Fake Facebook profile case settled

Spat between ex-friends gets nasty

24 July 2008 17:36 GMT / By Katie Scott

A Brit has fought a ex-schoolmate and business colleague over a fake Facebook profile page, which he claims amounted to character defamation.

Mathew Firsht was awarded £22,000 in damages at the High Court against an old school friend, Grant Raphael, who created the profile.

The judge threw out Raphael's defence - that the entry was created by party gate-crashers at his flat - and said it was "built on lies" and was "utterly far-fetched".

In the fake profile, private information concerning Firsht's whereabouts, activities, birthday and relationship status were laid bare as well as false details about his sexual orientation and political views.

As well as the profile page, Raphael created a company profile page entitled "Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?".

The page also suggested that Firsht owed substantial sums of money which he had repeatedly avoided paying by lying, and that he and his company were not to be trusted.

The profiles were on Facebook for 16 days until they were taken down.

Firsht has now been awarded £15,000 for libel and £2000 for breach of privacy and his company was awarded £5000 for libel.

"He [Firsht] is plainly a businessman of single-minded drive and dedication, and he did not strike me as being the kind of man to waste valuable time on ancient disputes", the judge concluded.