Teen Sues Facebook Tormentors for Libel

When a 14-year-old girl in Georgia discovered a phony—and degrading—Facebook page created in her name, she went to her school, the police, and even Facebook itself without much luck. The page stayed up, and its creators went unpunished. As a result, Alex Boston is now suing two classmates for libel, reports AP, which thinks the suit could trigger similar ones around the country.

Alex and her parents are pushing for Georgia to strengthen its cyberbullying laws, and the lawsuit seeks a jury trial to generate attention, along with unspecified damages. The offending page came down about the time the lawsuit got filed last week. "At first blush, you wouldn't think it's a big deal," says her attorney. "Once you actually see the stuff that's on there, it's shocking." (Among other things, it claimed she spoke a made-up language called "Retardish" and was set up to look like Alex had posted a racist video.)