Amid ongoing leaks of emails and data, Sony has demanded that tweets containing screenshots of leaked emails be removed or it will file a lawsuit against Twitter and the tweets" poster.
A California-based musician, Val Broeksmit, received a letter from Sony after he started posting screenshots of leaked emails on his twitter account. In the letter, a representative for Sony asked for the tweets to be deleted, and warned that Twitter will be contacted if he didn"t.
Broeksmit at first doubted the email was legit, but Twitter did temporarily suspend his account because the screenshots he posted included the email addresses of Sony executives. After his account was reinstated, he continued to post screenshots but now blacking out email addresses.
Sony then sent a second email to Broeksmit, this time it was from its lawyers threatening a lawsuit if the tweets are not removed and Broeksmit stop posting further tweets, saying it "expressly reserves all rights, remedies, claims and defenses available to it under applicable law."
Broeksmit said he will continue posting screenshots, saying "I"m not with a newspaper and I think I can get away with it," he continued "It"s important—the reason is it"s so new and different from anything we"ve seen before. This is a billion dollar company being made bare to the public. It"s crazy I have these emails, and it"s fascinating to learn how these companies work."
Sony then sent Twitter a legal letter, saying if "stolen information continues to be disseminated by Twitter in any manner," Sony will "hold Twitter responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by Twitter," it also asked Twitter to forward the legal threat to Broeksmit.
Twitter confirmed that the letter is authentic, but declined to say what action or response it will make on the letter, and noted that the tweets are still live on the site. Twitter also told Broeksmit that it "cannot provide legal advice. You may wish to contact your own attorney about this matter."
Sony previously warned in a sternly worded three-page letter that it would legal action against news organizations which continue to report on the leaked documents, saying it will hold the news organizations "responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination."
The hackers, calling themselves "Guardians of Peace," broke into Sony"s systems and stole data then started to leak it, demanding, The Interview, be withdrawn as it features a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Sony caved in after the personal details of employees were leaked.