Facebook’s trademark cops have shuttered an online art project critiquing the social media giant’s peepshow privacy policy.
Last Friday, German artist Tobias Leingruber launched a website, FBbureau.com, on which he proposed issuing unofficial Facebook ID cards, based on users’ profiles, that could one day replace driver’s licenses and passports. It was obvious satire – a way to comment on the astronomical amount of personal data that wafts around on Facebook.
Then three days ago, Facebook sent Leingruber a cease-and-desist letter, citing trademark violation. Leingruber complied and took the site down, after “a friendly conversation” with one of the company’s lawyers.
