Paphos Court rules on ground-breaking Facebook case

[Dominic]

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Dominic]

I wonder if the same could apply to Trip Advisor? From what I could glean from the quick scan I gave the article, the case was upheld because the business defamed wasn't on Facebook, and therefore not bound by their terms.

[Jimgym]

Hmmm interesting result. Will Facebook take it to a higher court? Also, when you sign up thereby accepting T&C's do they override local law? I must admit to being curious as to what was said etc.

[Dominic]

Yes it certainly isn't the last we will hear of this story.

[Jimgym]

I'm not sure why it would make a difference if the complainant was on FB or not. I could sue a newspaper for something without being a subscriber.

[Dominic]

Presumably if you subscribe to Facebook you agree to their terms. Given that I have never read those terms I cannot tell you what you agree to, but I would imagine that one of the things you agree to is not to sue them. Consequently, had this person signed up he would have waived his right to sue. When you buy a newspaper, you don't enter into any agreement.

NB: the above is pure speculation on my part.

[Jimgym]

Presumably if you subscribe to Facebook you agree to their terms. Given that I have never read those terms I cannot tell you what you agree to, but I would imagine that one of the things you agree to is not to sue them. Consequently, had this person signed up he would have waived his right to sue. When you buy a newspaper, you don't enter into any agreement.

NB: the above is pure speculation on my part.

I understand that but surely the person who posted on FB would be covered under their rules? I can see this being taken much further, and Facebook have the money to do so.

[Steve - SJD]

Presumably if you subscribe to Facebook you agree to their terms. Given that I have never read those terms I cannot tell you what you agree to, but I would imagine that one of the things you agree to is not to sue them. Consequently, had this person signed up he would have waived his right to sue. When you buy a newspaper, you don't enter into any agreement.

NB: the above is pure speculation on my part.

You can't waive someones right to sue - this case hinged on the jurisdiction of the court.
Facebook's argument basically was that when someone registers they agree that it will be covered by
US law. On the opposite side as the businessman had not signed up to Facebook he couldn't
subsequently be bound by their terms & conditions and therefore the jurisdiction should be Cyprus.

Cheers

Steve