A recent lawsuit is a reminder to anybody who has an online presence or who hosts discussions, message boards or online groups that speech online is still speech, and because of that, can still subject people who host groups or discussions to liability.
Are We Dating the Same Guy?
The lawsuit stems from a Facebook group, called “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” The group’s original intention was for women to join the group, and then ask other group members about men they are dating, to make sure that the men they are dating, aren’t dating someone else, or are not married.
The idea took hold—so much so that Facebook groups became localized, forming in numerous cities across the nation, including Chicago.
But as time went on, the discussions in the group changed, according to the lawsuit, to people “reviewing” men that they had dated—that is, the group now was an open discussion where people could say whatever they want about men they had dated.
Man Alleges He Was Defamed
But one man, who was apparently a subject of the discussions in one of the groups, has filed a lawsuit against more than 20 women who used the site, alleging that they defamed him on or in the Facebook group.
The lawsuit also named Meta, the parent company of Facebook, given that the lawsuit says that Meta makes money off the group, through facebook ads that run and are displayed to group users.
The lawsuit alleges that the women in the group said that the man was “clingy” and “psycho.” The man says that the women were allowed to say this by the site, despite the fact that the site or the page has absolutely no way of verifying what any woman says in the group, and there is no requirement that any woman who says anything about other people, back up, or corroborate, what they are posting—in fact, the lawsuit alleges, there is not even any way of knowing whether people who post things about men, even know the men they are posting about.
Many men may not even be aware they are the subject of posts, and there is no opportunity for people to refute things that are said about them, according to the suit.
Some Protection From Liability
To some extent, online and social media hosts are immune from defamation claims based on things that other people post on their sites or message boards, that the host has no control over. But this case may be different, because in addition to defamation, the lawsuit also alleges invasions of privacy, and because the lawsuit alleges that Meta/Facebook profits off of the use of the group.
It’s likely the case will settle out of court, but the fact there was a lawsuit at all is a warning to those who host open discussions online that they may not be able to take such a hands-off approach to the discussions that happen on their pages or sites.
Legal issues related to your digital online presence? Ask us how to stay legally safe. Speak with a Chicago business litigation attorney at Ellis Legal at (312) 967-7629.