Nine PBS sues Iron Mountain over blocked access to archival data
Nine PBS sues Iron Mountain over blocked access to archival data
Nine PBS 起诉 Iron Mountain，因其封锁了对归档数据的访问权限
Nine PBS in St. Louis filed a lawsuit against information management corporation Iron Mountain Data Centers July 28, seeking to recover over 50 terabytes of archival materials stored in one of the company’s Denver-based data centers. 位于圣路易斯的 Nine PBS 于 7 月 28 日对信息管理公司 Iron Mountain Data Centers 提起诉讼，旨在追回存储在该公司位于丹佛的数据中心内超过 50 TB 的归档资料。
The lawsuit filed in Denver District Court alleges that the station’s cloud-storage vendor, Open Source Storage (OSS), abruptly cut off access to Nine PBS’ data earlier this year without warning. It states OSS, which had a separate relationship with Iron Mountain to provide data storage, went “defunct,” leaving Nine PBS’ archives in a data center operated by Iron Mountain. 这起在丹佛地方法院提起的诉讼称，该电视台的云存储供应商 Open Source Storage (OSS) 今年早些时候在没有任何预警的情况下，突然切断了 Nine PBS 对其数据的访问权限。诉状指出，与 Iron Mountain 存在独立数据存储合作关系的 OSS 已经“倒闭”，导致 Nine PBS 的档案被留在了由 Iron Mountain 运营的数据中心内。
Iron Mountain has refused to return the materials to the station because its client, OSS, technically owned “the physical services housing the data” within Iron Mountain, according to the complaint. The station requested temporary and preliminary relief that would prevent Iron Mountain from deleting, modifying or overwriting its materials in the suit. A district judge granted the motion and set a hearing for Wednesday. 根据诉状，Iron Mountain 拒绝将这些资料归还给电视台，理由是其客户 OSS 在技术上拥有 Iron Mountain 内部“存放数据的物理服务设施”。电视台在诉讼中请求临时和初步救济，以防止 Iron Mountain 删除、修改或覆盖其资料。地方法官批准了该动议，并将听证会定于周三举行。
In a statement to Current, Nine PBS VP and CCO Leah Freeman confirmed the station’s lawsuit against Iron Mountain and its dedication to retrieving the archival materials and programming, which she says span over “70 years of our organization’s history.” 在给《Current》的一份声明中，Nine PBS 副总裁兼首席内容官 Leah Freeman 证实了该台对 Iron Mountain 的诉讼，并表示致力于追回这些归档资料和节目，她称这些内容涵盖了“我们机构 70 多年的历史”。
“We are committed to ensuring we can recover and restore full access to this valuable content, which Nine PBS rightfully owns, as it holds significant historical importance for St. Louis.” “我们致力于确保能够恢复并重新获得对这些宝贵内容的完全访问权限，这些内容归 Nine PBS 所有，因为它们对圣路易斯具有重大的历史意义。”
According to the lawsuit, the blocked materials include historical items such as Nine PBS’ coverage on the history of East St. Louis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Flood of 1993, which ravaged along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. 根据诉讼，被封锁的资料包括历史性内容，例如 Nine PBS 关于东圣路易斯历史、新冠疫情以及 1993 年肆虐密西西比河和密苏里河沿岸的大洪水的报道。
‘No choice but to file’
“别无选择，只能起诉”
Nine PBS entered a relationship with a company described in the complaint as “OSS’ predecessor” in 2019. This unidentified vendor provided “hardware, software and cloud-storage services” for storing the public broadcaster’s archival materials and other data. Nine PBS renewed its contracts with the data services vendor and subsequently OSS annually, the complaint states. Nine PBS 于 2019 年与诉状中描述为“OSS 前身”的公司建立了合作关系。这家未具名的供应商为存储该公共广播机构的归档资料和其他数据提供了“硬件、软件和云存储服务”。诉状称，Nine PBS 每年都会与该数据服务供应商以及随后的 OSS 续签合同。
When Nine PBS attempted to schedule a meeting with OSS in February to discuss renewing for 2026, OSS didn’t respond or indicate “any intention not to renew the agreement.” The agreement was set to expire on March 6. The contract provided 30 days for Nine PBS to retrieve its data from OSS’ storage “upon termination of services.” But on March 6, OSS cut off the station’s access without warning, according to the complaint. 当 Nine PBS 试图在 2 月份与 OSS 安排会议讨论 2026 年的续约事宜时，OSS 没有回应，也没有表示“任何不续约的意图”。该协议原定于 3 月 6 日到期。合同规定，在“服务终止后”，Nine PBS 有 30 天的时间从 OSS 的存储中取回其数据。但根据诉状，3 月 6 日，OSS 在没有任何预警的情况下切断了该台的访问权限。
When Nine PBS attempted to contact OSS to sort out the problem, it discovered that OSS’ website was defunct and the company had delinquency status with the Colorado Secretary of State. To ensure the station’s data remained secure, Nine PBS investigated further and discovered that OSS had a relationship with Iron Mountain, according to the complaint. 当 Nine PBS 试图联系 OSS 解决问题时，发现 OSS 的网站已经无法访问，且该公司在科罗拉多州州务卿处处于违约状态。根据诉状，为了确保电视台的数据安全，Nine PBS 进行了深入调查，发现 OSS 与 Iron Mountain 存在合作关系。
Nine PBS sent a demand letter March 13, demanding that Iron Mountain preserve and return its data and offering “to pay any reasonable costs associated with its demand.” Iron Mountain neither confirmed nor denied the data was in its possession, the lawsuit states. Nine PBS 于 3 月 13 日发出律师函，要求 Iron Mountain 保留并归还其数据，并提出“支付与其要求相关的任何合理费用”。诉讼称，Iron Mountain 既未确认也未否认其持有这些数据。
Nine PBS filed a lawsuit against OSS and its “purported” president Charles Wells in the St. Louis Circuit Court April 16, the complaint states. The broadcaster later paused the litigation after James Tramel, a “managing partner of the group that officially acquired” OSS’ assets, confirmed that Nine PBS’ data was secure within Iron Mountain’s Denver data center. 诉状称，Nine PBS 于 4 月 16 日在圣路易斯巡回法院对 OSS 及其“所谓的”总裁 Charles Wells 提起诉讼。后来，在“正式收购”OSS 资产的集团管理合伙人 James Tramel 确认 Nine PBS 的数据在 Iron Mountain 的丹佛数据中心内是安全的之后，该广播机构暂停了诉讼。
After communicating with Nine PBS for about a month, Tramel stopped responding. Weeks later, an automatic reply email from his account stated that he was no longer affiliated with OSS. Tramel revealed in a subsequent phone call that he “had been defrauded” into purchasing OSS, according to the complaint. 在与 Nine PBS 沟通约一个月后，Tramel 停止了回复。几周后，他账户发出的自动回复邮件显示，他已不再隶属于 OSS。根据诉状，Tramel 在随后的电话中透露，他在收购 OSS 时“受到了欺诈”。
At this point, the company’s previous owners, including Wells, Ben Nicholson, and Justine Ririe, resumed control of OSS’ operations. After Nine PBS attempted to contact OSS leadership without success, the station returned to the St. Louis Circuit Court and obtained a default judgment against OSS. The court’s ruling stated that the station both owned its data and had an “immediate right to possess the data,” according to the complaint. 此时，包括 Wells、Ben Nicholson 和 Justine Ririe 在内的公司前所有者恢复了对 OSS 运营的控制。在 Nine PBS 尝试联系 OSS 领导层未果后，该台回到圣路易斯巡回法院并获得了针对 OSS 的缺席判决。根据诉状，法院裁定该台既拥有其数据，也拥有“立即占有该数据的权利”。
The judgment also ordered OSS to return the data to Nine PBS “and/or facilitate its transfer to a new vendor.” An attorney representing Nine PBS contacted Iron Mountain about returning the data, and noted that “litigation was imminent in Colorado,” and the company admitted that it possessed the data, the complaint states. 判决还命令 OSS 将数据归还给 Nine PBS “和/或协助将其转移给新的供应商”。诉状称，代表 Nine PBS 的律师就归还数据一事联系了 Iron Mountain，并指出“科罗拉多州的诉讼迫在眉睫”，该公司随后承认其持有这些数据。
Iron Mountain initially indicated that it wanted to avoid litigation and comply with Nine PBS’ request, but later refused to do so, citing OSS’ ownership of the infrastructure that houses the data. Nine PBS’ complaint states that, following multiple unsuccessful attempts to retrieve its digital property, it “had no choice but to file this lawsuit to force Iron Mountain to protect and ultimately provide” the data. Iron Mountain 最初表示希望避免诉讼并配合 Nine PBS 的要求，但后来拒绝这样做，理由是 OSS 拥有存放数据的基础设施。Nine PBS 的诉状称，在多次尝试取回其数字资产未果后，它“别无选择，只能提起这起诉讼，以迫使 Iron Mountain 保护并最终提供”这些数据。
Iron Mountain did not respond to a request for comment. Iron Mountain 未回应置评请求。