Singer and actress IU (real name Lee Ji-eun) has launched a high-intensity response, directly asking a U.S. court to disclose information to root out malicious commenters who used overseas social media as a hiding place.
U.S. federal court seeks Meta subscriber information… Targets Threads abusers
According to legal circles and the media on the 20th, IU’s side filed for discovery with the U.S. Northern District Court of California on the 15th against Meta, the parent company of the social media platform Threads. The move is a judicial procedure to identify the identity of an anonymous defendant and secure evidence for a defamation civil lawsuit currently pending in South Korea.
According to legal counsel, the Threads user in question directed comments at IU for seven months from March to October of last year and spread a total of 52 malicious falsehoods. Because, due to the nature of overseas platforms, investigators in South Korea have difficulty identifying identities through inquiries alone, IU’s side asked the U.S. court to issue an order requiring Meta to submit key information it holds, including subscriber real names, addresses, phone numbers, and login IP addresses.
From plagiarism allegations to marketing for the deceased… “No-tolerance principle” against six types of malignant rumors
In the motion, IU’s side categorized the malicious posts into six types. They included plagiarism allegations, false claims related to China, downplaying of overseas achievements, allegations of marketing for the deceased, suspicions of controlling the media, and far-fetched claims that link a national disaster with song lyrics.
In particular, with regard to the plagiarism allegations, IU’s side noted that even though the court earlier this year recognized defamation and issued a damages ruling of 30 million won, the author in question intentionally repeated and posted the rumor. IU’s side also warned of serious punishment for claims that use a fellow artist’s death or that absurdly frame the person as an agent funded by Chinese capital.
EDAM Entertainment says it has been upholding a no-leniency principle by pursuing criminal complaints and civil lawsuits against malicious commenters targeting IU—96 people in just the previous year. Industry insiders in the entertainment sector and the public are showing strong backing for IU’s firm stance to track down malicious commenters hiding behind anonymity to the end.
