By Ghazali Ibrahim
An Indiana bankruptcy lawyer named Mark Stephen Zuckerberg is taking legal action against Facebook, accusing the social media giant of repeatedly removing his business and personal pages on the grounds that he was “impersonating” the platform’s billionaire founder.
The veteran attorney, who has been practising law for 38 years long before Meta CEO Mark Elliot Zuckerberg became a household name, says sharing the same name has brought him endless trouble, from death threats and prank calls to mistaken identity lawsuits.
“It’s not funny,” he told local TV station WTHR.
“Not when they take my money.”
Zuckerberg claims to have spent over $11,000 on Facebook ads to promote his legal services, only for his accounts to be repeatedly blocked for alleged celebrity impersonation. Restoring them often takes months, costing him clients and revenue.
He argues that Facebook has breached “fair dealing” laws by unfairly disrupting his business.
The attorney also recounted bizarre experiences linked to his famous name including receiving over 100 daily friend requests, using fake names when making restaurant reservations to avoid prank suspicions, and even having a limo driver mistaken for the Meta founder mobbed by fans in Las Vegas.
Zuckerberg says he’s had the name “way longer” than the tech mogul, and while he’d prefer not to battle Meta, he feels the lawsuit is the only way to get their attention.
Meta has acknowledged the case, stating: “We know there’s more than one Mark Zuckerberg in the world, and we are getting to the bottom of this.”
As for a resolution, the lawyer joked that he might be willing to drop the dispute if the billionaire Zuckerberg invited him to spend a week aboard his superyacht.
Zuckerberg is seeking damages and legal fees in the suit.
