14 DAY TRIAL // Jack Thompson may be well known by gamers everywhere. Still he is not famous, but infamous. The former lawyer is once again making headlines in the legal section. This time he is suing Facebook, a social network that greatly grew in popularity in the past few years. The accusation is pretty straightforward, but the case is not. Thompson claims and accuses the site of refusing to remove an “I Hate Jack Thompson” group that was formed by users of the network, and he demands that that he be paid $120 million in damage.
As evidence present in the case, the group was started in 2006, after an interview Thompson gave the TV show 60 Minutes. The interview had a highlight of his activities concerning his self-described "crusades" against game violence. Jack Thompson was made aware of the existence of the group and supposedly contacted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg via a fax and asked them to remove it. This request apparently went unanswered and this made Thompson accuse the site of "intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and failure to supervise the site."
The site apparently has allowed users to post messages that make direct reference to Jack Thompson in a negative and offensive manner. “Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600” is the post that was cited in the lawsuit and it is unclear if this is the most offensive insult that was present. Still, if this is the grounds for the lawsuit this could turn out to be one of the shortest publicity scams Thompson ever pulled.
Facebook responded that "The suit is without merit and we will fight it vigorously" and that “Additionally, it is our practice to remove content that threatens an individual when it is brought to our attention.” But this statement only made Thompson accuse Facebook of negligence since "They were put on notice and they did nothing.” He even compared his situation to a poll that was at one point started on the Facebook site in which users were asked whether President Barack Obama should be assassinated, but was quickly removed. Thompson was disbarred in 2008, with judge Dava Tunis stating that he showed a constant, repeating habit to "intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him."