On Facebok, I put up a picture of some shoes. There is the page on Facebook, called "Exposing Hypebeast and Resellers". They took my pictures from my facebook (That had us in them), and they posted them on their page with my name in it. For a day straight they were going through my photos and making fun of me for stuff and talking **** about me on their page in their posts.
It was really embarrassing. The photos were seen by at least 6,500+ people (the ones who liked their page at the time). Now they have 9,500 likes, so thats 9,500 people watching me being humiliated by this page. I figured out who most of the admins are and their full names.
I wanted to sue them for cyber bulling and harassment. Can I win this case? I have all the proof I need and how much can I sue them for?
Probably not for harassment. You could have them removed by sending them a DMCA takedown notice if you own the copyright to the images. For instance, you would own the copyright if you took the photographs. That would be your best course of action. However, are the images still even being viewed or are they onto another target at this point?
First of all, there is little civil protection in NY for bullying harassment or discrimination unless it is for the following reasons:
Race
Color
Weight
National origin
Ethnic group
Religion or religious practice
Disability
Sexual orientation
Gender or sex.
Second, these laws are designed to protect CHILDREN.
The only relevant statute that might apply is the criminal statute, § 240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree. That is not something that you would sue and get a financial recovery for. It is a CRIMINAL statute.
But based on the facts here, it does not even seem like the police would be able to apply the criminal statute, because you would have to show that they INTENDED to harass, threaten or annoy you. And showing intent is a pretty steep burden.
As my colleague has pointed out, you may want to try to obtain a takedown notice for the pictures from your website, but that would be something to accomplish through chats with the folks at Facebook.
In the future, be a little more careful about where and how you post pictures, and I would also try not to be so thin-skinned. When you put yourself out there on the net, you have to be prepared for people not to like you. It just goes with the territory.
Have you consulted a physician? Did it cause you to spend money on prescribed medication? What are your (legally recognized) damages?
You posted on a public forum, but you don't like the public reaction - then don't use public forums. If there is a violation of terms of use, notify Facebook. If not, get used to the rudeness and hostility of the internet.
