Joanna Nolasco reports:
If someone creates an embarassing fake profile of you on Facebook, a bill proposed by Rep. David Frockt could make it easier for you to sue for damages.
The Seattle Democrat’s bill, House Bill 1652, says that a person who has been impersonated on a social-networking website or an online bulletin board, like Craigslist, can file a lawsuit based on an invasion-of-privacy claim. Along with other considerations, the electronic impersonation has to have resulted in some type of injury to the actual person, including physical harm or an injury to his or her reputation, among others.
Read more in the Seattle Times.
Key provisions of the proposed bill include:
(1) A person who appropriates the reputation, prestige, social, or commercial standing of another person by impersonation, through an internet web site or by other electronic means, may be liable in a civil action based on the common law theory of invasion of privacy.
(2) A person who suffers damages or harm as a result of a violation of this section may bring a civil action to recover actual damages. The court may, in its discretion, award injunctive and declaratory relief as necessary.