Data Broker Radaris Loses Its Domains in New Jersey Privacy Law Case
The consumer data broker Radaris loses control of its core web properties after a court orders radaris.com and more than a dozen other domains transferred to plaintiffs who sue under Daniel's Law, a New Jersey statute that lets law enforcement officials, judges, government personnel, and their families demand removal of their personal information from commercial data brokers. The law imposes fines of $1,000 per violation against companies that ignore such requests, and Radaris develops a long-standing reputation for stonewalling removal demands.
Atlas Data Privacy Corp. sues Radaris in February 2024, alleging the company violates the statute by publishing protected individuals' information. Radaris attorneys repeatedly delay, prevaricate, and wait until the last minute to contest what appears to be a near-certain default judgment, behavior the judge apparently finds unacceptable before ordering the domain transfers.
The case also draws attention to Radaris co-founders Igor and Dmitry Lubarsky, Russian-born brothers in Massachusetts who operate a sprawling network of people-search companies and Russian-language dating services. KrebsOnSecurity reports the brothers use a fictitious CEO named "Gary Norden" in press releases aimed at investors, a claim their own attorney eventually admits, and their earlier legal threats against the reporting do not materialize into action.