Pop singer Ariana Grande has sued a group of anonymous hackers she says have broken into devices and accounts belonging to photographers and producers she works with in order to steal and leak unreleased music, images and video, Complete Music Update reported. The lawsuit claims the hacking campaign has continued for 15 years, with 45 songs leaked online ahead of release in 2023 alone, conduct it calls a "malicious invasion" of her privacy that has caused "substantial and irreparable harm" to her career.
Because the hackers are unnamed, Grande's legal team first has to subpoena internet companies for information that could help identify them, a process complicated further by the possibility the hackers are based in countries where pursuing legal action is difficult. The lawsuit argues no "public or private figure" should have to tolerate hacks carried out by "wrongdoers who hide in the shadows and wreak technological havoc with impunity," and calls it "imperative" that the conduct be deterred.
The filing frames the stakes in personal terms as well as legal ones, describing the leaks as violating not just Grande's "identity and artistry" but "the direct and sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans."
The lawsuit lays out several specific methods the hackers used to reach Grande's private material: stealing the login credentials for a photographer's Dropbox account, hacking a producer's phone directly, and, in one case, setting up a fake domain name and Gmail account to trick a digital technician working for another of her photographers into handing over private files.
The case comes as Grande has had an eventful year on the music side too, following Ariana Grande's new album Petal channels her anger into pop and Ariana Grande is stepping back from the spotlight after her Eternal Sunshine tour. It remains to be seen whether the subpoenas will succeed in identifying who has been behind the leaks.
The facts
- Filed a lawsuit against unnamed hackers over repeated leaks of unreleased material
- Lawsuit alleges the hacking campaign has continued for 15 years
- Claims 45 songs were leaked online ahead of release in 2023 alone
- Hackers accessed a photographer's Dropbox account and a producer's phone, among other methods
- Grande's legal team must first subpoena information to try to identify the hackers
- One tactic involved a fake domain and Gmail account used to trick a digital technician into sharing files
- A court granted fast-track subpoena power
- The aim is to identify alleged hackers
How this checks out
Developing
Reported by 3 independent outlets
A few outlets have it so far, short of the bar we set for confirmed.
Cited sources 3
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