An article in today’s Financial Times describes how a private citizen has been ordered to pay £22,000 for starting a group called “Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?”

From the article:

In a legal ruling likely to send a chill through the -global social networking phenomenon of Facebook, a British businessman has been awarded £22,000 ($44,000) in damages from a former school friend who created a fake profile of him on the website.

Mathew Firsht brought the landmark libel action after coming across a Facebook group titled “Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?” as well as a profile containing false claims about his sexuality, religion and political views.

It is significant because: a) the defendent is a private citizen, not a newspaper or other entity that is typically held to a higher standard and b) there are thousands of groups like this on Facebook. Some are in good fun (see here for one about a childhood friend of mine), others get a little nasty (no example provided…see title of blog).

Is this a one time event? Will it vary by jurisdiction? How many lawsuits are currently underway?

Please provide your thoughts.