Bloomberg reports:
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. lawyers have sent a letter asking news organizations to stop writing articles based on stolen documents released by hackers seeking to interrupt the release of the comedy “The Interview.”
The letter, dated Sunday, was sent by attorney David Boies to news organizations including Bloomberg and The New York Times.
Media outlets should destroy the stolen data and will be held responsible for damages from publication of the information, which includes salaries, intellectual property and communications protected by attorney-client privilege, Boies wrote.
Read more on Japan Times.
A full copy of the letter was posted by Hollywood Reporter here.
The letter stops short of saying that Sony would sue media outlets that post any leaked data, and I suspect the letter is more bluff than anything in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bartnicki that news organizations can use stolen material as long as they had no role in stealing it and the reporting addresses matters of public concern. Could Sony argue that sites quoting emails commenting on actors are just “gossip” and not matters of public concern? Perhaps, and perhaps they could successfully argue that competitors who attempt to use the company’s intellectual property are not protected by the First Amendment, but overall, I think any lawsuits against media for reporting on the leaked material would fail.
That said, and as I explained here, this site will continue to not link to or disclose personal information dumped by hackers that involves the privacy of employees or the disclosure of sensitive personal information. Revelations about Sony’s approach to infosecurity are totally fair game here, however.
Update: Eugene Volokh offers his opinion on any litigation here