Devumi, a Florida-based company that sells automated followers to celebrities, sports stars, journalists and politicians looking to magnify their social media presence and inflate their number of followers, is under investigation by the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman following a New York Times article detailing its practices.
According to the NYTimes article, thousands of the Devumi bot accounts allegedly used names, pictures and other details from real people to create automated faux followers. However, "[i]mpersonation and deception are illegal under New York law," according to Mr. Schneiderman.
This action is the most recent of cases brought by the New York AG focused on online fraud. Earlier actions included Operation Clean Turf which focused on companies creating fake Yelp reviews.
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The New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, on Saturday opened an investigation into a company that sold millions of fake followers on social media platforms, some of them copying real users' personal information.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/technology/schneiderman-social-media-bots.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-newsThis alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.
