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Ariana Grande Sues Hackers Who Allegedly Leaked Unreleased Music and Videos
🇨🇦 Canada /Crime & Justice

Ariana Grande Sues Hackers Who Allegedly Leaked Unreleased Music and Videos

From Global News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Pop star Ariana Grande is suing anonymous hackers for allegedly stealing and selling unreleased music, behind-the-scenes footage, and music videos.
  • The lawsuit claims hackers infiltrated the devices of individuals close to Grande, including photographers and producers.
  • Grande seeks to identify the hackers, recover her stolen content, and prevent future leaks, citing hundreds of similar incidents since 2011.

Pop superstar Ariana Grande has taken legal action against a group of anonymous hackers, accusing them of infiltrating the devices of her close associates and stealing unreleased music, videos, and behind-the-scenes footage. The stolen material was allegedly sold online for significant profit.

Filed in California state court, the lawsuit targets unnamed "John Does" for engaging in phishing scams and hacking schemes. Grande's legal team asserts that this conduct constitutes "unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination and exploitation of unreleased content." The complaint details a pattern of illegal behavior where hackers targeted the digital accounts of photographers and producers working with the singer.

In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Ms. Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked by Defendants.

— Ariana Grande's lawsuit filingAllegation within the lawsuit detailing the scale of music theft in a single year.

Grande is seeking to uncover the identities of these individuals to hold them accountable for their "invasive and reprehensible conduct." The lawsuit emphasizes the "imperative" need to deter such actions on behalf of herself and others. Her legal team is requesting a judge to order the return of her property and to halt any further distribution or exploitation of the stolen material.

Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place.

— Ariana Grande's lawsuit filingContextualizing the ongoing nature of alleged leaks and theft throughout her career.

The legal filing also includes allegations of invasion of privacy, violation of California's Comprehensive Data Access and Fraud Act, and civil theft. According to court documents, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked by the defendants in 2023 alone. The complaint notes that hundreds of similar leaks have occurred since her music debut in 2011.

Specific instances cited in the lawsuit include the alleged hacking of a photographer's Dropbox account in 2019, leading to the download of unreleased photos, and the compromise of a producer's mobile device in 2020, yielding still-in-production masters and demos. The defendants reportedly used payment services like PayPal and Cash App to sell the stolen material in batches. Grande is demanding a jury trial.

is imperative to Ms. Grande to ensure, on behalf of herself and others, that such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible.

— Ariana Grande's legal teamStating the goal of the lawsuit to prevent future occurrences of such illegal activities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Global News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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