QUESTION

Could someone press charges against someone else for hacking into a Facebook account?

Asked on Dec 31st, 2012 on Entertainment Law - New York
More details to this question:
Not me. I just need to know. In case, my Facebook account ever gets hacked into. Say if you have a Facebook page with over 500K likes, and someone stole it. Can you legally press charges against a person who stole it?
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6 ANSWERS

Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT at Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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No.
Answered on May 28th, 2013 at 1:11 AM

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Ronald A. Steinberg
Most local police departments are ill equipped to get involved in internet nonsense. So if you are going to do anything, you would probably have to sue civilly. That means to find a lawyer who would be willing to screw around with it. Then, you have to identify the person (name, address) who is the hacker. Lotsa luck! The cyberuniverse is populated by horses' butts who hide behind fictitious names, etc. They are brave because they are anonymous. The short answer is that unless there is some major theft of money, etc., you will not be able to do anything. Why put private stuff out there for any damned fool to see and steal. There is a lyric to an old song, called "Be Prepared," by a Harvard professor with a sense of humor named Tom Lehr: "don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell." Don't put your "stuff" out there that avoids any problems. Your facebook "friends" are also anonymous, and if you needed someone to loan you $20, none of them would offer; so they are NOT friends.
Answered on Jan 28th, 2013 at 6:41 PM

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Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC at Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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New area of the law. I don't know what "stole" means to you.
Answered on Jan 09th, 2013 at 9:42 PM

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Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC at The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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I'm not sure what you mean by "stole it". Stole what and how. For example, if I copy information from an internet page that is available to the public and is not copyrighted, I do not believe I can be sued. If I hack the private section of a facebook page (I do not do facebook, and do not know what that may be), there may be some federal law that prohibits this and would be grounds for a suit. However, I am not familiar with any such law.
Answered on Jan 09th, 2013 at 7:11 AM

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Theodore M. Roe
I think what you are asking is, is there civil liability for appropriation of your intellectual property (i.e., contents of your facebook account). The answer is yes, it is called conversion and is essentially civil theft. If this appropriation involves a registered trademark you could be entitled to treble damages plus costs and attorney fees, if it contains registered copyright material the damages can be $150,000 per violation. I'm happy to discuss your particular case.
Answered on Jan 09th, 2013 at 6:29 AM

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Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY at Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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Ask the Facebook administrators.
Answered on Jan 09th, 2013 at 5:50 AM

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