Mark Zuckerberg vs. Mark Zuckerberg: Lawyer sues Meta over account blocks

An Indianapolis lawyer named Mark Zuckerberg—coincidentally sharing a name with the Facebook founder—has filed a lawsuit against Meta after his personal and work accounts were repeatedly blocked for allegedly impersonating the tech billionaire, reports the New York Post.

The attorney has been dealing with “identity confusion” for 15 years. His verified account has been blocked five times, and after losing $11,000 in advertising funds when his law firm’s page was removed for the fifth time, he decided to take legal action.

“Usually you can say, ‘It’s just Facebook, not a big deal.’ But this time it actually affected my income because I was spending money on ads to attract clients,” Zuckerberg explained.

He filed the lawsuit in the Marion County Superior Court, accusing Meta of negligence and breach of contract for blocking his accounts on what he claims were frivolous grounds.

“My account was first blocked back in 2010. Since then, every time I have to go through a long appeals process—showing photos, licenses, credit cards—to prove that I’m a real person and haven’t violated platform rules,” added the 38-year veteran lawyer.

Meta responded that it has received the complaint and is reviewing it. “We know there’s more than one Mark Zuckerberg in the world, and we’re looking into the situation,” the company said.

While the lawyer jokes that sharing a name with the billionaire has perks—like easier reservations at restaurants—the situation has caused serious problems. His firm receives countless calls from Facebook users, misdirected packages meant for the tech mogul, and in 2020 he was even mistakenly sued for financial misconduct.

The lawyer is seeking compensation for lost income, reimbursement of legal fees, and a court order preventing future account blocks. Humorously, he admits he dreams of the real Mark Zuckerberg flying in to hand him a check and apologize—but acknowledges that’s probably never going to happen.