A disbarred Florida lawyer who has been vocal in his opposition to violent video games sued Facebook this week over comments on the social networking site that he considers to be a threat to his personal safety. Facebook said it would contest the suit in court.

A disbarred Florida lawyer who has been vocal in his opposition to violent video games sued Facebook this week over comments on the social networking site that he considers to be a threat to his personal safety. Facebook said it would contest the suit in court.

Jack Thompson said that Facebook groups calling for users to smack him in the face for $50 or to hit him with an Atari game system have caused him great harm and distress, and he is seeking $40 million in damages from the social networking site.

Thompson made headlines in 2005 after he appeared on "60 Minutes" and called video game series "Grand Theft Auto" a "murder stimulator." Thompson was being interviewed about Devin Moore, who murdered three men and later referenced video games in his confession. "But for the video-game training, he would not have done what he did," Thompson said of Moore at the time.

Soon after his appearance, Thompson said he started receiving threats online, over the phone, and in person. One teenager was jailed after calling Thompson's home and threatening to kill and castrate him.

In September 2008, Thompson was disbarred by the Supreme Court of Florida for obstruction and submitting false evidence, among other things.

According to court documents filed with a Florida district court, Thompson last month became aware of anti-Jack Thompson groups on Facebook, like "Jack Thompson should be removed from the populace" and "Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600."

Thompson said he sent a fax to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg twice in August and again in September asking Zuckerberg to remove the offending material. Thompson claims Facebook refused to accept or acknowledge the faxes. He filed suit on September 29.

"This conduct by Facebook constitutes a willful and wanton disregard of the rights and safety of plaintiff and warrants an award of punitive damages against Facebook," according to Thompson's suit.

"This suit is without merit and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said. "Additionally, it is our practice to remove content that threatens an individual when it is brought to our attention."

Facebook said it has repeatedly asked Thompson to point to specific content that he would like removed, but until now, he has been unwilling or unable to do so.

Thompson disputed Facebook's account. "Facebook never contacted me in any fashion," Thompson wrote in an e-mail.

Eric Goldman, an associate professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and director of the High Tech Law Institute, said Thompson has no case.

"Thompson has absolutely no chance holding Facebook liable for these user postings," Goldman said in an e-mail.

Facebook is immunized from liability by a section of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that says Web sites are not liable for user-supplied content, Goldman said.

"It doesn't matter if Facebook receives notice of a problem and fails to act, or if Facebook has acted in similar situations and hasn't acted here," he continued. "Regardless of any of these facts, [the Telecom Act] says that Facebook categorically isn't liable."

Looking at the groups in context, "I think it's pretty clear that these posts are not intended to be taken seriously," Goldman said. "The more interesting question is why Facebook hasn't voluntarily taken down the groups nonetheless. Facebook isn't legally compelled to do so, but it's certainly within its prerogative to do so."

Parry Aftab, a lawyer and executive director of WiredSafety.org, questioned why Thompson chose to contact Facebook via fax.

"With a site that has 300 million users you don't send a fax to the CEO  not if you're dealing in good faith," Aftab said. "If he really was legitimately wanting to have that taken down, he should've reported it to Facebook [electronically]."

"I chose to go to the CEO because he's in charge," Thompson responded. "The company got the information from me, obviously, and they chose to do nothing, thinking I would go away. I did not."

To report abuse, Facebook has small "report" links on comments within groups, and it allows users to also report the administrators of groups by clicking a similar link on their profiles.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10am Eastern time Friday with additional comment from Thompson.