Sony Playstation Network Revised Terms of Use

A Forbes contributor writes that Sony has attempted to bind consumers to an arbitration clause and a class action waiver in revised Terms of Use that purports to cover the Playstation Network.

According to the Forbes story:

"It’s a slap in the face to consumers already weary of the company’s practices, as they’re essentially saying they could have another privacy breaching screw-up like the hack, and you wouldn’t have recourse against them in the form of a class action lawsuit. There’s currently a lawsuit filed against Sony for the hacking breach by the Rothken law firm on behalf of the 77 million customers affected, but this does not fall under these new terms of service, and will be going forward."

You can read the entire Forbes story here.

See related story from the ABA Journal: First Lawsuit Filed Over Sony Playstation Data Breach

U.S. Banks Come Under Pressure from Regulators to Improve Network Security

Citigroup said that it suffered a security breach in the bank's network impacting the data of about 200,000 credit-card holders in North America. Allegedly the bank waited more than a month before making the full extent of the breach public, drawing criticism from Regulators and lawyers.

U.S. Representative Mary Bono Mack is preparing legislation to ensure faster notification to customers, her spokesman told Reuters.

Ira Rothken, a San Francisco-based attorney who represents plaintiffs in hacking cases, said his firm is investigating whether the information compromised in the Citi breach has led to any secondary intrusions against impacted customers.

"If a bank can't keep data secure, it's going to have a chilling effect not only on the banking industry, but on ecommerce," Rothken said.

The full story from Reuters can be found here.

Ninth Circuit Hears Isohunt Copyright Appeal

Last week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the Isohunt copyright appeal against the major motion picture studios. The main issue on appeal is whether or not Isohunt, a bit-torrent search engine, could be held secondarily liable for copyright infringement under an inducement theory without proof of causation. You can listen to the oral argument below. Ira P. Rothken argued on behalf of Isohunt.

 IsoHunt MPAA hearing

Important Message Regarding SONY Data Breach Class Action

As we are sure you understand, given that over 70 million individuals are impacted by the Sony Playstation Network security breach or disablement, the Rothken Law Firm is receiving numerous calls and thousands of emails requesting information, offering assistance and/or providing further factual support. During this time period we urge you to continue to pay attention to directions from Sony.

In the meantime we are continuing our investigation. To assist us in this process, you may (but are not required to) fill out the intake form on our Law Firm website.  This would expedite our ability to compile contacts and prepare communications in an efficient manner.  Please indicate “Sony Class Action” in the subject line, then use the text box for describing your experience, including, but not limited to, whether you have suffered any fraudulent use of your credit information you attribute to the Sony data breach, and stating any specific questions you may have. Do not include sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and security questions in your communications with us - we will never ask you for such information. You will also find links to news articles regarding the case on this page including below.

There is nothing that you need to do at present to be involved with this litigation.  In the event we reach a settlement with Sony or obtain a judgment on behalf of the Class, there will be a notification process supervised by the Court, at which time all potential Class members will have the opportunity to consider the terms of the settlement or judgment and decide whether he or she wishes to be included or excluded or objects to the settlement. 

Please take whatever steps you deem necessary and appropriate to protect your own personal and financial information and to guard against identity theft.  Some recommendations from PC WORLD include:

1.    Be wary of people calling or e-mailing you asking for extra information such as your Social Security number or other personal information

2.    Monitor your credit card for suspicious activity or consider canceling it and getting a new one

3.    Review your online passwords to see whether you are using the same password and login ID across multiple accounts. If, for example, your PSN and e-mail logins are the same, change your e-mail address password immediately. Of course, for an extra layer of protection, you may consider changing your security questions and challenge responses on other sites.

ROTHKEN LAW FIRM ANNOUNCES FILING OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST SONY FOR PLAYSTATION® NETWORK SECURITY BREACH

San Francisco, California, April 27, 2011 – The Rothken Law Firm announces that it has brought a class action lawsuit against Sony PlayStation® Network to seek a remedy for over 70 million consumers arising out of one of the largest data breaches in the history of the Internet.

According to the complaint entitled JOHNS v SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC, and SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC filed on April 27th, 2011 in Federal Court in the Northern District of California, Sony acknowledged that the personal information of its PlayStation Network customers has been compromised.

The complaint alleges that 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 complaint also alleges "on information and belief, members of the Class have begun to experience losses from fraudulent use of credit card information believed compromised by the security breach alleged herein."

The lawsuit seeks monetary compensation for the data loss and loss of use of the Sony PlayStation® Network, credit monitoring, and other relief according to proof.

"We bought this 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. We are hopeful that Sony will take this opportunity to learn from the network vulnerabilities, provide a remedy to consumers who entrusted their sensitive data to Sony, and lead the way in data security best practices going forward" says Ira P. Rothken an attorney who filed the class action complaint.

Contact Information:

If you are a subscriber to the Playstation Network and would like to tell us about yourself to assist in our investigation please fill out this form here.

CNET News.com story here

IGN News story here 

G4 News story here

Examiner News story here

Copy of Filed Stamped Complaint here