Last year the PlayStation Network was down for a month due to a security breach that resulted in 69 million (encrypted) accounts to be exposed. Sony ended up giving out free games and identity theft protection to help compensate PSN users, but many gamers still felt either betrayed, or just wanted to take advantage of the situation – so a class action lawsuit was formed in California.
But, last week U.S District Judge Anthony Battaglia dismissed claims of negligence, bailment, unjust enrichment, and violations of California consumer protection statutes. How did Sony get off these charges scot-free? Well, Sony didn’t violate consumer-protection laws because the PlayStation Network is free, and none of the plaintiffs were subscribed to services like PlayStation Plus, or Music Unlimited, that they would have otherwise been prevented access to.
Additionally, all PlayStation Network users sign a privacy policy, which explicitly states that Sony’s online security isn’t perfect, and they can’t be held accountable for breaches. The bailment charge was dropped, because the plaintiffs freely admitted that the stolen information was a criminal intrusion, rather than any sort of co-operation on Sony’s side of the digital fence.
Do you agree with the ruling? Or do you believe these claims had merit? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
