Not wanting to give up his devices and hard drives upon the judge’s request, hacker George Hotz has fled to South America, where he can’t be extradited. The hacker previously asked sympathizers to donate funds so that he could pay for court costs. Instead of attending, he’s fled the country to South America. Probably not for immediate vacation purposes.
Hotz’s problems don’t stop there. He also lied about having a PSN account. Never a good idea to fib under oath. An official document, filed by Sony in regards to the case Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC v. Hotz, Sony alleges proof of a PSN account linked to Mr. Hotz:
“Hotz’s ownership of the ‘blickmanic’ account is further supported by the fact that an Internet search of the user name ‘blickmanic’ reveals a posting discussing the jailbreaking of cellular phones – Hotz’s original ‘claim to fame.’ Bricker Decl., ¶7, Exh. F (‘Just curious what people would pay for exclusive rights to this solution. [Motorola] Tracfone W175g unlocked and debranded. PM me.’) As discussed above, to create his PSN account, Hotz was required to first agree to the terms of the PSN User Agreement and thus he is clearly subject to personal jurisdiction in California. It is well established that a valid and enforceable forum selection clause operates as consent to personal jurisdiction in a designated forum.”
Why does that matter? Because he technically agreed to the Terms Of Service that every user has to. And he can now be tried in California courts. Good luck, Hotz, should you ever return to the states again. The case is now shifted in Sony’s favor, unless Hotz can prove he had to make an emergency leave to visit his sick grandmother.
Source: VGHQ
Updated: Turns out it really was for vacation, as Hotz’s attorney Stewart Kellar has said that he’s still available 24/7 for the case at hand. Furthermore, the hard drives he didn’t turn over were actually stock controller cards. Whether it’s his PSN account or not is still being debated at this time. Looks like the court case is still on with neither side having a clear cut victory.
Source: TechSupport
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