A French Court has awarded €1,500 privacy damages against a person who created a false Facebook profile of a French actor and comedian. On 24 November 2010, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris gave judgment in the case of Omar S v Alexandre P. The applicant was Omar Sy a well known television actor and comedian. A “false profile” of him had been created on Facebook site, illustrated with a photograph of him and containing contains the comments he was supposed to have have posted and the replies to “friends” who had accessed the site.
Read more on Inforrm’s Blog.
I note that there was no discussion of defamation. Nor was the defendant charged with identity theft. The issues here seem to be privacy and use of one’s image without permission.
I wonder what would have happened if the false profile was clearly or obviously a parody? Would the plaintiff have prevailed under French/EU law?