Sony Threatens Twitter with Legal Action for Spread of Stolen Documents

Sony has now threatened Twitter with legal action if the popular social networking site does not put an end to the circulation of its stolen material through user tweets, according to a new report.

Sony Pictures Entertainment reportedly hired high-profile attorney David Boies to handle the legal fallout resulting from the unprecedented attack against the studio.

Boies sent a letter this week to Twitter general counsel Vijaya Gadde stating that if “stolen information continues to be disseminated by Twitter in any manner,” Sony will “hold Twitter responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by Twitter.”

Motherboard reports that Sony asked Twitter to share the letter with Val Broeksmit, a Twitter user who uses the handle @bikinrobotarmy and who has been posting screen shots of hacked Sony emails.

In addition to holding Twitter responsible for circulating Sony property, the letter also demanded that the company “comply with all future requests with regard to any other account holder seeking to disseminate the Stolen Information via Twitter.”

Motherboard reportedly obtained the letter and emails between Sony and Twitter from Broeksmit.

The letter from Sony partially stated:

Comply with all future requests with regard to any other account holder seeking to disseminate the Stolen Information via Twitter. In addition, we ask that you provide the Account Holder with a copy of this letter, and request that the Account Holder cease publication of the Stolen Information on Twitter…

We are writing to ensure that you are aware that SPE does not consent to your possession, review copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading or making any use of the stolen information, and to request your cooperation in destroying the stolen information.

Sony also sent an email to Twitter, which was obtained by Motherboard, that partially read:

SPE does not consent to Twitter’s or any Twitter account holder’s possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading, or making any use of the Stolen Information, and to request your cooperation in suspending the Account Holder’s Twitter account and the account of any other user seeking to disseminate the Stolen Information via Twitter.

A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed that the letter’s authenticity. However, they declined to comment specifically about the response of the company.