December 21st, 2011
Facebook Ads, The First Amendment and the Almighty ‘Like’
By Joe Palazzolo
Wall Street Journal, Law Blog
When you “like” something on Facebook, what does that mean? I mean, really mean?
A federal judge in California is considering the question in a lawsuit brought by a group of plaintiffs who allege that Facebook misappropriated their names, photographs, likenesses and identities for use in paid advertisements without proper consent.
The lawsuit is over a type of social ad called a “Sponsored Story,” which is created when a Facebook user “likes” a product or service and is shown to that user’s friends. In other words, if you “like” a brand, you become a spokesman for it.
Read more: http://on.wsj.com/vNtTky