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.