• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, October 5, 2009

Gaming industry foe Jack Thompson says he's been subject to a "reign of terror" of harassment dating back to 2005, when he denounced "Grand Theft Auto" on "60 Minutes."

Thompson says that his house has been shot at, he's had his tires slashed, and has been the recipient of "continuous" abusive phone calls.

Now, he alleges in a new lawsuit, people have taken their campaigns against him to Facebook, where they've created groups dedicated to harassing him. In court papers filed in Miami last week, Thompson alleges that Facebook "ignored" his request to delete the groups. Some of the posts to these groups allegedly include messages like, "I will pay $50 to anyone who punches Jack Thompson in the face."

He's suing the company for at least $10 million for infliction of emotional distress and failing to supervise its Web site.

From a legal point of view, Facebook has little cause for concern, given that the federal Communications Decency Act clearly states that Web sites aren't responsible for harassment by users.

A Facebook spokesperson added that Thompson didn't specify the groups he was complaining about before filing his complaint. "Once we saw the specific groups in the complaint, we removed them," the spokesman said.

But even if Facebook has no cause to worry about liability, complaints of this sort could give additional fodder to advocates who are seeking new cyberbullying laws. In the three years since 13-year-old Megan Meier committed suicide after being victimized by a MySpace hoax, several states have enacted new laws taking aim at online harassment.

And just last week, the day after Thompson filed his lawsuit, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) testified in favor of her proposed bill, the "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act." That measure would make it a crime to use electronic means for "severe cyberbullying," or "repeated, hostile, and severe communication made with an intent to harm."

These types of laws, while well-meaning, are obviously vague and have the potential to discourage much legitimate speech, not to mention chilling people from using sites like Facebook or MySpace at all.