Browse by topic

News

Jack Thompson sues Facebook for $40 million

2 October 2009 1:48 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 29 comments

Disbarred Florida lawyer, Jack Thompson - the man who said "Grand Theft Auto" is a "murder simulator" and blamed it for the murder of three people - has filed a lawsuit against Facebook over comments on the website. Thompson claims that certain Facebook groups and user comments are a threat to his personal safety.

He said that groups on the website that call for users to "smack him in the face for $50" or "hit him with an Atari game system" have caused him harm and distress. Thompson is seeking $40 million in damages from the social networking giant - Facebook will contest the suit in court.

According to the legal documents, Thompson became aware of the groups on Facebook, such as "Jack Thompson should be removed from the populace" and "Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600," in August, and Facebook failed to close the groups on request. Thompson attempted to contact Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg twice in August - by Fax - not exactly how the site expects you to make these kind of complaints.

"This conduct by Facebook constitutes a willful and wanton disregard of the rights and safety of plaintiff and warrants an award of punitive damages against Facebook," according to Thompson's suit. Facebook said that it repeatedly asked Thompson to link directly to the specific content he wanted removed, but he was unable or unwilling to do so.

"This suit is without merit and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said. "Additionally, it is our practice to remove content that threatens an individual when it is brought to our attention." Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute, said that Thompson has no case.

"Thompson has absolutely no chance holding Facebook liable for these user postings," Goldman told PC Magazine, commenting that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 takes the liability away from Facebook in this case. "It doesn't matter if Facebook receives notice of a problem and fails to act, or if Facebook has acted in similar situations and hasn't acted here. Regardless of any of these facts, [the Telecom Act] says that Facebook categorically isn't liable."

Permalink to this article | Topic: Consoles

Teenager acquitted of crime thanks to Facebook alibi (12 November 2009)

Jack Thompson settles with Take Two (19 April 2007)

Jack Thompson blames VT shooting on video game violence (18 April 2007)

Jack Thompson turns messianic in latest letter (20 March 2007)

Jack Thompson sued by Take Two Interactive (17 March 2007)

« Previous news article
Study: Internet-enabled TVs to take off

Next news article »
Amazon to settle Kindle Orwell deletion suit

Post your comment

Discuss this article!	There are more user comments available, read them here
shummyr (Member) 2 October 2009 5:08
dont waste good game systems or a perfectly good 2x4 use an aluminum baseball bat because its lighter and you can get a more powerful swing out of it [ + quote]
ville30 (Junior Member) 2 October 2009 7:28
*Originally posted by shummyr:* dont waste good game systems or a perfectly good 2x4 use an aluminum baseball bat because its lighter and you can get a more powerful swing out of it What he said. [ + quote]
redux79 (Member) 2 October 2009 8:06
Ironically I think Mr. Thompson actually increased the odds of this happening by doing the very thing that people want to hit him for... being an A-hole. If there truly is anyone who is angry and unstable enough to hit him in the face with a console, (mental picture lol�) this little stunt has notified them that now's the time to do it. [ + quote]
pancakes1 (Newbie) 2 October 2009 9:09
I think what the president said about Kanye applies to Jack well too. "He's a jackass" [ + quote]
canuckerz (Senior Member) 2 October 2009 9:22
You've got to be f***ing kidding me. Talk about scum on the face of the earth. [ + quote]
DarkJello (Senior Member) 2 October 2009 9:36
Guess what group I'm joining on FB right now! [ + quote]
Footie979 (Junior Member) 2 October 2009 9:42
Looks like he's trying to get some income now that he has been disbarred. [ + quote]
jdurden (Newbie) 2 October 2009 11:02
I would hit him in the face with a potato sack filled with old copies of GTA 3 and dreamcast controllers(cause no one would miss them). [ + quote]
fgamer (Member) 2 October 2009 12:46
God would somebody kill this man already. He bitches over nothin..maybe he should bring more attention to the many kids starving because they don't have everyday things like clean running water and food. Jack Thompson is pathetic and a waste of a human! [ + quote]
shummyr (Member) 2 October 2009 13:15
*Originally posted by jdurden:* I would hit him in the face with a potato sack filled with old copies of GTA 3 and dreamcast controllers(cause no one would miss them). Dont Waste Perfectly good dreamcast controllers and GTA 3 copies use an aluminum bat and dont be so wasteful [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2 October 2009 13:16
LissenUp (Junior Member) 2 October 2009 15:22
*Originally posted by beanos66:* in no way should jack thompson be hit across the face with an atari,it should be a PS3 they're heavier :D (apologies for any law suit which may come your way) Ummmmm..................I concur. WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!!! [ + quote]
Jaussi (Member) 2 October 2009 15:30
I didn't know this kind of group existed. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Jack! I'll go and join right away. [ + quote]
mike.m (Member) 2 October 2009 17:11
Maybe I've forgotten or am behind with the times, but why exactly do people hate Jack Thompson? Because he doesn't like mindless killing games like GTA? Can anyone refresh my memory? Every post above mine seems to have something against this man and all have the same tone too. *Quote:* Jack Thompson should be removed from the populace and Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600... It's immature and mindless comments/groups like this that make me remember one of the many reasons why I deleted my Facebook account years ago. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2 October 2009 17:13
aj123 (Member) 2 October 2009 17:29
*Quote:* Maybe I've forgotten or am behind with the times, but why exactly do people hate Jack Thompson? Because he doesn't like mindless killing games like GTA? Can anyone refresh my memory? Every post above mine seems to have something against this man and all have the same tone too. *Quote:* Jack Thompson should be removed from the populace and Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600... It's immature and mindless comments/groups like this that make me remember one of the many reasons why I deleted my Facebook account years ago. i assume most people dont like him cuz u can say hes against video games and most ppl here r considered gamers. but come on, hes trying to sue facebook for $40 mil, kinda shows u something about his characteristics. [ + quote]
rvinkebob (Member) 2 October 2009 17:49
*Originally posted by mike.m:* It's immature and mindless comments/groups like this that make me remember one of the many reasons why I deleted my Facebook account years ago. Agreed, though I find some fun in GTA, but to each their own. [ + quote]
engage16 (Member) 3 October 2009 0:35
why waste a good bat or 2x4.... find a branch out in the woods and hit him with that... or a steamy pile of dog poop might work well... [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 3 October 2009 4:16
*Quote:* Thompson is seeking $40 million in damages from the social networking giant - Facebook will contest the suit in court. What a non realistic aim for this so call lawyer. people have their right to have opinions yes maybe the physical act of hitting him or anything like that is over the top, but people should be free to state if they dislike something. We should really just create the Facebook option on Facebook and that should fix that problem [ + quote]
canuckerz (Senior Member) 3 October 2009 8:09
*Quote:* Maybe I've forgotten or am behind with the times, but why exactly do people hate Jack Thompson? Because he doesn't like mindless killing games like GTA? Can anyone refresh my memory? Every post above mine seems to have something against this man and all have the same tone too. Because that arrogant jackass blamed the murder of 3 people on grand theft auto; how angry would you be if one of your loved ones were killed and some lawyer was trying to turn a profit claiming that your mom was killed grand theft auto style? Though I do agree facebook is garbage for the most part. [ + quote]
Unfocused (Member) 3 October 2009 8:59
How threatened does one have to feel to reply by FAX? Is it that hard to personally make a phone call or set up an appointment with the powers that be at Facebook? Given the amount of effort he put into seeing that these groups are removed should show you how threatened he really feels. Facebook should give him $4.00 to cover any FAX charges he may have incurred in submitting his complaint and call it a day. [ + quote]
atomicxl (Junior Member) 3 October 2009 9:42
I doubt he'll win the lawsuit, but I think you can get in trouble for saying that you will pay someone to attack somebody. On a sidenote, I think the following things are kinda ironic and comical. - Jack Thompson says that games make you a hyper violent maniac - Gamers show this isn't the case by saying Jack Thompson should be beaten up - Gamers tend to say that any non-hyper-violent games are casual or stupid, which is akin to a film critic saying that any movie that isn't violent is a kiddy movie or one that's for people who don't really understand movies - Gamers say that the violence in games helps them blow off steam.. so some people read books to relax, others take a walk, others make music, gamers virtual people in the face or rip their heads off with their virtual bare-hands to relax. - Gamers still don't see why people are quick to say that they are crazy hyper-violent maniacs [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3 October 2009 9:48
iamgq (Newbie) 3 October 2009 18:17
40 mill? This guy needs some serious help! [ + quote]
H08 (Member) 4 October 2009 23:18
*Quote:* Maybe I've forgotten or am behind with the times, but why exactly do people hate Jack Thompson? Because he doesn't like mindless killing games like GTA? Can anyone refresh my memory? Every post above mine seems to have something against this man and all have the same tone too. its not only GTA, He likes to blame ALL problems on video games. If i remember correctly he also tried suing Activision, which he lost, and activision's counter claim won. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4 October 2009 23:19
KillerBug (Senior Member) 5 October 2009 1:13
GTA is hardly a murder simulator...if someone tried to use GTA as a combat trainer, they would not last very long in combat (no autoaim on real guns). Hitman & Manhunt are both very close to being murder simulators. With this in mind, I think Jack should die by a screwdriver into the temple, fiberwire strangling (while in an elevator), by a poison syringe, a shard of glass, or a plastic shopping bag. Then again, that meat cleaver from the "Dance with the Devil" level was cool too...HEHE ;-) Current System: Windows 7 RC1, DFI M2RS, ATI 3870HD, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600, Athlon 9950, 6GB Corsair DDR2, 3TB RAID 5, 750GB Raid-1, 500GB RAID-1, 640GB RAID-0 Boot, 3ware 9690SA, Adaptec 2610SA, Adaptec 1430SA, Intel Gigabit NIC (PCI), LG 20X Lightscribe DVDR, Coolmax 1200w Power Supply, Logitech G15(first edition), Logitech G5(Second Edition), modified dell poweredge 1800 server case. Overall configuration: Perfect chair, two 22" widescreens overhead, Logitech 5.1 Audio [ + quote]
handsom (Senior Member) 7 October 2009 0:27
Glee Thompson? Thompson's back? Really? Oh mah goodness! I've been waiting for this. The old glory days have returned! ^_^ Mr. Thompson is an amazingly entertaining individual. I used to love rattling on about how bats* crazy this guy was. I really thought those days might be over since he was disbarred some time ago! It's quite possibly because of his publicity stunt legal actions that have a tendency to, oh I dunno, go esplody in his own face. This is the same man that convinced a judge to DEMAND a pre-release copy of 'Bully' so that he could see how TERRIBLE it surely was! This is the same man that was so ignorant he actually had the odacity to publicly state that the average gamer was just as bad as a rapist. From a purely satirical perspective, this man amuses me to no end. He reminds me of watching Saturday morning cartoons, with the villain that swore up and down he was right, but was absolutely cracked. Each and every week, the rest of civilization would understand right off the bat that he was truly a villain, and each and every week he would be defeated, and each and every week he'd marvel at what would happen "when they finally see it his way!" ...And they never would. And we never will. Jack Thompson is one of the closest things I may ever know to a living cartoon character, if you've heard him speak in interviews, he runs with terrifyingly false logic that can be proven wrong at every corner with minimal ease, and he passes off falsehood after falsehood with genuine fear in his voice as though the youth of America are going to rise up and brutalize the rest of us. This is a man who somehow has never been corrected, never gotten the mental and emotional help he so clearly needs, and a man who has very obviously never bothered to check any of the 'facts' or statistics that he so furiously blurts out. Listening to Jack Thompson is a terrifying thrill, because I've compared facts as he speaks, and it never ceases to amaze me that this man has unapologetically gone on tv and sputtered out utter b**** without a single news anchor so much as batting an eye. And the viewers eat it up. I'm not going to say anyone should bring him to some sort of bodily harm; but I am saying that he's absolutely deranged, and as much as he amuses me, I genuinely hope that at some point he's forced to get some real help. And lastly, if he's disbarred... Who's acting as his attorney for this case? [ + quote]
plazma247 (Junior Member) 8 October 2009 8:39
Dag nabit, loose some more hair and he bears a striking resemblance to mr burns lol [ + quote]
alexeemo (Newbie) 8 October 2009 13:33
*Originally posted by redux79:* Ironically I think Mr. Thompson actually increased the odds of this happening by doing the very thing that people want to hit him for... being an A-hole. If there truly is anyone who is angry and unstable enough to hit him in the face with a console, (mental picture lol�) this little stunt has notified them that now's the time to do it. Flippin hilarious! What a moron this guy is. [ + quote]