Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Match.com Over Photo Use

According to ABC News, a Florida model is suing Match.com as part of a $1.5 billion class action lawsuit, saying the website used her photos, creating fake online dating profiles.

ABC News reported that Yuliana Avalos, a part-time model, said that her pictures have been used in hundreds of fake Match.com profiles without her consent. “Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t tell me that they saw my pictures posted on Match.com or another web site,” Avalos said, according to ABC News.

The class action lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Manhattan Federal Court, and alleges that the company broke copyright laws and committed common law fraud by allowing fake profiles with photos of people who did not give their consent to be used in profiles.

Avalos said that people who think that she was flirting with them through the dating site have contacted her multiple times. According to ABC News, the lawsuit calls the fake profiles on the popular dating site “one of the biggest conspiracies ever executed on the internet.”

Representatives from Match.com did not return calls from ABC News seeking comment. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages in the amount of $500 million and $1 billion for punitive damages. It claims that there are about “3,000 allegedly fake profiles that they say use photos of people who have not consented to their use on the website, including photos of famous actors, military personnel and Facebook users.”

This is an interesting case. People have a right to privacy when it comes to photos and likenesses, especially when it comes to advertising and/or marketing. It is troubling that someone who has not used this service could be contacted about potential dates; something a judge could consider a public safety hazard.

We have represented many consumers in class action lawsuits against companies who have put out defective products or endangered the safety of the public. If you have any interest in speaking with the attorney about a potential class action lawsuit, please contact Gary S. Graifman, Esq., toll free at (866) 971-0927 to schedule a free initial consultation or complete the form on this page to let our skilled attorneys review your case.

Kantrowitz, Goldhamer, Graifman, Perlmutter & Carballo, P.C. – Class Action Lawyers

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/models-15-billion-suit-match-claims-fake-profiles/story?id=20991133