Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Woman Banned From Facebook For Having Famous Name

Posted by samzenpus on from the will-the-real-ms.-middleton-please-stand-up dept.

Andrew Smith writes "The BBC reports: 'A mother from Kent has been told she cannot use her Facebook account because she shares a name with Prince William's fiancee. Kate Middleton, from Pembury, said the social networking site had accused her of impersonating her famous namesake. Ms Middleton, who set up her account two years ago, said she was shocked at the decision. Facebook said it made the occasional mistake and would seek to resolve the issue.'"

3 comments

  1. Not really surprising ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure people have had domain names stolen from them because someone claimed they were trading on their famous name and won in court, even though it was obvious that the person was actually using their own name.

    Whoever has the money, writes the rules.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. Lie to me... by Onuma · · Score: 1

    At least try to make up some excuse, such as breaking TOU / user agreement. Too many names are far too common to avoid all clashes with famous or famously-connected people.

    Lie to me, facebook!

    --
    What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
  3. There's more than one by shabble · · Score: 1

    There's been a few deleted/suspended:

    Australia for instance: http://www.local12.com/news/state/story/Facebook-Deletes-Kate-Middleton-Accounts/vWblzM2WX067VE-7OC9Osg.cspx?rss=31

    Another one in the UK (I think): http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/25/facebook-bans-kate-middleton-%E2%80%94-no-not-the-famous-one-the-other-one/?xid=rss-topstories

    --
    http://harridanic.com