A statement in open court was read out today before Mr Justice Fordham in Davies v Weston, following the acceptance of a settlement offer which consisted of the making of the statement in open court on behalf of both parties, the payment of compensation and an undertaking not to repeat this conduct in the future.
The statement in open court is available to view in full here.
The Claimant, Sasha Davies, is a 19-year-old student residing in Wales. The Defendant, Elha Mai Weston, also resides in Wales.
Between approximately 2022 and 2026 – commencing when the Claimant was 16 years old – the Defendant engaged in a sustained campaign of online impersonation, commonly known as “catfishing”, of the Claimant. This impersonation was carried out across seven different social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tinder, Hinge and SoundCloud.
The Defendant created and operated numerous accounts under the fictitious identity “Sophie” and variants thereof, including “Sophie Kadare”. Those accounts collectively accumulated more than 100,000 followers and used photographs – and, in due course, AI-generated imagery – of the Claimant without her knowledge or consent.
Through those accounts, the Defendant communicated with a large number of individuals, including by way of personal and romantic conversations. As a consequence, the Claimant has been approached on a number of occasions by members of the public who had interacted with the “Sophie” persona and believed they had a genuine connection with her. On one occasion, a man showed the Claimant messages he had exchanged with one of the fake accounts over a period of months, having believed throughout that he was in a romantic relationship with the Claimant.
The Claimant issued a claim for harassment, misuse of private information and breach of data protection legislation in respect of this conduct.
The BBC previously covered the case here.
5RB’s Chris Zabilowicz, instructed by Reagan Brien at Cohen Davis Solicitors, acted pro bono for the Claimant.
