In a recent story by the New York Times, Facebook’s new advertising system may be considered illegal in New York.

The story, which originated from a blog post on a Harvard Law weblog explained that a 100 year-old New York state statue may prevent the social network from using its new advertising system, in which it places Facebook users into its advertisments.

This statue says that “any person whose name, portrait, picture, or voice is used within this state for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first obtained” can sue for damages. If that’s not enough, it goes on to say that such use could be a criminal misdemeanor.

After the New York Times published this story, Chris Kelly, the chief privacy officer of Facebook responded by explaining that the author’s view was too broad and that the law wouldn’t apply to Facebook…he continued by arguing “that it would be difficult for someone used in one of these ads to object because that person had already chosen to publicly identify themselves with the brand doing the advertising”.

While the principals of advertising may be considered similar to those of 100 years ago, the methods of user consent and advertising channels are considerably different. If any legal actions are taken against Facebook, this will certainly set a new precedent for internet companies doing business in New York.

Feel free to post your comments below and let me know what you think.