Ru En

Community Page

Facts:

  • 1. Community Page. Facebook community page «Рубена Варданяна в Президенты Армении» (“Ruben Vardanyan for Armenian Presidency”), https://www.facebook.com/vardanyanismypresident/?fref=nf (hereinafter, “Community Page”) contains “initiative” of a user or group of users aimed to “support” Mr. Ruben Vardanyan run for presidency in the Republic of Armenia.
  • 2. Photographs. The Community Page, by the time of this claim, contains at least three photographs of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan (cover photo, timeline photo and profile picture), https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.258065064538763.1073741827.258051051206831&type=3.
  • 3. Impression. The Community Page creates or may reasonably create an impression that it is launched and/or supported by Mr. Ruben Vardanyan or with his approval. However, the administrators of the Community Page explicitly mention that they are not related to Mr. Ruben Vardanyan, although they firmly believe that he will agree to be the President of Armenia.
  • 4. Publicity. Mr. Ruben Vardanyan is a public person who is well-known for general public not only in Armenia, but also in the CIS countries and all over the world. He is a well-known businessman and additionally he runs several charity organisations which act internationally. More information on his website: http://rubenvardanyan.info/en
  • 5. No authorization. Mr. Ruben Vardanyan has not initiated the creation of the Community Page, nor has he further supported and/or authorized the Community Page and each part of its content and/or statements.

Claim:

We hereby kindly ask Facebook to take immediate action and take down the Community Page because it infringes several rights and legitimate interests of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan:

Rights:

Please note: each of the further mentioned infringements is, as the claimant believes, alone enough to serve as grounds for the claim. If you do not agree with one of them, please consider another one independently.

  • 6. The Photographs on the Community Page infringe Mr. Ruben Vardanyan’s right to image. The photographs contain clear full face image of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan. However Mr. Ruben Vardanyan has not ever given any authorization to use any of his identity, including photographs, on the Community Page. Furthermore, he does not make any further approve of the Community Page. Right to image is generally recognized in many jurisdictions, including the countries of European Union and the Russian Federation (under Article 152.1 of the Civil Code1). Identity is also protected in other jurisdictions, including the USA.
  • 7. The Content of the Community Page constitutes non-fair use of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan’s rights as personal data subject. Without prejudice to the aforementioned independent personal image right, the content of the Community Page, including photos, text and references, contains personally identifiable information of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan which clearly relates to this individual. Mr. Ruben Vardanyan has not ever given any authorization to use any of his personal data for the Community Page or any other resources with similar goals. Many jurisdictions, including the European Union and the Russian Federation, in most cases, such as the present case, do not allow unauthorized use of personal data, even if such data is gathered from publicly available sources. This website does not just include references, it arranges the personal data with the aim of providing clear political message, unauthorized by the individual concerned.

1 Item 3 of Article 152.1 of the Civil Code specifically states that when a citizen’s image is used in the Internet without valid grounds, such a citizen is entitled to claim deletion of such image and prohibition of its further use. No exclusions apply in the present case.

Legitimate Interests:

Please note: each of the further mentioned legitimate interests (a) form the context and reasons for the aforementioned rights infringed, and (b) is, as the claimant believes, alone enough to serve as grounds fro the claim. If you do not agree with one of them, please consider another one independently.

  • 8. The Community Page presents an unfair attempt to affect the reputation of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan. The Community Page has not been created by Mr. Ruben Vardanyan nor it has been approved by him. However, it conveys a strong direct message that he would not object such a position. Such unauthorized claims can affect the reputation of Mr. Ruben Vardanyan beyond reasonable control and as such, are against his legitimate interests.
  • 9. The Community Page is not in line with the election law and/or it may constitute unfair practice in this area. The Community Page presents an attempt to gather information about how many people may support Mr. Ruben Vardanyan as an alleged candidate for the position of the Armenian president. Such kind of political promotion may not be in line with the letter of the law as well as rules of international law and/or it may constitute unfair practice in this area.

We would highly appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Please note that in case this claim is disregarded and/or the Community Page would not be taken down, we reserve the right to apply to any legal action in any court and dispute resolution procedure without limitation.