Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Jon Dunn reportingSpoofing has become a big part in the comedy world. But now, spoofing is becoming a part of the internet networking world as well. You will be surprised and disgusted to hear who is being spoofed and how.
The website myspace.com has become nothing short of a craze. At last check, over 60-million people have profiles. I have one. I use it to connect with high school friends. But LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley?
That's right. Spoofing has become a part of the networking site. On there you will find several profiles of Hinckley along with scores for the Pope, over 1,300 alone for the President. Many are not flattering. In many cases, they are actually obscene.
"It seems to me like it's a waste of time for somebody to downgrade somebody they don't even know."
"No matter what your views are, you should have some respect for other people. That bothers me, but I don't know what you can do about it."
Jesse Riddle: "If you're a public figure and someone has spoofed you or said some outrageous things about you, and you're a fairly well known or respected public official, the other issue you have is, would anybody believe the website when they look at it?"
Jesse Riddle is a local attorney who deals with cyber issues. He says public officials must face criticism to a certain point; it comes with the job. But suing is an option should it come to it.
Jesse Riddle: "Even if you do get damages would the other side be able to pay? In certain situations, they probably don't"
Many employers say they now check myspace.com. College admission offices also look for profiles of prospective students. So spoofing is a real concern for anyone. Riddle says unfortunately suing can take a long time and may not bring you out a winner.
Jesse Riddle: "By the time you file the lawsuit, even if they were to show and answer the complaint, even if you were to win, most the time they won't show up to answer the complaint, you'd just have the judgment saying they owe you money. You'd be at the same place you are, unless you can get the court to enjoin the service provider from the hosting website."
Your best hope is to actually contact the website administrators and tell them about an offending page and hope that is enough.
