A federal judge ruled last week that those plaintiffs who want to continue as part of class action suit against Ashley Madison over a 2015 data breach must use their real names or drop out. The judge gave them until June 3, 2016 to decide.
Plaintiffs were seeking to use pseudonyms like "John Doe" to conceal their identities, but U.S. District Judge John A. Ross ruled they must use their full names to proceed.
While Ross acknowledged that the disclosure of plaintiff identities could expose sensitive personal and financial information, he said “at the same time, there is a compelling public interest in open court proceedings, particularly in the context of a class action,” according to an April 6 court order.