A new report has outlined an instance of harassment directed at two employees working at Destiny 2 developer Bungie, which included stalking and escalated to the point where the developers pursued legal action to identify the perpetrator.
The Record reports two Bungie employees requested information from TextNow, a Waterloo-based, anonymous phone service, after being on the receiving end of harassment via the service. According to the report, the saga began on June 2 after a Bungie employee, who was not named in the article, tweeted about Destiny 2 with a video featuring Twitch streamer Uhmaayyze. That day, an anonymous Twitter account sent threats saying they would kill Bungie employees on June 14.
Following this, multiple Bungie employees began receiving voice mails and text messages on their personal numbers, which repeatedly used the N-word, and requested the developer make Destiny 2 DLC for “N-word killing.”
It became clear the individual had more information on the Bungie employee who posted the tweets featuring Uhmaayyze, as they received a call from someone who said their name was “Brian,” who then repeated the request for “N-word killing” DLC. The report says the person who called identified himself as part of a far-right-wing social network. This was followed by a text to the employee’s spouse, who also works at Bungie, requesting the DLC.
After this, the number that had made the calls and texts ordered a pizza to the developer’s home address, proving the individual had even more of the employee’s personal information. Around the same time, a Twitter user named @Inkcel tweeted a picture of the employee’s staff ID card and said he had moved to live 30 minutes from the employee, followed by a tweet with the developer’s full name and saying they were “not safe.”
Fearing for their safety, the two employees sought an “urgent and confidential” court order requiring TextNow to name the customers who made the threats and were backed by Superior Court Justice Fred Myers.
“Our mission is to provide everyone with an affordable way to communicate, and we place a high value on the safety and privacy of our users,” a TextNow spokesperson told The Record. “From time to time, we receive lawful requests for information. We comply with all valid requests as required by law.”
The judge told The Record the employees don’t have plans to sue the users once identified, but said he was pleased there were processes in place to identify the harassers.
“Whether they sue in the U.S. or just give the name to the police, I am satisfied that the exceptional equitable remedy ought to be available to identify people who harass others, with base racism, who dox, abuse personal information, and make overt threats of physical harm and death,” he said.
