A pubwatch group is using pictures from Facebook and Bebo to help members identify people with bans.
Links to profile pages containing pictures of those who are barred — if they can be identified — are emailed to members of Vale of Leven Pubwatch in Strathclyde.
Pubwatch chairman Ewan Forbes, of Balloch's Waterhouse, said the pictures aren't distributed any further, including online. They are kept in a central database for pubwatch members only.
MA legal editor Peter Coulson said that as long as the photos and descriptions were kept strictly for members and are not made public, the Pubwatch group can go ahead, to ensure that members know who to ban.
"Problems arise only if customers can access this information themselves." He said photos must be removed and destroyed if the ban is lifted.