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Cyberbully Lawsuit Filed Against Google
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 18, 2010
Modified Sep 7, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 18, 2010
Modified Sep 7, 2010
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Carla Franklin may have degrees from both Duke and Columbia, but it seems she never took that class on Welcome To The Internet. The former model is suing Google as a means to have them unmask a cyberbully who called her a "whore" in the comments of her YouTube videos.
Her lawyer told the Daily News, "People hide behind these shields and think they can just post anything. Hopefully, we can put a stop to this." The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court names "JoeBloom08," JimmyJean008" and "greyspector09" as the poster of the "malicious and untrue" statements. Franklin hopes to attach real names, addresses and phone numbers to the handles.
Franklin says she's "suffered damages in the form of distress and mental anguish" from mean comments, which she believes "were made with the intention to harm [her] reputation and interfere with her relationships, employment and livelihood." This is why she's going the same legal route others have in her position have gone. Last year a model got Google to pull the curtain back and unveil a commenter who called her a "skank" and "old hag."
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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