Facebook Accused of Misappropriating Likenesses of Teens for Profit

/PRNewswire/ -- A class action lawsuit was just filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Central Division, alleging that Facebook is misappropriating the names and pictures of minors for profit.

David Cohen, a minor, by and through Robin Cohen as Guardian ad Litem; Shelby Orland, a minor, by and through Marcia J. Orland as Guardian ad Litem; for all others similarly situated v. Facebook, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and DOES 1 through 100, Inclusive (Case #BC444482), alleges that Facebook encourages the participation of teenagers on its social network. Without any attempt to obtain parental consent, Facebook sells the names and likenesses of those minors for use by advertisers as an endorsement of the advertisers' products or services.

"When a teenager sees that their Facebook friends 'Like' an ad, it piques their curiosity, making them more likely to click the ad or visit the page," says Los Angeles plaintiff attorney John Torjesen of John C. Torjesen & Associates. "We believe it is a clear case of exploitation of children for the sake of profits."

"The consent of the minor for this commercial use of his or her name and likeness is not obtained by Facebook," says plaintiff attorney and co-counsel Antony Stuart of Stuart Law Firm. "Under California law, the minor's consent cannot be obtained without the consent of the parent or guardian. Facebook makes no effort to obtain parental consent."

The class action lawsuit is filed on behalf of all California residents who are or were under the age of 18 and members of Facebook from Aug. 26, 2007 to Aug. 26, 2010 whose likenesses or names were used in a Facebook advertisement or landing page.

"Facebook's actions violate the inalienable right to privacy guaranteed by the California Constitution," says Torjesen. "It derives illegal profits by charging advertisers for the use of children's names and photographs. As the father of a teenager, I view this to be exploitation of children."

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Response Mine Interactive and BrainJocks Launch 'Tweets for a Cause' to Support Local Non-Profits

/PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to increase awareness and individual donations to local not-for-profit organizations, Response Mine Interactive and BrainJocks have joined forces to create 'Tweets for a Cause,' an avid group of social media users who believe that "friends, working in concert, can change the world."

On Tuesday, May 5th at 11 a.m., 'Tweets for a Cause' will send out its first mass 'tweet' to encourage the support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta Affiliate and to take a stand against breast cancer. Interested supporters can tweet http://twitter.com/tweetsforacause or log onto http://tweetsforacause.org/ to participate. Multiple retweets are encouraged after that hour to further generate awareness for Komen Atlanta.

"At BrainJocks, we specialize in using web technologies in new and better ways and we can't think of a better way to use an online social platform like twitter, than to promote the welfare of our own community," said Stephanie Beckham, idea strategist at BrainJocks. "We hope that our involvement can help make a real difference for the people that make this area so special."

All online traffic and proceeds of May's 'Tweets for a Cause' will benefit Komen Atlanta in honor of the May 9th Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure -- Georgia's largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer.

"We are proud to be the first philanthropy chosen by 'Tweets for a Cause,'" said Kelly Dolan, executive director of Komen Atlanta. "Individual contributions are a vital part of our ability to provide lifesaving screening, treatment and research funding and we welcome the opportunity to reach people though this innovative new resource."

Non-profit organizations interested in participating as the selected charity in the June 'Tweets for a Cause' can tweet why @tweetsforacause.

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