32
Ask HN: Facebook is bullying me, what can I do? Warning
I have a Facebook page for my business that was suspended because I was accused of "impersonating any business, celebrity, or public figure." The page shares the same name as a well-known TV show, but it predates the show, and I have a valid U.S. trademark. Unfortunately, I cannot reach Facebook by email, phone, or chat. I have filed two appeals with their intellectual property section, but both times I received the same response:
"Thanks for your message. Our team handles intellectual property issues (e.g., copyright, trademark), but it looks like you need help with something else."
I'm unsure if I can afford to hire a lawyer. If I decide to sue, which state would I need to file in? I'm in New Jersey, but would I have to sue in California? I'm feeling completely lost.
WARNING: Facebook can and will disable your page without any warning or notice, and they may not reactivate it even with a U.S. trademark.
This sounds interesting:
Sued Meta Just wanted to let you guys know I’ve tried everything from attorney general, to appeals I was nervous about to process of suing meta in small claims but today I filed the suit and it was so EASY head to your court house and sue them!
https://www.reddit.com/r/facebookdisabledme/comments/1bc9xj9...
But do I have to sue in California? I am in NJ.
I go to sleep now. I am too devastated.
You sue in your local small claims court because that's where you live and are affected. The question becomes what business loss you suffered as a result of this.
- Don't sue yet.
- A lawyer will probably charge around $500 for an official-seeming "demand and request to cure" letter. This is your next step. You shouldn't need to pay a retainer fee for this.
- If they don't respond to the letter, or don't address the issue in a satisfactory way, then your next move is to sue them, if you feel you must. In your complaint, you'll reference all communications you sent them previously. You can sue in your home state, as that's where you're located and Facebook evidently does business there. This is going to be expensive; your business cannot represent itself in court, so you must hire a lawyer. If you see it all the way through to trial, an uncomplicated state court case will cost, on average, somewhere in the low six figures in attorney fees; Federal cases are twice as expensive -- probably around $400k on the low end.
Justice is only for rich people in the US
There's stories of people just writing their own official sounding letters and getting action. Pleading and crying, even over clearly illegal things like revenge porn often gets ignored.
Can confirm. You don't need a lawyer just to write an official sounding letter. Patio11 (Patrick Mackenzie?) has a blog post somewhere about how to write one. In short, avoid emotional or threatening language, write like it's nothing personal, use words like "require" rather than "demand", set a deadline for a reply, and don't say what happens if it's not met. That should scare anybody who reads it into sending it up the chain. Regardless of that, your audience is not just the recipient but the judge to whom you'll show the letter to prove you did everything you could to resolve the matter before going to court.
I used this technique to good effect in what would have been a clear case of tortious interference because of someone posting false and misleading information about a business. IANAL but I'm not convinced facebook has done anything illegal to the OP.
I wonder how LLMs are going to change the cost of these activities as they become more accurate & capable. Feels like the costs should come down dramatically in the next few years.
I predict an arms race between people using LLMs to sue and courthouses using LLMs to keep up with the increasing burden of responding to all the incoming cases. Which means people with access to better, more expensive LLMs will have the advantage.
They've already brought it down. As with software, prices don't go down though. It's just that less people get hired to do what was once double the work.
This is what you get for not having your own website and depending on Facebook for your web presence.
What makes you think they don't have a website? Facebook might very well just be one channel to draw customers to their website.
[dead]
PS: I mailed letter and a printout of my trademark from the USPTO to Facebook today via certified mail. I am pretty sure they won't react.
Ask a lawyer to draft some legalese and you might read up on their arbitration policies.
Aren't businesses allowed to refuse service to individuals?
In this case it sounds like someone is using OP's trademark and refusing service in favor of the trademark violator.
There are exceptions.
You need legal insurance.