La Russa Sues Twitter Over Impostor

Sadly, it's not an incredibly uncommon occurrence for some loser, who has nothing better to do in their life, to create faux Myspace, Facebook or Twitter accounts of public figures. Why in God's name someone would ever waste their own personal time to do this is absolutely beyond me, but it happens. Something else that happens frequently these days: lawsuits.

Thus, it was probably inevitable we'd see the two happenstances collide. Recently, the sports world helped make it happen. Tony La Russa, the revolutionary manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, is suing Twitter because some low-life started a Tony La Russa Twitter page. His grounds are on trademark infringement and "dilution, cybersquatting, and misappropriation of name and likeness."

This is not the first lawsuit involving Twitter -- you can always count on Courtney Love, right? -- but it is the first one (at least that I could find) in which a public figure is suing due to someone else pretending to be him/her. Twitter removed the fake La Russa page just hours after the lawsuit was filed, so we can't see what was being posted there, but the lawsuit alleges that there were Cardinals-related updates sometimes containing vulgarity.

A question raised from this is how Twitter -- and other sites susceptible to impostors -- should be policing their memberships. When everything is done online and users are allowed to fill in their own personal information, how can anyone really be sure who is real and who is a fraud?

As for La Russa, it's easy to say something like "lighten up," but would you really want someone pretending to be you and posting things you have never or would never say? I am firmly in his corner on this one -- if for no other reason than to punish people for having no lives and creating fake pages.

This broad issue will need to be addressed legally by higher courts at some point. Web sites like Twitter would have to spend tons more time and money to background check every single page owner's validity, so it's not really in their best interests to do much more than delete every page that they find out is fake at a later date. They could also argue that their terms of service cover impostors and these fake-posters aren't making any money off the likeness of the public figures.

Some individual public figures can stake a legitimate claim that better monitoring than simple "terms of service" needs to be done at the creation stage to ensure accuracy and protect against their individual freedoms being violated before the fake pages are removed.

Maybe La Russa is the man to get the ball rolling. After all, he is the guy who changed the face of baseball by batting his pitcher eighth. [I feel compelled to add that this was sarcasm and far too many people didn't pick up on it. Sigh.]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

6-03-2009 @ 3:54PM

Mikemac said...

Who's to say that someone cant create a 'fake' profile themself and then go sue Twitter?

Tony Larussa is a piece of work. Least we forget Tony DWI Larussa? This guys image is already in the sewer.

Maybe you forgot already that he is a slimeball drunk driver, but I didnt.

6-04-2009 @ 8:00AM

LaMonte said...

Maybe you shouldn't forget. But perhaps yuu can forgive, especially if he paid his dues. Anyway, I'm willing to bet that if we pulled back the layers in your cover...we'd find some stain in your life too. We all have things we are not proud of. Casting stones is too easy.

6-03-2009 @ 4:18PM

Mike Rath said...

You apparently forgot to get your GED, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many errors in sentence structure, syntax and spelling in your post...

6-03-2009 @ 4:34PM

Markon said...

Mike Rath,
Im sorry, I didnt realize I was on the grammer and spelling blog. I swear this was in refernce to an article written by Matt Snyder.

People like you are ridiculous. Who told you to correct everyone? Are you a teacher or just an absolute a$$hole?

This article is about Tony Larussa and Twitter. Im a St.Louis fan and a twitter user. I have every right to comment and spell however I want to.

Enjoy the rest of your miserable life correcting every little thing that makes you upset. Youre sure to be REALLY happy.

LOSER!

6-03-2009 @ 10:43PM

keymanlb said...

You idiots think u r the blog police.
who cares about sentence structure and syntax? U r a LOSER!

6-03-2009 @ 4:36PM

billcarol88 said...

#2 ALL YOU ENGLISH EXPERST NEED TO GET A LIFE. WHO CARES IF THE POST IS NOT PERFECT. YOU MUST BE A CARDINAL FAN. GROW UP AND LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE THAT ARE NOT AS PERFECT AS YOU ARE.

6-03-2009 @ 8:45PM

dylanhounddog said...

"EXPERTS"

6-04-2009 @ 1:54PM

agranon2 said...

Experphs? lololol the reason I care is because I have to read your crap. When I have to interpret things you say, as if I were reading Spanish, it gives me a headache. This is why we have schools, douche, so we can be orderly and understand each other. If your to stupid to spell right or make corrections move to China.

6-05-2009 @ 6:01PM

TW said...

Agranon2, you just made yourself look "too" stupid.

6-03-2009 @ 5:26PM

geauxtigers001 said...

The Communications Decency Act protects content hosters from liability for the content posted by their users.

6-03-2009 @ 6:29PM

bobdunk said...

Matt: If you're posing as some sort of journalist or reporter, then write like one, ok? That's why all those who blog will never be taken seriously--and they shouldn't be unless they are held to certain standards.

Matt, does your degree read third or fourth grade? Just wondering. LOSER!!!!

6-03-2009 @ 6:44PM

DaveTstinks said...

It is very easy for these sites to act responsibly. They can require a credit card to verify the user and ensure their address is valid. They would not be charging anything - only verifying information. Many sites use this process and it ensures honesty and integrity. Not to mention, if the person still uses someone elses name - you know exactly where to find them. If people don't want to put in their information in an honest manner then don't make an account. I know many people who use hotmail accounts and even gmail accounts to cover their less than moral habits. I don't think much of these individuals.

6-03-2009 @ 6:54PM

Matt Snyder said...

That's a great point. I'm sure they don't want to go through the hassle, but it would make them tons more reputable.

6-03-2009 @ 6:52PM

Tony probably asked for the account to be withdrawn by Twitter but his request was likely not honored. His lawsuit was an option to force them to perform their due dilligence since it is apparent that Twitter removed the bogus account after the lawsuit was filed. The hoster is protected from some exposure but only if they act quickly to requests and reports. If Twitter refused to act upon his requests and other reports about the bogus account then they are no longer protected by the laws that are in place. Twitter cannot ignore nudity; profanity; slander; etc. if they are reported. They must act swiftly and immediately. If they do not and only act upon a lawsuit then they are no longer protected. That is why all of these sites including this one have a report button and feature.

6-03-2009 @ 8:19PM

jemmo123 said...

LARUSSA THE DRUNK DRIVER.YEP, HES A SCUM

6-03-2009 @ 8:52PM

Master said...

an incredible controversy. was the pretender ted kennedy?

6-03-2009 @ 10:06PM

jejohnson73 said...

Good. Twitter sucks anyway. Maybe they will get sued enough to shut it down. Its just overrated garbage.

6-03-2009 @ 10:48PM

Bill said...

The writer of this article must be a kid or not know the first thing about baseball. LaRussa is not the first manager to ever bat his pitcher eighth, that has been going on for years. Tony might also have been more comfortable than the average manager filing a lawsuit since does hold a law degree. Do a little research dummy.

6-03-2009 @ 11:35PM

Either that or Bill doesn't understand sarcasm ...