Student Sued Over Facebook Page

A beauty school student made a Facebook page mocking classes and teachers. He wanted to let classmates vent.

However, now he may be in legal trouble. Administrators at the Salon Professional Academy of Elgin are suing Nicholas "Blacconiere for unauthorized use of the school's logo and seeking $50,000 for emotional damage caused by defamatory comments posted on the page."

Robert Wagner, the lawyer for the administrators said that the comments on the page were lies. The next hearing on this case will be on October 15.

This suit could set the precedent in how students are held responsible for epithets posted on the internet. People who study Web trends say lawsuits that involve websites created to mock people or places are increasing.

According to the complaint, Blacconiere and another defendant made a Facebook page called TSPA RobinHood. This page mimics the TSPA Elgin Facebook fan page. It uses the logo of the school.

Blaconniere's page includes comments that accuse teachers of promiscuity and subpar teaching skills.

The lawsuit states that by posting comments about the teachers, the defendants published and distributed statements that were untrue, unfounded, and defamatory to the teachers' reputations. The teachers suffered emotional distress due to the insults. The defendants should have to pay the legal fees that are associated with the case, the suit says.

I agree that the student and the unnamed defendant should be sued. Once you post something on the internet, anyone can read it. People who don't know you will be talking about you. I think they damaged the teachers' and school's reputation. They should pay for the legal fees and for emotional damage. Before posting insults on the internet, you should think about how you would feel if someone did this to you.

Source: Chicago Tribune "School Suing over student's Facebook mockery"