PS3 Geohot: Sony denied Google subpoena

By Robert Purchese Published 10 February, 2011

Ditto YouTube, Twitter, PayPal, SlashDot.

Sony's attempt to subpoena internet titans Google, YouTube, Twitter, SlashDot and PayPal - and find out where notorious PS3 hackers Fail0verflow live - has been denied.

A subpoena is a writ enforcing a court appearance to give testimony.

The denier, Honorable Susan Illston, scheduled a hearing for the setback motion for 11th March, according to PSX-Scene (via VG247).

Sony's plans to widen its legal net and catch the rest of the PS3 Jailbreak team - not just George "Geohot" Hotz - were discovered mere days ago.

But without real names or addresses, forcing the miscreants to answer for digital crimes is wishful thinking. Cue Google et al; with their help, Sony would have contact details, personal information, IP addresses and message board posts to revel in.

George "Geohot" Hotz was served by Sony after successfully busting open the PS3 architecture early this year, allowing homebrew software and pirated games to run on the console.

Hotz has been given a temporary restraining order, and attends a hearing today that could see him hand over his storage devices to Sony Computer Entertainment America for inspection.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SeesThroughAll #1 1 year ago

    Heh. Didn't think it would really get approved anyway. You were pushing your luck there, Sony.

    Do what you need to protect your business, but don't abuse the legal system.

  • weezereire #2 1 year ago

    And we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you pesky kids...

  • RodHull #3 1 year ago

    I'd image that this sort of behaviour by Sony is just going to solidify the resolve of the hackers.

  • M_of_the_sys #4 1 year ago

    @Rodhull

    Solidified or not, the outcome is the same.

  • Beano #5 1 year ago

    @TruthGiver: Well said.

  • infernox1 #6 1 year ago

    @truthgiver what? thats like saying if someone stole the key to your house and unlocked it then left, he did nothing wrong. theres a possibility that you're stuff could be stolen but he shut the door and therefore effort was made not to allow it. obviously the door is still unlocked and the guy who stole the key caused it.
    Edited by 2 at 10/02/11 @ 10:36

  • ZizouFC #7 1 year ago

    @infernox1

    Well said.

  • silversun #8 1 year ago

    ive just been reading up on this and think i understand what sony was trying to do a bit better now , i am all for them going after people that comprimised the ps 3 security but what they where trying to do here was completley wrong.

    btw i completley support sony in principle that the system should not be opened to pirates , as far as who own the system i belive sony owns psn and we have right to the hardware but not to comprimise the psn nextwork and pirate games.
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/11 @ 10:41

  • FaceMeltaaargh #9 1 year ago

    DigitalFoundry says: Engadget error: @TheKevinButler didn't RT metldr key which is subject to current litigation. But he did RT the USB dongle ID generator key.

    Dongles are ancient history now. If anything, it was pretty badass.

  • des #10 1 year ago

    sony=fail
    again

  • arcam #11 1 year ago

    forcing the miscreants to answer for digital crimes is wishful thinking

    Which crimes? Kind of poor journalistic form to say they've committed crimes before the case has even gone to court.

  • Beano #12 1 year ago

    @arcam : Forgive EG - they have to suck up to the big boys (publishers) who pay their sallery via adds on the site.

  • des #13 1 year ago

    "what? thats like saying if someone stole the key to your house and unlocked it then left, he did nothing wrong."

    sorry,when i buy something i have the right to smash it with a hammer and if i find a cat inside,that cat is mine too
    In short if somebody wants to make a grill out of PS3,he has every right to do it...it will be overpriced grill though

  • Der_tolle_Emil #14 1 year ago

    Glad that it was denied. I really don't want a precedent case which would lead to internet giants like Google being forced to attend cases like this. Not that I am against Google in particular but they already have enough responsibility and they should not be forced to hand out millions of records just so that one corporation can look for their needle in this giant haystack.

  • Sodding_Gamer #15 1 year ago

    Just found out over at IGN that two guys working for Sony "accidently" tweeted the master key code for jailbreaking the ps3. Even though Sony are going well out there way to stop this. What complete ass twits they are! Can't even stop there own company from spreading the god damn key.

  • azic #16 1 year ago

    This is all getting out of hand. Soon we will have give a DNA sample to buy a Sony product.
    I don't agree with piracy etc, but Sony trying to get google et al to hand over details Is a bit much.

    Why don't they just close the fucking great hole they made in their own system? Oh wait they can't.....

  • Scopeh #17 1 year ago

    There next plan of attack will be to extradite Hotz to Japan! Where they will "Process" him!!

  • Noble6 #18 1 year ago

    Kevin Butler better be facing the hammer too else it would just blatantly be unfair treatment, wouldn't it ?

  • Noble6 #19 1 year ago

    Sony is coming away looking a right tit as aresult of all this.

  • Noble6 #20 1 year ago

    Here's what I'm making of all this: When Sony' next console comes out, the hackers are gonna pounce on it like a virgin in Essex. Sony, don't disrupt the wrong community.

  • Shikasama #21 1 year ago

    I thought one of the basic rules of journalism was that everything is 'alleged' until confirmed in court?

    Theres quite a few eyebrow raising choices of words in this one Rob. Hard to not think that EG is more concerned with pleasing Sony than telling the truth.

  • coolbritannia #22 1 year ago

    What's alleged about it when Hotz himself said he did it, didn't he?

    Also, good news, Sony are way too heavy with the legal teams these days...

  • Freek #23 1 year ago

    As of right now the story is still that the key to running software is out there. But no reports about anybody using that key to create an aplication to run pirated software.

  • Beano #24 1 year ago

    "What's alleged about it when Hotz himself said he did it, didn't he?"

    Keyword here is "crime"

  • arcam #25 1 year ago

    What's alleged about it when Hotz himself said he did it, didn't he?

    Hotz said he committed a crime? I don't remember that.

  • orangpelupa #26 1 year ago

    eurogamer.

    many of your readers are smart and educated human. Please dont make an article like this. dont do tabliod like, sensational artikel with skewed wording


    just tell the pure truth in news please

  • nooneyouknow #27 1 year ago

    @BuckoA51
    Best analogy ever! +1

  • kangarootoo #28 1 year ago

    How about instead of freaking out at EG for the words they use to describe the situation, we just wait for the result of the case, and then we will know who if anyone was guilty of what?

    Unless the court plan on using EG articles as a form of evidence, its really not the big deal people are making it out to be.

  • coolbritannia #29 1 year ago

    ah I see, didn't realise the crime connotation. did Apple sue him? if not I think Sony are fucked.

  • M_of_the_sys #30 1 year ago

    @coolbritannia

    Apple lost the suit as it was deemed ok to jailbreak iPhones because they were phones. Something like that anyway. I don't think the same rules apply to consoles.

  • kangarootoo #31 1 year ago

    @TruthGiver

    I'm not saying its a waste of time, I just find it puzzling that people get so het up about it. The article is about a subpoena being denied. Also, court proceedings are taking place and so we are in that ballpark.

    And finally, the issue that people are taking such issue with is mired in semantics. The article says he "allowed" piracted content to be run, and people are getting up in arms about the sue of the word allowed. For me, its nowhere near as cut and dried as people are suggesting.

    If he had not done the things that he is not denying having done, could pirated games currently be run on a PS3? If the answer is no, then his actions facilitated piarated games being run on a PC3. And is there a difference between the word "facilitated" and the word "allowed"? Barely. Certainly its not so clear cut that people can start breaking out "FACT" at the end of every sentence.


    And as for mob justice, there is no mob here. Most of the western world don't give two hoots for this case. Regardless of what the remaining minority think, the case will take its course unaffected by articles such as this one.

  • Machiavellian #32 1 year ago

    Geohot is guilty. The question which the courts will decide is if he is guilty of a crime. Sooner or later this had to come to court and Sony is gambling big. Lose this case and you infuse a lot of those "Hackers" to feel empowered to hack your current system and your next system. Either way I believe Sony loses. I just believe this will not end well. If Sony is trying to intimidate the community by these actions, I definitely believe this will backfire.

  • kangarootoo #33 1 year ago

    @TruthGiver

    "It needs to be allowed at some point down the line for it to be classed as "facilitated", currently its not even that because there is no piracy yet."

    A fair point.

  • arcam #34 1 year ago

    @kangarootoo

    That wasn't the line in the article that bothered me.

    What I thought was very wrong indeed was this: "But without real names or addresses, forcing the miscreants to answer for digital crimes is wishful thinking".

  • Machiavellian #35 1 year ago

    Just so I am clear on what Geohot did. I thought his firmware allowed for backups of PS3 games

  • Machiavellian #36 1 year ago

    What I thought was very wrong indeed was this: "But without real names or addresses, forcing the miscreants to answer for digital crimes is wishful thinking".

    Interesting that you would take issue to that line. I thought it was a tongue and cheek type of statement. The one thing about printed text is that it's hard for wit or jokes to come off right.

  • arcam #37 1 year ago

    No it doesn't, it specifically disallows it.

    What it does do is break the security so someone else could more easily write code that allows pirate/backup games to run.

    *edit: A joke? If it was I didn't get it...
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/11 @ 14:43

  • Gromit #38 1 year ago

    @ Truthgiver

    Could you play pirated games BEFORE the system hack? NO
    Can you play pirated games AFTER his actions? YES

    Therefore, he has ENABLED people to play illegally copied games.

    The hacking scumbags should rot in prison. The whole "homebrew" defence is pathetic, and even if true, would only apply to a miniscule amount of people using hacked systems. The rest would be playing STOLEN games, and we all know it!

  • Timotei #39 1 year ago

    @ Machiavellian

    "Interesting that you would take issue to that line. I thought it was a tongue and cheek type of statement. The one thing about printed text is that it's hard for wit or jokes to come off right."

    This was also my take on it.

    A nice mug of storm anyone?

  • kangarootoo #40 1 year ago

    @arcam

    Ah ok, I see your point there. Again, its a minor bit of editorial, but it does ignore a pretty fundamental principle.



    And on your other comment (though my response isn't aimed at you), he broke security enabling someone else to write something that would run pirated code... and if he hadn't broken security, said third party wouldn't be able to write code to enabled the running of pirated code?

    I have to say, that sounds an awful lot like "allowing" to me :)

  • JonFE #41 1 year ago

    @Gromit:

    "Could you play pirated games BEFORE the system hack? NO
    Can you play pirated games AFTER his actions? YES

    Therefore, he has ENABLED people to play illegally copied games.     "

    Well, I, sure as hell, cannot play pirated games on my PS3 after his actions. Can you?

    Not quite sure where that train of thought takes you...

    Some people will choose to expand his "work" and play illegally copied games. Others will choose to use that USB dongle (which was accidentally released by Sony, precedes Geohot and could have influenced his findings for all we know, lest we forget that) to do the same. The rest of us will choose to continue paying for our games, simple as that.

    Do you see where I'm going with this?
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/11 @ 17:50

  • orangpelupa #42 1 year ago

  • Konoto #43 1 year ago

    Do they think he didn't wipe away or delete everything off his hardware.that like robbing a bank & using the Money bags as a backpack.

    That would literally be the stupidist thing he could have possibly done.

    His guilt in pretty much everything Sony is charging him with is arguable, destroying evidence the court ordered to be handed over is 100% illegal.

    If he did that, Its a guaranteed ticket to jail... It would also make the court's side with Sony so if he wasnt guilty before, he would be now.

    I sincerely hope he wasn't stupid enough to do that... I like Geohot.