Does anyone know what the "commercial appropriation" law means as described in this article here: http://valleywag.gawker.com/5226475/did-julia-allison-break-the-law-in-search-of-facebook-fame The article explains what it is, but i still don't get it. Can someone give an easy example and what's the actual law called because wikipedia doesn't have it.
On FaceBook, when you join someone's fan group, it announces to your friends that you did so. With that being done, it makes it seem that the person who joined is advertising/endorsing the product or person. When Mark, CEO of FaceBook, converted 2,500 of Julia Allison's friends into fans, it put those people in advertisements for Julia without their permission. Basically, people have to give the right to be used in an endorsement. FaceBook did not give those 2,500 people a choice and forced them to be "endorsers."
what if the people who were converted don't have a problem with being converted and don't care it was done without their permission? by the way, what's the law actually called?