We still have the 1st amendment in this country, right? Tony La Russa needs to get over himself, and realize that his emotional distress is coming from the fact he didn't get his own Twitter account in time....
p4tr10tbl0g
· 6 months ago
The 1st amendment doesn't exist on the internet I would think. It would be up to the owners of the site and how far a person could go would then be a country thing if the site doesn't do anything **i would think**
bearsbullssox
· 6 months ago
Wow, this is soooo stupid, the fake twitter had a grand total of.... 4 FOLLOWERS! There were probably only 10 people that have ever seen those tweets, well way more then that now. I could understand his suing if he had at least 10,000 followers, and at least 100 bad tweets.
And thats hard for me to say this stuff about him considering he was a coach for the whitesox and im a whitesox fan.
Jason Moffatt
· 6 months ago
Obviously LaRussa is over-reacting on the issue. Twitter has been known to squash the squatters very quickly with a reasonable request. Many of my friends have had their names squatted and Twitter was quick to resolve the issue. And they are not of the fame level of a Tony LaRussa.
Also keep in mind the dude is a baseball player/manager and probably has no idea how Twitter really works. And in the heat of the moment he probably just over-reacted. I reckon the law suit will be dropped rather quickly.
point5
· 6 months ago
Why in hell should Twitter be held responsible for verifying accounts? Is Google to be held responsible if I got Dr.Dre@gmail.com or KanyeWest@gmail.com first, when in fact I am neither Dr. Dre or Kanye West? And what about us "regular" people? If our names aren't touted as "brands" then I guess maybe we don't have a case?
Fredwgarrett
· 6 months ago
I am surprised that the suit does not go after the individual that opened the account. Twitters basic terms of service #4 (impersonation).
Twitter SHOULD verify these things, serious damage can be made to a company by an individual through Twitter if they were malicious enough to do it.
pontsama
· 6 months ago
How the hell would twitter verify each person making the account? Would there be a database of celebrities and you're not allowed to make a twitter account with those name combinations? What about people who are actually named Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt?
Maybe add the ability to easily report an account, sure, but to VERIFY?
@teedubya
· 6 months ago
Screw the Cardinals. Screw LaRussa...
Someone should sue him for drunk driving and passing out all the time.
Ok, having said that... this is kind of humorous to me.
@teedubya
· 6 months ago
Yeah, those 4 followers that he had... led him to suffer significant emotional distress, damage to his reputation, and damage to the goodwill of his mark.
Bwha ha haha... what a joke.
Jason Moffatt
· 6 months ago
Hey Jenn,
Did you know that Tony LaRussa is a vegan as well?
Unfortunately he's a Cardinal though.
Go Cubs!
Jennifer Van Grove
· 6 months ago
Seriously? He's vegan like me, I had no idea. The difference is I would never sue Twitter (yet)...
VirtualRaven
· 6 months ago
that is jsut nuts and sad...
Mike Dammann
· 6 months ago
I am with twitter on that one. You should not have to verify. If twitter is not verifying, but will remove accounts once proven fake, there should be nothing else expected from them.
Mark Finch
· 6 months ago
Tell LaRussa to cry us a river! BooHoo someone jacked my name boohoo. Welcome to the real world! If this actually gets to a jury I hope they crush LaRussa and his attorney.
The proper way to handle this is to notify Twitter or (name your service provider) that they have someone squatting on your trade mark. In this day most companies have a famous mark policy. They will deal with it and you won't even need to pout.
Erik J. Heels
· 6 months ago
I prefer the term #Twittersquatting to describe what happened to Tony La Russa.
Jason Gooljar
· 6 months ago
But if it's the Cardinals bird vs. the Twitter bird where's the Cardinals equivalent of the Fail Whale! Or is it La Russa? #failwhale
Miguel
· 6 months ago
That's BS, twitter and other websites DO NOT have to verify accounts for "famous" people unless the people who want this are willing to pay a price for those extra lines of code or to buy that user name, it's tonylarussa's fault for not signing up for his "brand" when a new service comes out.
joycekane
· 6 months ago
_ Black white connect.c'om _Best interracial dating site in the world! It's where diversely ethnic singles meet new friends, make great dates, and build lasting interracial relationships. No matter you are looking for a NSA or serious relationship, you'll have to check it out!
concerned citizen
· 6 months ago
CDA 230 indemnifies Twitter from any action, and this suit is baseless.
These people who likes to sue this and that, I think they are too FREE.... Plus...only "4" followers... Ridiculous...
DWhite
· 6 months ago
Love the graphic of the two birds facing off. Did you come up with that Jen?
Bloggers School
· 6 months ago
It's about time this is being taken to court. Just not right that people can register a name without check of their ID hacked and others to trust in that being the person the are following. This can be a deformation law suit.
Alexander Kintis
· 6 months ago
People and their twitter addiction! As I've mentioned before, twitter is so overrated; concept isn't bad and in some instances its ok to use but let's get real. It took "connected" people and a few unfortunate tragedies to get the ball really rolling and somehow that continues to mask how almost useless, pointless, and irrelevant the website is.
wrytir
· 6 months ago
LaRussa was a practicing attorney before he signed on as the White Sox manager long ago. He's a successful manager in MLB, but I'm sure he's maintained his negotiating skills. If someone hijacked his ID, he has every right to pursue a just resolution.
@teedubya, I know you. I like you. But Tony has a point here. Litigation may be extreme, but this is borderline slander in the historic sense. SocMed is a gray area, and identity theft is increasing. "Personalities" (public personas) have a right to defend their image even in reactive mode when someone co-opts their persona. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.
George Gumpert
· 6 months ago
Big surprise- the first to sue Twitter is part of MLB...and it lists trademark infringement!
Probably nothing to do with the fact that they posed as him, and everything to do with the fact that they simply talked about baseball.
Congratulations, La Russa. "Damage to your reputation?" You don't need a twitterjacker to do that for you: you just did more damage through douchebaggery than anyone else ever could have.
Techie
· 6 months ago
Honestly, people should already know that not all users of these service use their real name. What I mean is, anybody can use somebody's name. They could be a fan or a hater. We should accept that. I'm just wondering now, how do Twitter follow the one who made that account. Watch House
Giancarlo
· 6 months ago
They should make CelebTweets where celebs go to sign up but at a price. Say $1000. Once the celeb has been verified, they get a special icon next to their profile names. There 2 problems solved.
spryka
· 6 months ago
Twitter is like a breath of fresh air on the Social Media scene. I have been on it for just a few weeks now and I have met several interesting people. It is a platform to network with people you would like to meet in real life.
Even if the fake LaRussa had four (4) followers, that doesn't mean how many people actually kept reading it, including LaRussa himself. What was your highest level of math, darling? Fractions. Boy, you're overpaid if you kiss Twitter then your out of work because they put you that way, by "taking your free readers" by providing a free service that makes no money, except for investor contributions, while Mashable Social Guide pumps a bundle of "Copyright infringining" news guides. Oh they aren't infringing? Ever hear of the "Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Frena" case? The defendant, Frena, was an operator of a computer bulletin board service and found GUILTY of providing the environment for people to upload images without a license to do it.
What would you know, Jennifer ......you're still required at the nearest massage parlor.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 6 months ago
Your comment is completely inappropriate. If you disagree or take issue with anything I write and want to post your opinion here that's fine. There's no need for personal attacks or demeaning comments.
As an aside, I took Calculus 31A at UCLA even though I wasn't required to do so. Math is something I love. Thanks for asking. :)
Derick Schaefer
· 6 months ago
As sad as it is that La Russa had his identity stolen on the Internet, Twitter is actually covered by The Communications Decency Act. Hopefully, he'll find a way to land the IP address of the person that stole his identity.
All Comments
And thats hard for me to say this stuff about him considering he was a coach for the whitesox and im a whitesox fan.
Also keep in mind the dude is a baseball player/manager and probably has no idea how Twitter really works. And in the heat of the moment he probably just over-reacted. I reckon the law suit will be dropped rather quickly.
Twitter SHOULD verify these things, serious damage can be made to a company by an individual through Twitter if they were malicious enough to do it.
Maybe add the ability to easily report an account, sure, but to VERIFY?
Someone should sue him for drunk driving and passing out all the time.
Ok, having said that... this is kind of humorous to me.
Bwha ha haha... what a joke.
Did you know that Tony LaRussa is a vegan as well?
Unfortunately he's a Cardinal though.
Go Cubs!
The proper way to handle this is to notify Twitter or (name your service provider) that they have someone squatting on your trade mark. In this day most companies have a famous mark policy. They will deal with it and you won't even need to pout.
http://w2.eff.org/legal/ISP_liability/CDA230/
Plus...only "4" followers...
Ridiculous...
@teedubya, I know you. I like you. But Tony has a point here. Litigation may be extreme, but this is borderline slander in the historic sense. SocMed is a gray area, and identity theft is increasing. "Personalities" (public personas) have a right to defend their image even in reactive mode when someone co-opts their persona. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.
Probably nothing to do with the fact that they posed as him, and everything to do with the fact that they simply talked about baseball.
Congratulations, La Russa. "Damage to your reputation?" You don't need a twitterjacker to do that for you: you just did more damage through douchebaggery than anyone else ever could have.
Watch House
KZ
http://ePostMailer.com
Even if the fake LaRussa had four (4) followers, that doesn't mean how many people actually kept reading it, including LaRussa himself. What was your highest level of math, darling? Fractions. Boy, you're overpaid if you kiss Twitter then your out of work because they put you that way, by "taking your free readers" by providing a free service that makes no money, except for investor contributions, while Mashable Social Guide pumps a bundle of "Copyright infringining" news guides. Oh they aren't infringing? Ever hear of the "Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Frena" case? The defendant, Frena, was an operator of a computer bulletin board service and found GUILTY of providing the environment for people to upload images without a license to do it.
What would you know, Jennifer ......you're still required at the nearest massage parlor.
As an aside, I took Calculus 31A at UCLA even though I wasn't required to do so. Math is something I love. Thanks for asking. :)