Chicago Man Sues MySpace For Unwanted Text Messages

News Corp.'s MySpace Inc., the world's most popular social-networking Web site, has been sued by been sued by a man who says he is receiving and paying for unwanted mobile-phone text messages from the site with no way to stop them.

"Cell phone users are now being bombarded with invitations to parties by people they do not know," plus "graphic and adult-oriented" messages sent by MySpace site visitors, according to a complaint filed Friday by Michael Crisswell of Illinois.

Message recipients are charged an average of 15 cents for each message they get and there is no way to avoid or reject them, Crisswell said in the complaint filed in Illinois' Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago.

Crisswell's complaint, brought by the Chicago law firm KamberEdelson, accuses the company of trespass and invasion of privacy. It seeks class-action status on behalf of anyone forced to pay for unwanted text messages from MySpace, plus unspecified money damages.

A MySpace spokeswoman, Dani Dudeck, said in an e-mailed message that she couldn't immediately comment on the court filing. MySpace had more than 107.2 million visitors in December, according to the Reston, Va.-based Internet research firm ComScore Inc.

Closely held Facebook Inc., the second-most popular social networking site, had 97.8 million guests during the same time.


Vanessa Arellano Doctor
http://conbuzz.com