Q: Many personal photos of Ross Harris’ family have accompanied stories about Cooper. Who provided these pictures?
—Fredolyn Stitt, Snellville
A: The photos were taken from Ross Harris' Facebook account, which he chose to make public, so they were available to anyone. Facebook users can choose to make photos private — or delete their accounts — and he didn't do that, so they were in the public domain.
The family and its attorney have not complained about The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s use of the photos. “In addition, whether you believe Harris intentionally killed his son or not, Cooper was an innocent toddler whose life was lost,” Charles Gay, the AJC’s Deputy Managing Editor said. “We thought it was important to show his face to our readers, and that of his family, so the story would have more resonance.”
On Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, it states: “When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).”
Harris, of Marietta, was charged with felony murder and second-degree cruelty to children after 22-month-old Cooper Harris died after being left in a SUV for more than seven hours on June 18. Harris remains in the Cobb County jail.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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