Chicago man files landmark lawsuit against women and Facebook, testing Illinois' new anti-doxxing statute
CHICAGO - A Chicago man is suing dozens of women, along with Facebook and its parent company, Meta, for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It stems from comments written in an invite-only Facebook group, where women swap stories about people they've dated.
The lawsuit could have big legal implications, as it's believed to be the first filed in Illinois under the state's new anti-doxxing statute, which went into effect on January 1.
"I'm equating this to a digital scarlet letter," said Daniel Nikolic of Trent Law Group, who's representing plaintiff Nikko D'Ambrosio. "They place this letter on him, and he can't comment, can't come back and stand up for himself and can't record his side of the story."
The complaint names Facebook, Meta, and nearly 30 women he said posted false and defamatory comments about him in an invite-only Facebook group called, "Are We Dating the Same Guy" — a forum where women swap stories about the men they encounter in the dating world. But unlike Yelp or Google, there's no way to go into the invite-only group to refute a negative review or false claim.
"It's published in a forum which has about 80,000 people, and he has no other recourse," said Nikolic. "Things were posted about him that he cannot come back and refute. He can't even get into the website."
Chicago man sues 27 women over negative reviews in Facebook group calling him 'clingy,' and a ghoster
A Chicago man is suing dozens of women for $75,000 after they wrote negative reviews on a Facebook page describing him as "clingy" claiming his reputation has been harmed.
Nikolic said one such post accused his client of criminal behavior he had nothing to do with.
"That was one of the posts, and also gave a photograph of a gentleman who kind of looked like our client, but not really," said Nikolic.
Some of the legal questions become: are the women's posts protected by free speech?
"You're entitled to your opinion and you're entitled to broadcast that opinion as loudly and boldly as you like," said Daliah Saper, a Defamation Attorney.
And: is Facebook protected, as it has been scores of times in the past, by the Communications Decency Act?
"Social media is basically immune from defamation because it's a billboard," said FOX 32 Legal Analyst Karen Conti. "It's posting other peoples' statements, and they are exempt from these types of lawsuits specifically."
But D'Ambrosio's lawyer believes he has a strong case, under Illinois' brand new Anti-Doxxing Statute, which just went into effect.
"There's gotta be some sort of standards here," Nikolic said. "There's gotta be some sort of oversight. And there isn't."
On a related note, if you are one of those people who doesn't hesitate to leave a negative review for a business on Google or Yelp, Conti urges you to still use caution. She said even if you're well within your First Amendment rights, there's always a chance of getting sued, which could cost thousands of dollars to deal with in legal fees.