Jeffrey Epstein survivors sue U.S. Government over revealed identities

Survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government and Google after their identities were mistakenly revealed in documents published online by the Justice Department.
 

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The Department of Justice released more than three million files in January related to its investigation into Epstein, including his connections to high-profile figures. However, officials were forced to act quickly after discovering that names of victims, who were meant to remain anonymous, had not been properly redacted.
 

According to the lawsuit, the DOJ “outed approximately 100 survivors of the convicted sexual predator, publishing their private information and identifying them to the world.”
 

The plaintiffs also allege that despite the government acknowledging the error and removing the documents, the information continues to circulate online. “Even after the government withdrew the information, online entities like Google have continued to republish it, ignoring victims’ pleas to take it down,” they said.
 

The lawsuit further claims that Google still displays victims’ personal information in search results and AI-generated content.
 

Reports also indicate that journalists reviewing the files discovered dozens of explicit images that included identifiable faces.
 

Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from minors, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on additional sex trafficking charges.
 

“Survivors now face renewed trauma. Strangers call them, email them, threaten their safety, and accuse them of conspiring with Epstein when they are, in reality, his victims,” the filing stated.

The plaintiffs argue that the U.S. government violated the Privacy Act of 1974, while Google is accused of breaching California laws related to invasion of privacy, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and unlawful business practices.