Boxer Khan Set To Sue Facebook
WBA light welterweight boxing champion Amir Khan and his promoter, Frank Warren, have launched legal proceedings against social networking website Facebook over the use of name and imagery.
The boxing duo have hired lawyers to threaten Facebook with action over the use of images and names alongside material they consider to be defamatory and racist – a move that, if upheld, could set a precedent for a raft of similar cases.
Stephen Taylor Heath, head of sports and media at Lupton Fawcett, said that a cursory search of Facebook quickly led to ‘bogus’ pages that used the images and names of the pair to link to material that would be ‘highly defamatory’ if published in a newspaper or magazine.
Warren, who has fought several high-profile legal battles, is understood to be determined to force Facebook to change its policy and take responsibility for the more unsavoury opinions of its registered users.
The issue at stake surrounds a legal grey area about the extent to which the operator of a website, or the provider of community tools, can be held liable for comments posted.
Warren and Khan want Facebook to remove defamatory and racist material, as well as responding more promptly when it is flagged up.
Under its terms and conditions, Facebook promises to remove posts that are ‘abusive, vulgar, hateful or racially and ethnically objectionable’.
However, the sheer volume of material posted is difficult to moderate and Facebook relies on users to notify it of serious breaches.
