Fraley v. Facebook, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
830 F. Supp. 2d 785 (2011)
Facebook (defendant) ran "Sponsored Stories" ads that displayed a user's name, photo, and a statement that they "liked" an advertiser's page to that user's friends, whenever the user clicked "like" on the advertiser's page. Fraley (plaintiff), a Facebook user, sued, arguing this used her name and likeness for commercial endorsement without consent, violating her publicity rights, and that a mere "like" click doesn't necessarily reflect genuine endorsement. Facebook moved to dismiss, arguing users consented by using the platform, that users are effectively public figures to their friends with reduced publicity rights, and that expressions of consumer opinion are newsworthy and therefore exempt.
Whether the newsworthiness exception to a commercial-misappropriation claim applies when the challenged publication of a person's name or likeness was made for commercial advertising purposes.