Ashley Madison users sue AWS and GoDaddy for handling stolen dating data

$3m sought in compensation against companies hosting Ashley Madison hackers' stolen data

The Ashley Madison hacking case has taken another intriguing turn, as three users have now banded together to sue Amazon Web Services (AWS), GoDaddy and 20 other anonymous defendants.

The plaintiffs accuse these cloud service providers, and others, of "intentionally inflicting emotional distress" upon members of the adultery-dating website by handling and hosting data originally stolen and released by hackers several weeks ago.

The case document, filed on 3 September 2015, cites that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has already "issued a restraining order requiring several websites and internet providers to immediately disable the [stolen] Ashley Madison data", as it has been deemed "offence-related property in respect of which order of forfeiture may be made under the [Ontario] Criminal Code".

The paper then claims that while AWS, GoDaddy and the other accused continue to "host and publish" this stolen data "despite their knowledge of the pain and damage it is causing those involved" these "bad actors" are "intentionally inflicting emotional distress upon Ashley Madison users".

It then goes on to cite the "two suicides" that have already been attributed to public dissemination of Ashley Madison data.

Three of the 20 other defendants are accused of creating websites within the "cottage industry" of making the databases of leaked Ashley Madison user details more easily accessible for the general public, accusing them of "wilful and knowing possession of stolen property", and of admitting they are aware the data is stolen on their websites.

Overall, each of the 22 entities the complaint addresses are accused of engaging in "a pattern of unlawful conduct directed at [the plaintiffs] by receiving, possessing, storing and selling [stolen data], which they know to be stolen property that has been transmitted across state and United States boundaries".

The plaintiffs are seeking "not less than three million dollars" for damages to assuage their emotional distress.

Despite its ongoing trials and tribulations, including the resignation of the company's CEO after revelations he himself had had an affair, Ashley Madison's website is still up and running, apparently with a healthy user base.