Remember the infamous ApocalyPS3 of 2011, where the PlayStation Network was down for numerous weeks due to a hack to the network that included a security breach of millions of users' personal details? Several PSN users banded together to sue Sony over the security breach (which was hardly surprising). The lawsuit is still going on, of course, but recently, the US District Judge presiding over the case has dimissed most of the claims in the lawsuit due to Sony's privacy policy stating that its security was not perfect.
The users involved in this lawsuit have claimed that Sony "failed to follow basic industry-standard protocols to safeguard its customers' personal and financial information." Judge Anthony J. Battaglia, however, pointed out that the privacy policy all of the plaintiffs signed contained "clear admonitory language that Sony's security was not 'perfect,'" and as a result, "no reasonable consumer could have been deceived."
Judge Battaglia also noted that the personal information stolen was due a criminal intrusion, and since the plaintiffs' original complaint did not claim that Sony was involved with the criminal intrusion itself, there could be no bailment charge with prejudice. In other words, the plaintiffs cannot blame the criminal act itself on Sony.
The Judge went on to say that Sony violated no consumer-protection laws, "because none of the named plaintiffs subscribed to premium PSN services, and thus received the PSN services free of cost."
In the end, Judge Battaglia dismissed seven of the eight claims, and he gave the the plaintiffs a limited time period to file an amended petition with any new or revised claims.
