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Sony has changed PSN’s terms and conditions and users have to agree to them next time they log in to PlayStation Network (the’ve added a section in which you can read that you won’t be able to sue Sony – in a group of people – for any security breaches, hacks etc). If they won’t agree to the terms their PSN account will be blocked.
The move comes months after a string of hacking attacks compromised over 100 million accounts of the PlayStation Network subscribers.
Gamers will now have to try to resolve any legal issues with an arbitrator picked by Sony, before being able to file a lawsuit.
The new clauses, dubbed "Binding Individual Arbitration," state that "any Dispute Resolution Proceedings, whether in arbitration or court, will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class or representative action or as a named or unnamed member in a class, consolidated, representative or private attorney general action".
Source: BBC
Like clockwork, the first lawsuit resulting from the security breach of the personal data of more than 75 million Sony PlayStation Network customers has been filed.
The suit was filed today on behalf of Kristopher Johns, 36, of Birmingham, Ala., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Johns accuses Sony of not taking “reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users.”
He also believes Sony took too long to notify him and other customers that their personal information had been exposed. Because of that, the complaint alleges, Sony did not allow its customers “to make an informed decision as to whether to change credit card numbers, close the exposed accounts, check their credit reports, or take other mitigating actions.”
The lawsuit is asking for monetary compensation and free credit card monitoring, and is seeking class action status.
Yesterday, Sony warned customers of its PlayStation Network and Qriocity service that their personal information–including customer names, addresses, e-mail addresses, birthdays, PlayStation Network and Qriocity passwords, and user names, as well as online user handles–was obtained illegally by an “unauthorized person” between April 17 and 19. The company says there is “no evidence” that credit card information was compromised, but it can’t be sure yet.
In the aftermath of the breach Sony has temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity, contracted with an outside security firm to investigate the intrusion on its network, and started to rebuild its system and security.
Johns’ complaint echoes the concerns of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. Blumenthal yesterday wrote a letter to Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, saying he was troubled that the company had not notified customers sooner about the breach. He also called for Sony to provide affected customers with financial data security services, including free access to credit reporting services for two years to protect against identity theft.
Source: CNET
Read the complaint here, from Scribd.
Read Connecticut Senator Blumental’s wrath here (link by stranded).
Sony response

The PlayStation 3 version of Valve’s upcoming first-person puzzler Portal 2 features cross-platform play and chat with the Steam PC and Mac versions.
At E3 2010 Gabe Newell came on stage at Sonys press conference to announce that Portal 2 will be coming to PS3. But more importantly than that, it will also be the first console title to come with Valves “Steamworks” package. Valve announced that this would include Steamcloud support and automatic updates, but it seems it’s also enabled something a little more exciting.
Additionally, the PS3 version unlocks the Steam Play version free of charge when gamers link their PlayStation Network and Steam accounts.
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9 February 2011
Valve has finally confirmed a release date for the upcoming Portal sequel known as Portal 2. While we knew that it would be arriving in 2011, many might be surprised to learn that it will in fact arrive on February 9th, 2011, which is a bit sooner than expected.