Abuse Using Technology

A person may be able to sue for money damages in civil court if a “tort,” which means a civil wrong, was committed against him/her. (See our Suing an Abuser for Money page for more information about civil lawsuits.) There are a few torts that might come into play when dealing with impersonation, which we explain below.

Defamation is a tort that refers to the act of saying or writing false information that damages a person’s reputation in the community. An abuser may have impersonated someone else to spread false and damaging statements about you. Or s/he may have impersonated you to spread false information. If the damaging statement is spoken, it may be considered slander. If it is written it may be considered libel.

For a statement to be considered slander or libel, the judge will generally require proof that:

• It was false;
• It was “published,” which  means a third party must have read or heard the statement;
• It caused harm to your reputation, which is often proven by showing one of two things:
  
  • that your business was negatively impacted; or
  • that you were subjected to public hatred, disapproval, disgrace, or ridicule.

False light is a tort that deals with being portrayed in a misleading or false way, causing harm to your emotional well-being. To prove false light, the courts generally require proof that:

1. The abuser attributed a statement or view to you that you do not hold, thereby placing you in a “false light;”
2. The statement or view puts you before the public in a very offensive and untrue manner; and
3. S/he acted with “actual malice,” which means s/he knew that the statement was false or didn’t care (“recklessly disregarded”) whether it was false or not.