Man sued for $340k over Twitter followers

A FORMER blogger for a US mobile phone news site is being sued by his ex-employer over ownership of his Twitter feed.

It is being seen as a social media test case for the internet age.

Noah Kravitz from California, is being sued for $340,000 (€260,000).

He worked as a product reviewer and video blogger for South Carolina-based PhoneDog from 2006 to 2010, according to the lawsuit.

While working for PhoneDog, Mr Kravitz attracted 17,000 followers to his Twitter account @PhoneDog_Noah, said the suit, which was filed in July but has come to light now following an article in The New York Times.

The suit alleges that when Kravitz “suddenly resigned” in October 2010 he was asked by PhoneDog to relinquish the account but he declined to do so and “merely changed” his Twitter handle to @noahkravitz.

The suit claims he now works for a rival company, TechnoBuffalo, and is using his account to “discredit PhoneDog”.

It is seeking damages of $340,000 based on a value of $2.50 per Twitter follower, or $42,500 a month for the past eight months.

Kravitz told The New York Times he had left PhoneDog on good terms with an agreement that he would “tweet on their behalf from time to time”.

However, eight months later the company filed suit against him, a move that Kravitz told the newspaper was retaliation for his claim to 15% of PhoneDog’s gross advertising revenue.

In a statement the firm said it intended “to aggressively protect [its] customer lists and confidential information, intellectual property, trademark and brands”.