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metronews.ca TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2011
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Israeli citizen Rotem Guez officially changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg in order to annoy the Facebook founder.
Meet Mark Zuckerberg (but not that one) Israeli web entrepreneur changes his name to vex Facebook founder Action prompted by legal dispute There’s no love lost between Mark Zuckerberg and Mark Zuckerberg. At a time when businesses do everything they can to get noticed on Internet search engines, an Israeli web entrepreneur has appropriated the name of the founder, president and CEO of the world’s 800-millionstrong social network. Born and known as Rotem Guez for the first 32 years of his life, the newer — although not younger — Mark Zuckerberg is on a mission that is part vendetta, part act of shameless self-promotion. Guez officially changed his name with Israel’s Ministry of the Interior on Dec. 7, following a dispute with
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— and threats of legal action from — Facebook. The The original conflict Zuckerberg began late last year, when Guez created a Facebook page that advertised his Like Store. Because the popularity of anything and everything on the social network is measured in individual “likes,” Guez’s firm offered to supply businesses with likes on demand. Buying likes is strictly banned in Facebook’s code of conduct. Following an investigation, Facebook concluded that Guez had set up “mul-
tiple fake Facebook profiles.” The social network then quickly removed the Like Store from its site, according to information supplied by Facebook legal counsel Joseph Cutler. In January, Guez launched a lawsuit against Facebook and its Israeli affiliate, Nana 10 MASA, for “hacking” his account. Facebook retaliated with a cease-and-desist order. Guez’s latest escalation was to change his name and take out an Israeli passport as Mark Zuckerberg. Using his new identity, he has set up Twitter and Internet accounts clearly designed to annoy the original Zuckerberg. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
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