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Facebook issued an apology for using in an online dating ad the image of a Canadian teenager who committed suicide last spring after what her parents describe as cyberbullying.

A picture of Rehtaeh Parsons appeared in a Facebook "Sponsored Ad" for Ionechat.com, an online dating website, on Tuesday evening.

The ad said 鈥淔ind Love in Canada! Meet Canadian girls and women for friendship, dating or relationships. Sign up now!鈥� according to a screenshot of the image that appeared yesterday on Twitter.

Facebook said the ad was a 鈥済ross violation鈥� of the company鈥檚 policies, and it has been removed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 our image. It belongs to Rehtaeh鈥檚 family. Just to lift it off and start using it like that is very thoughtless,鈥� said Rehtaeh鈥檚 father, Glen Canning, in a Wednesday phone interview with the Canadian news publication, .

Facebook has since banned Ionechat.com from its website. Lonechat.com鈥檚 website could not be accessed after repeated attempts Wednesday morning.

鈥淚 think banning the Ionechat.com company was the right move to make,鈥� said Mr. Canning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to say what can be done, but I think Facebook removed it fast, and I appreciate that, and they apologized for it, which is good.鈥�

Facebook has previously been confronted with legal action for its advertising methods. A different Facebook advertising campaign, 鈥淪ponsored Stories,鈥� incorporates users鈥� 鈥渓ikes鈥� into advertisements. A lawsuit earlier this summer caused the company to rewrite part of their privacy policy to make users aware that some of their information might be used in advertising, and to give users the opportunity to opt out of being featured in ads. Facebook also paid approximately 614,000 users $15 each for using their information for advertising purposes as part of the settlement agreement.

However, it remains unclear how Rehtaeh鈥檚 image appeared in the 鈥淪ponsored Ads鈥� section, which is separate from 鈥淪ponsored Stories.鈥� The Sponsored Ads rely on Facebook鈥檚 user data to better hone in ads for users.

After a users鈥� death, what to do with the deceased鈥檚 account: They can either memorialize the account or remove the account from the site.聽 It is unclear how Rehtaeh鈥檚 parents handled their daughter鈥檚 account after her death, or how her information would still have been in circulation for use in advertising, especially for a dating site. 聽

The advertisement appeared on Andrew Ennals鈥檚 Facebook account, and something odd struck him about the picture featured in the right side bar. Mr. Ennals, a Toronto-based copywriter, googled the name 鈥淩ehtaeh Parsons,鈥� and confirmed that the ad did, in fact, feature an old image of Parsons.聽聽

Ennals then tweeted what he had found: 鈥淪upreme bad taste: a dating site鈥檚 Facebook ad is using a picture of Rehteah Parsons,鈥� including a screenshot of the advertisement.

Mike Shaver, a Facebook representative tweeted back at Ennals鈥檚 post within the hour, and the company promptly removed the ad.

Rehtaeh died in April, several days after she attempted suicide. Her parents say their daughter was the target of cyberbullying after an alleged sexual assault in November 2011. A picture of the incident was circulated to Rehtaeh鈥檚 friends and classmates via mobile phone and computers.聽

The circumstances surrounding Rehtaeh鈥檚 death, and the increased incidences of cyberbullying have prompted an increase in the discussion in both Canada and the United States about how to prevent such behavior.

Two 18-year-olds have been arrested and charged with child pornography offenses in connection with Rehtaeh鈥檚 alleged sexual assault in Nova Scotia. They will be tried as minors, since they were under 18 at the time of the crime. They are expected to enter pleas on Thursday according to the .