site used by Icelanders. The ad features a photo of a model who appears to be too young to even use the site. No one under 18 is allowed to use Einkamál.
A reverse image search has revealed that the model for the ad is taken from a stock photo entitled “Teenage girl holding a book”. She has also appeared in another stock photo bank, in a photo bearing the title “Stock Photo of Teenage girl with soft toy looking shockly at laptop”.
A spokesperson for Einkamál said that they had not received any complaints about the ad. They nonetheless decided to remove it from the site.
This is not the first time the site drew criticism. In 2011, it was revealed that classified ads for prostitution were being posted there. The site responded by removing the offending ads and providing assurances that such ads violate their terms of service.

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