Aerosmith’s Tyler Takes on Bloggers Behaving Badly
— September 25, 2008 0 30Steven Tyler has had just about enough, and he’s decided to take legal action against some bloggers who have been crossing the line by impersonating the iconic Aerosmith frontman online, and writing about his mother as well as additional “intimate details” of the rocker’s life.
Tyler recently filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the bloggers, whose identity is not yet known, and who Tyler suspects of similar online activities last year. Some of the online impersonators are also reported to have pretended to be Tyler’s girlfriend, Erin Brady.
Most, if not all of the blogs were created on Google’s popular BlogSpot service, where just about anyone can set up a free blog, and blog about almost any topic, as long as it is within the boundaries set in place by Google and, of course, within the law.
Tyler was successful last year when he asked Google to remove the offending blogs, which apparently put an end to the problem for a while. With these latest incidents, which include comments about Tyler’s mother, who recently passed away, Tyler seems to have decided to go after these anonymous individuals through the legal system.
Tyler’s suit alleges that the bloggers are engaging in acts that result in public disclosure of private facts, making false statements and misappropriation of likeness. It also seeks an injunction ordering the defendants to stop impersonating him online or elsewhere.
For the time being, it appears that Google has stepped in again, and suspended the blogs in question. Web surfers trying to access them are greeted with a message that indicates that the blog(s) are suspended and under review due to possible terms of service violations.
These things can take a while to play out, and it can often be very difficult to track down an internet user’s identity, especially if they know what they are doing.
If all goes well for Tyler, his case will have its day in court and the alleged offenders will have to pay whatever penalty the court decides to impose on them.
Leave a reply