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Man sues his friend for Facebook libel
Paul Cheston01.07.08
A London businessman has launched the first Facebook defamation law suit.
Mathew Firsht, managing director of Applause Store Productions Ltd, is suing an old school friend, freelance cameraman Grant Raphael, for libel and misuse of private information.
He claims Mr Raphael created a false Firsht personal profile and group profile called "Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?", from a computer at the flat where Mr Raphael was living in Hampstead in June last year.
Mr Raphael, who denies liability, says "strangers" who attended a party at the address that day, sneaked off to a spare room and created the profiles on his PC.
The profiles were on the site for 16 days until Mr Firsht's brother spotted them and they were taken down by Facebook.
Mr Firsht's counsel, Lorna Skinner, told Deputy Judge Richard Parkes QC, in London, that the private information concerned his whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status and falsely indicated his sexual orientation and political views.
It said that he was "Looking for: whatever I can get" in terms of relationships and was signed up to other groups, including Gay in the Wood... Borehamwood and Gay Jews in London.
He was also defamed by claims he owed money he had avoided paying by lying, and he and his company were not to be trusted and were a credit risk.
Ms Skinner said that Mr Raphael's case was "simply not tenable".
"The claimant says that the defendant has borne a grudge since they fell out in 2000. The defendant knew all the information in the profiles, and only a very limited number of people would on that date."
She alleged that Mr Raphael, a "self-confessed Facebook enthusiast", discovered Mr Firsht did not have an entry and decided to create a false one to cause him anxiety and embarrassment.
Ms Skinner said: "He values his privacy highly and it was the gross invasion of this, namely having his personal details, including false details concerning his sexuality, laid bare for all to see, that caused him the most distress."
The hearing, due to last three days, was adjourned until tomorrow.
