Ariana Grande has been granted permission to subpoena information that will help reveal the identities of anonymous hackers who allegedly leaked unreleased songs and footage from recording sessions and music videos.
A Los Angeles judge approved Grande’s proposed order for expedited discovery on Tuesday, explaining that because she is unable to identify the hackers, a waiting period should be waived. “Given that there is no one to whom notice can be given anyway, it makes little sense to wait the 16 days,” wrote Judge Mark H. Epstein. “And on the merits of the motion, good cause is shown.”
On Monday, attorneys for Grande filed the ex parte application for expedited discovery, arguing that by being unable to name the defendants, the “hacking, theft, dissemination, sales, and publication” of Grande’s creative properties will continue and that there is an “increased risk that additional content will be stolen or sold, and that the account, subscriber, and login data needed to identify Defendants will be lost.”
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Grande initially filed her lawsuit on July 27, targeting a group of unnamed John Does for phishing scams and hacking schemes that have caused “unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination, and exploitation of unreleased content.” Her legal team outlined a pattern of illegal behaviors that targeted the personal digital accounts of photographers and producers who worked closely with her and sold the data and content for “significant sums of money.”
The suit alleged that hundreds of leaks have occurred over the past decade-and-a-half, noting that in 2023 alone, hackers obtained access to 45 of her unreleased songs and leaked them.
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