A Los Angeles judge has granted Ariana Grande expedited subpoena power, crucial for tracing hackers who allegedly infiltrated her accounts and sold unreleased music, photos, and videos on the dark web for significant profits. This ruling allows Grande to bypass a standard waiting period typically required for notifying defendants in her ongoing invasion of privacy lawsuit.
Judge’s Ruling on Expedited Discovery
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein decided that Grande’s current inability to identify the hackers warranted immediate action. “The 20-day waiting period will never run because plaintiff cannot — even with reasonable diligence — [determine] the defendant’s identity without this discovery,” the judge noted in a minute order accessed by Rolling Stone.
Urgency in Legal Proceedings
In her application for this expedited discovery, Grande argued that swift identification of the alleged culprits is vital to prevent further hacking, theft, and dissemination of her content. She asserted that any delay risks the loss of vital account, subscriber, and login information necessary to unmask the defendants.
Details of the Allegations
According to her lawsuit and related documents, Grande claims her private digital accounts were compromised through stolen login credentials and phishing tactics aimed at her photographers and producers. The alleged hackers reportedly made off with unreleased material, including masters, demos, and footage from recording sessions. Throughout 2023 alone, Grande asserts that 45 songs were stolen and leaked, contributing to ongoing “irreparable harm” since her debut in 2011.
Grande’s filings specify that the stolen material has appeared on various platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Discord, TikTok, Leaked.CX, YouTube, WeTransfer, Pillowcase, Pixeldrain, WeSendIt, Krakenfiles, and Dropbox.
Challenges in Identifying Perpetrators
Despite an ongoing, multi-year investigation, Grande states that the perpetrators are actively obscuring their identities. They employ multiple pseudonymous accounts across various internet platforms, impersonate domain names, and utilize peer-to-peer payment systems that fail to reveal user identities. Grande’s filings emphasize her urgent need for immediate subpoena power to access business records essential for identifying the individuals behind anonymous accounts.
Next Steps in Court
The case is scheduled for a status hearing in court on January 25. In a February 2024 interview with the Zach Sang Show, Grande discussed the unauthorized leak of her song “Fantasize,” which she originally wrote for a television project, lamenting, “Was stolen — thieves, pirates, illegal. I’ll pay you more to put it away, to get it back.”
