What is the legality...

[EmperorDude]

Of using pictures that somebody else posted on a website, and then claim that you are in fact that person? I ask this because a friend of mine recently found out somebody is using her pictures, her name, and other information about her on another website in an attempt to actually make people believe they are my friend.
So, is what this person doing illegal, is there a crime that she can charge them with if they don't stop pretending to be her?

 

[RetiarySword]

Welcome to the interweb! All you could do is report it to the admins of the sites.

 

[GRoXERs]

Yup.
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
It's called identity theft and/or fraud, as well as probably copyright infringement if they're her pictures.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Isn't it called identity theft? Okay I pulled that out of my arse, but it might be true...

 

[fix-the-spade]

It's identity theft, it's illegal, in the US and Europe it carries jail time.

Unfortunately for your friend, it happening and stopping the person doing it are two entirely different matters.

Provided she has proof she can contact whatever site is hosting the imgaes/content and (possibly) get that user banned. Most blog sites and such have a "no impersonating other people," clause in their EULA.

 

[oktalist]

You fail to mention in which jurisdiction. I presume by this and by your profile that both your friend and the impersonator are residing within the United States. Because if not, there's another problem.

 

[EmperorDude]

Thank you guys for the replies so far. Yes, I do know about identity theft, but I did not know if that applied to this case or not, because a lot of other people I asked kept saying that the internet is public domain, and any info you put up is fair game. That and they kept saying things such as they didn't steal credit card numbers, ect ect..

Oktalist-you bring up a very good point that she likely hasn't thought of before now. I hope that this person is indeed an American (only for the sake of possible judicial punishment of course)

 

[mark_n_b]

This is, on its face, illegal. But there are a lot of other things to consider.

1. Is the person seriously trying to convince others that she is your friend?

2. Even if she did convince some people that she is this artist, what would that mean?

3. What, if any damages result from this? (i.e. is she selling your friends pictures as her own)

4. What about the subject material? If it is already copyrighted (i.e. she's a Naruto fan artist) the rights of ownership become muddied, technically the person is stealing a stolen IP, which opens up a whole new kettle.

Your best bet is to contact the site administrator with your concerns and ask them to shut the person down for violating terms of service (this is something that will be in the terms of service, but you might want to review them and quote the section)

A cease and desist order will mean out of pocket legal fees, and you would have to issue said order to the site anyway.

If there are no damages attached to this case, you simply don't have a civil case. And it is unlikely, given the details you've provided, any government agency would waste time pursuing this through criminal channels.

Maybe if you found out the location of this person, and it is nearby. Even then it seems like it's more trouble than it is worth (for those of us who aren't rich anyway)