Ashley Madison plaintiffs cannot sue anonymously over hack, judge says

TORONTO, April 21 (Reuters) - Plaintiffs leading a lawsuit
against online dating website Ashley Madison over a security
breach that exposed the personal data of customers must publicly
identify themselves to proceed with the case, a U.S. judge has
ruled.
Forty-two plaintiffs, seeking to represent users of the
website who had their information compromised, had proceeded
anonymously against Ashley Madison's Toronto-based parent
company Avid Life Media, the ruling released on April 6 showed.
The plaintiffs are suing Ashley Madison, a website that
facilitates extramarital affairs, for failing to adequately
secure their information, marketing a "Full Delete Removal"
service that did not work, and using fake female accounts to
lure male customers, according to the ruling.
Their action comes after hackers who claimed to be unhappy
with Avid Life's business practices publicly released Ashley
Madison customer data last August.
Reuters has not independently verified the authenticity of
the data, emails or documents.
Judge John A. Ross, of a district court in Missouri, wrote
in his ruling that being publicly named as an Ashley Madison
user amounts to more than common embarrassment, but noted the 42
plaintiffs have special roles in the case that require
identification.
The plaintiffs are "class representatives" and may need to
testify or offer evidence, unlike "class members," those in the
lawsuit who do not need participate as actively, Ross wrote.
He ruled that the plaintiffs must either identify themselves
or proceed as class members, who can remain anonymous.
The "class" for the collective lawsuit has not yet been
certified, the ruling noted. There are at least 10 plaintiffs
who are publicly named.
Avid Media did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.