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An Indiana attorney who shares his name with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social media giant keeps shutting down his accounts, and now he’s fighting back.
Mark S. Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer practicing in Indianapolis for nearly four decades, filed a lawsuit Sept. 2. against Meta after claiming Facebook repeatedly locked him out of his business and personal accounts because of his name.
The suit, filed in Marion Superior Court, accuses Meta of negligence and breach of contract.
Zuckerberg says his accounts have been suspended at least nine times in the past eight years, disrupting client communications and costing him thousands of dollars in lost advertising.
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Zuckerberg said Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is in breach of contract because he paid for advertising on his Facebook business account (Mark.S. Zuckerberg/LinkedIn)
“It almost feels like they’re doing it to me on purpose, the number of times they’ve done it,” he told Fox News Digital.
“You would think a company that’s supposed to be cutting edge and so sophisticated would find a way to stop doing this.”
The lawyer insists his identity is genuine and even predates that of Meta CEO Mark Elliot Zuckerberg. Still, he claims Facebook continues to mistake him for an impersonator.
“I have sued Meta because they have turned off my business and personal accounts over nine times,” he said.
“I think they believe I’m impersonating their head honcho, Mark E. Zuckerberg.”
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CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with representatives of social media companies at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
According to his lawsuit, Zuckerberg’s business account has been disabled five times, while his personal profile was suspended four times.
One recent suspension, he says, lasted more than four months despite repeated appeals.
Zuckerberg says the repeated mistakes have cost him. He estimates at least $11,000 in wasted advertising funds.
“It’s not fair that they will take my money, but then shut my account down,” he said.
“The first time they shut it down, I was down for at least six months. This time I was down four months and one day which equals lost business.”
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On this day in history, Feb. 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg’s The Facebook launched for Harvard students (Taylor Hill/Getty Images/iStock)
The lawsuit seeks restoration and maintenance of his accounts, reimbursement for lost advertising, and attorney’s fees.
Zuckerberg insists he’d rather not be in this fight. But just last weekend, he says Facebook suspended an account tied to his sister’s Tampa homeowners association, again flagging his name as impersonation.
“Since my name is on my sister’s list, or at least they just suspended that account over the weekend, saying that I’m impersonating somebody,” he said.
“If Mark wants to fly here personally and say ‘I’m sorry’ or maybe let me spend a week on his boat, I’d probably take him up on that.”
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A Meta spokesperson said “We looked into this quickly after receiving word of the lawsuit and have reinstated Zuckerberg’s account. Here is our statement:
We have reinstated Mark Zuckerberg’s account, after finding it had been disabled in error. We appreciate Mr. Zuckerberg’s continued patience on this issue and are working to try and prevent this from happening in the future.”