In a ruling that could help consumers who have sued Target and other retailers over data breaches, a federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss a class action against Sony Corp. over a 2011 data breach that affected PlayStation users. U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia in San Diego held that the plaintiffs do have standing under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in Clapper v. Amnesty International.
In April 2011 hackers broke into Sony’s PlayStation Network, a popular video gaming network, pilfering the personal data of 77 million users. Lawsuits followed, which were consolidated before Battaglia. The plaintiffs alleged 53 violations of state and federal laws.
