Facebook’s Founder Sues An Online Magazine over Privacy Charge

Ironically or not, Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg’s privacy was violated by a minor independent online magazine called 02138, which published mainly articles about Harvard and Harvard alumni. The documents that 02138 published on its web site are related to the popular lawsuit filed against Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. In September 2004, three of Mark Zuckerberg’s former Harvard colleagues sued him in court claiming that it was them who had the idea of creating a Facebook-like social networking web site and that Zuckerberg stole it while working for them. The lawsuit between Facebook’s founder and his former Harvard colleagues hasn’t got to an end.

Zuckerberg seems to have been so irritated, that he already filed a lawsuit, asking the court to force the online magazine to remove the incriminatory documents. According to a Wall Street Journal’s Friday report, Facebook announced 02138 about the legal action asking for the removal of the online documents on Thursday.

They included Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard application, which reportedly contained his Social Security number and his parent’s New York house address, an online diary post where Zuckerberg was talking about being “a little intoxicated”, as well as a 2004 email that Facebook’s head sent to Harvard officials describing as a “minor annoyance” complaints that he used others’ idea for creating Facebook.

The documents were digged up by the freelance reporter Luke O'Brien who said for the New York Times he had done nothing wrong in obtaining the documents and that neither side in the lawsuit had improperly leaked them to him.

However, 02138 announced on its website that Federal judge Douglas Woodlock ruled that the independent Harvard alumni magazine 02138 had the right to release the documents, which were part of another court case.

“I'm delighted to announce that Judge Douglas Woodlock of Federal District Court in Boston has ruled in favor of 02138 in Facebook's attempt to win an emergency injunction against the magazine and force 02138 to take down documents from the ConnectU v. Facebook trial.” wrote Richard Bradley, the Executive Editor of 02138.