How illegal is it to post a fake facebook profile with a real person’s name?
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How illegal is it to post a fake facebook profile with a real person’s name?
A friend of mine posed as someone else on facebook just to pick on the said person him/herself. Nothing obscene, slanderous, or insane was ever posted and the profile was deleted in less than 24 hours. Are there any civil or criminal repercussions?
Asked on February 21, 2012 under Criminal Law, Illinois
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Different states in this country have different laws and statutes with respect to the posting of another person's likeness on the internet without his or her permission. Assuming no actual damage was done as to the posting of the third person, I doubt that any criminal activity happened per statute of each state based upon my experience.
However, the third person most likely would have a civil action for his or her unauthorized likeness under the common law of all states in this country as well as statute. In hindsight, the posting was not a good idea.
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