A federal magistrate for the Northern District of California granted Sony the right to subpoena information from Google, YouTube, and Twitter consisting of the IP addresses of users who visited web pages operated by an alleged hacker of Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console. Sony claims that George Hotz, a 21 year-old New Jersey resident, has distributed instructions and other files that allow users to gain control over, or jailbreak, their PlayStation 3 consoles. Sony is claiming that the distribution of these materials constitutes a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "The subpoenas permitting Sony to collect the account names and IP addresses of every individual that accessed Hotz's jailbreaking files and instructions may raise the eyebrows of many of us concerned with Internet privacy issues, but it is important to understand that this information is to be used by Sony solely to show that Hotz distributed the instructions and that venue for the lawsuit is proper in the court where it was filed," says Andrew Martin, technology and new media attorney with Scott & Scott, LLP. "Sony and the defendant entered into a confidentiality agreement regarding the subpoenas, and that agreement is intended to prevent Sony from using any of the subpoenaed information for any other purposes, such as pursuing legal action against the downloaders." For more information, contact Mr. Martin at 800-596-6176 or amartin@scottandscottllp.com.