Court approves Sony settlement in data breach case
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California has approved a settlement from Sony in regards to the major breach of the PlayStation Network from 2011 that saw the personal information of thousands of people become vulnerable.
More from Entertainment
- 10 greatest fictional football players of all time
- Stephen A. Smith learned quickly not to mess with Rihanna
- Everything to know about Taylor Swift’s Thursday Night Football appearance
- House of the Dragon live stream: How to watch
- From boxing to cinema, Javon Walton stars in Samaritan with Stallone
The settlement has Sony shelling out $15 million in compensation to any and all users who were affected by the breach. This includes free games, unused fund reimbursements and monetary awards if users can prove a case of identity theft as a result of the breach.
The settlement will also pay $2.75 million in attorney fees. That could bring the total of the settlement to a whopping $17.75 million as a result of the class action lawsuit.
Of the potential $15 million worth of compensation, $6 million of it will go towards users who didn’t take part in the “Welcome Back” campaign Sony ran shortly after the breach in 2011. Another $4 million will go towards the group that did take advantage of the promotion. Once both caps are reached, users will be awarded a one month PlayStation Plus membership.
In a comment to Game Informer, Sony stated that despite constant denial of the allegations in the lawsuit, the company chose to come forth with a settlement to avoid the cost of “lengthy litigation”.
“To date, the Sony entities have received no confirmed reports of identity theft linked to the attacks, and there is no evidence that anyone’s credit card information was accessed,” the statement said. “We are glad that the parties are working toward a resolution of this matter and that our gamers will continue to enjoy our entertainment services.”
Sound off FanSiders! What do you think of the settlement? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.