It’s Mark Zuckerberg v. Mark Zuckerberg. An Indiana chapter lawyer who shares a reputation with the Meta cofounder and CEO goes after the social media big for allegedly disabling Fb accounts as a result of he was “impersonating” the tech billionaire of the identical identify.
Lawyer Mark S. Zuckerberg sued Meta this week, claiming the corporate breached its contract by repeatedly disabling Zuckerberg’s private and industrial accounts whereas persevering with to simply accept funds for commercials of Zuckerberg’s regulation agency. In keeping with the lawsuit, Meta has disabled Zuckerberg’s pages a complete of 9 occasions within the final eight years, together with 5 occasions for his industrial account and 4 occasions for his private web page.
“Each time Plaintiff’s Facebook account is disabled, Meta accuses Plaintiff of ‘impersonating a celebrity’ and not using an ‘authentic name,’” the grievance mentioned.
Zuckerberg instructed Fortune that Meta typically took between 4 and 6 months to reinstate his account, whereas preserving the $11,000 he spent on promoting. Each time it was disabled, Meta required him to scan photos of his driver’s license and bank card and submit movies exhibiting his face, in line with the lawsuit. The lawyer mentioned an absence of on-line presence on account of a disabled account put him at a aggressive drawback.
“All my competitors are using the platform to try and get clients, and I paid [Meta] money to try and get clients, and then they shut me off again,” he mentioned. “It’s just not fair, and it’s not right.”
Meta makes the vast majority of its income—which totalled $164.50 billion in 2024—from promoting. Nonetheless, the tech firm has come beneath scrutiny for its apply of constructing promoting income from accounts it removes from its websites.
From July 2018 and April 2022, Meta made greater than $30 million in promoting income from public relations or promoting networks that the corporate later eliminated for collaborating in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” like spreading misinformation or taking over false identities, Wired reported in 2022. A Meta spokesperson confirmed to the outlet it doesn’t give again advert funds if a community is faraway from the platform.
In keeping with Zuckerberg’s lawsuit, “Meta has a duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure Plaintiff is able to obtain the full benefit for advertising services for which it paid.”
Meta didn’t reply to Fortune’s request for remark however instructed Axios “We have reinstated Mark Zuckerberg’s account, after finding it had been disabled in error.”
Zuckerberg has lengthy had a historical past of being mistaken for the Meta boss. In 2020, the state of Washington sued him believing he was the Meta CEO, alleging he endangered an grownup in want of protecting providers.
The chapter lawyer’s private web site says his homonymous relationship with the Meta CEO has had different repercussions on his life, together with the necessity to flip off his telephone every night time as a result of variety of notifications he receives from folks believing him to be the tech billionaire. In keeping with the web site, Zuckerberg receives greater than 100 good friend requests from Fb customers and receives packages and letters with ideas on find out how to “improve Facebook,” telephone calls from folks wanting tech assist, in addition to dying threats and harassment.
“I don’t wish Mark E. Zuckerberg any ill will at all,” the web site says. “I hope the best for him, but let me tell you this: I will rule the search for ‘Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy’.”
Fortune International Discussion board returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and world leaders will collect for a dynamic, invitation-only occasion shaping the way forward for enterprise. Apply for an invite.
