In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg had an idea. But it wasn’t good yet: During his time at Harvard University in Cambridge, he designed the website “Facemash”, on which users could rate the appearance of female students. Two of them competed against each other virtually – the “feschere” won. However, the main actresses knew nothing about this strange game, nor that their pictures were used for it. The site was quickly taken down after protests, but Zuckerberg then had a better idea: Facebook.
It is also the history of a case at the Auhof high school in Linz. The 16-year-old student, whom investigators were now able to investigate after creating a “hit list” of 225 students, cited Mark Zuckerberg as a role model in his interviews. He didn’t think much of it, he just “wanted to be like him.”
16-year-old investigated
The website went online shortly after 9 p.m. on the last day of the semester break (February 25). All 225 high school students at the Linz high school could be seen with photos and names, listed according to their supposed popularity. Because links to the site were also sent out, the two hours in which the site was online were enough to stir up a lot of dust.
Investigators have now been able to track down the 16-year-old via an IP address and he has confessed. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating because of “unlawful access to a computer system” because he is also said to have hacked a classmate’s email account.
Author
Gabriel Egger
Editor Upper Austria
Gabriel Egger
