First PlayStation Network Class Action Lawsuit Filed

Well we can’t say we didn’t see this coming: the first (of presumably many) class action lawsuits was just filed by a California law firm seeking “remedy for over 70 millon consumers arising out of one of the largest data breaches in the history of the Internet.”

(More on TIME.com: Analyst: PlayStation Network Fiasco Will Be Costly, Change Industry Forever)

Titled “Johns v Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, and Sony Network Entertainment International LLC,” the suit was filed today, April 27, 2011 in Federal Court in the Northern District of California.

The complaint, brought by Rothken Law Firm, alleges the following:

Sony failed to take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users which led to the intrusion that caused over 70 million customers the loss of their personal and private information, including customer names, addresses, e-mail addresses, birthdays, PlayStation Network and Qriocity passwords, and user names, as well as online user handles, and possibly credit card related data.

The lawsuit’s looking for money, of course, to compensate ”for the data loss and loss of use of the Sony PlayStation Network, credit monitoring, and other relief according to proof.” How much money? Let’s see: Class action lawsuit, ‘over 70 million customers’ affected, Sony’s an $88 billion annual revenue company… Probably gazillions.

(More on TIME.com: Everything You Need to Know About the Sony PlayStation Network Fiasco)

Curiously, the firm says it brought the lawsuit on behalf of consumers “to learn the full extent of Sony PlayStation Network data security practices and the data loss and to seek a remedy for consumers.” So the lawsuit’s as much about prizing information from Sony as reaching into its pockets.

These guys didn’t waste any time, either–scan the original press release and you’ll find several typos.

Calling the confidential data breach “staggering,” Rothken attorney J.R. Parker scolded Sony for the security breakdown, writing “One would think that a large multinational corporation like Sony has strong protective measures in place to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information, including credit card information… Apparently, Sony doesn’t.”

And now we wait–probably not long–for all the other shoes to drop.

http://techtechnewsnow.wordpress.com poyntek

Sony better get their act together, now that the Wii 2 has been announced, it looks pretty cool from what I have seen…

http://www.tech-adventures.com/2011/04/nintendo-says-wii-2-is-in-works.html
http://acidrain808.wordpress.com acidrain808

Simply ridiculous! Yes our information may be compromised, however, there are no confirmed reports of identity theft, unauthorized purchases, etc. I think the culprit is going to be too scared to use the info, if they took it. I do agree that Sony, being a huge corporation, should have had better security measures. I think no matter how “beefed up” security you have, someone will find a way in. I am one of the 70 million, and yes I am upset that PSN is down. We need to let Sony do its job and make things right. Honestly, if they get into my bank account, they will get about $6.00. If they want to steal anything, steal my debts! I do not think a class action lawsuit is necessary right now. If in the future something happens then maybe. Right now I think this law firm is trying to weasel their way into a historical event to get a name for themselves. They, in my eyes, are just as bad as the hackers. They see a vulnerability and they take advantage of it! Way to go Rothken!! You are going to drive up prices from Sony since they will have to make up the monies they will lose. Sony is a victim here also! Maybe they have handled things slowly. but they are trying to get it in the best state possible!
http://acidrain808.wordpress.com acidrain808

*They are trying to get it back in order!*
http://simmjer.wordpress.com simmjer

Ahhh, I love America. Land of the Free, and home of the lazy asses. Yeah sure its a big security f-up on sony’s part. But I’m one of those 70 million and I will not be looking for a easy pay day. Gotta love the law firms

“to learn the full extent of Sony PlayStation Network data security practices and the data loss and to seek a remedy for consumers”

Those fers at the law firm could care less about the people this affected. Its all about the all mighty dollar. Lets take away from the company who has spent billions to make billions. You know Shit happens. Deal with it people stop being lazy asses and looking for the easy way out. Work for your money like Sony did.
http://tehsteve.wordpress.com/ tehsteve

I can’t say that I disagree with this lawsuit. I’m not a proponent of this whole American “let’s sue the crap out of each other for everything” attitude that only gets insurance companies and lawyers wealthy – but that said, if an organization with the revenue that Sony has can not commit the necessary capital to ensure that private information collected by them (which is REQUIRED to use all facets of their service after purchasing hardware) is complete secure, then they need to be prepared to compensate those who’ve had said information compromised. I’ve heard arguments that the Sony PSN is a free service, so no compensation is required on those grounds but I also disagree with that. PSN is not a free service. There is a cost behind it that Sony simply passes on through the price of games and hardware. When you buy them, you do so expecting this service to work. In many cases, you may choose a playstation over an xbox because of this business model.

Sony should be able to employ very highly skilled IT Security Experts to ensure that this type of incident does not occur, and that if it does it is addressed immediately and transparently. They’ve been down for a week and they just released this information to us yesterday. I could have cancelled my credit cards a week ago, instead of waiting until today. That’s a poor way to do business, and if there were a class action against them in Canada where I live I would happily join it. If nothing else, I’d use the money to buy an xbox and replace my PS3 games with matching titles for the new system. My two pennies.
ecvoice

Not gonna matter – the Supreme Court today just ruled that companies can block customers’ class-action lawsuits and force them to sue individually. This class action ain’t gonna be no class action.
http://sonysucks.wordpress.com sonysucks

Actually I can see why your not worried about your bank account $6 bucks wow. To bad you aint worried about your indentity being stolen and sold all over the black market. Sony completely lied to us about the breach & didn’t allow anyone anytime to protect themselves. (Just to protect their image keep in mind people SONY also has massive PR groups that blog in SONY’s favor all the time. But with only $6 in your bank account maybe you should get of the blogs and go look for a real job like the rest of us ;)