IU files U.S. court request asking Meta to unmask alleged Threads defamer
IU filed an application on July 15 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asking Meta to disclose subscriber information tied to a Threads account, according to Dispatch.
The request seeks discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to identify a user and secure evidence for a civil defamation lawsuit pending in South Korea.
The filing identifies a Threads account under the username “@7hy*jin” (referred to as Person A) as the primary target. It alleges the account posted and distributed 52 malicious posts containing false information over seven months from March through October 2025, causing serious damage to IU’s reputation and public image.
IU’s legal team said they could not determine the individual’s identity in South Korea and asked the U.S. court to order Meta to disclose all subscriber information associated with the account, including the user’s real name, address, phone number, email address, and IP logs.
The filing categorized the alleged defamatory content into six major types:
- Repeated plagiarism allegations
- False claims regarding ties to China
- Attempts to undermine IU’s international popularity
- Accusations of exploiting deceased celebrities for publicity
- Claims of media manipulation and public opinion control
- Baseless attempts to connect her song lyrics to national tragedies
First, the account repeatedly claimed that IU had plagiarized other artists’ music. The filing notes that these allegations had already been ruled defamatory by a South Korean court in 2024, resulting in a 30 million KRW (approximately 22,000 USD) damages award against the original poster.
Second, the account allegedly spread fabricated claims portraying IU as being affiliated with China. The filing says the rumors included assertions that charities she donated to and a cosmetics brand she endorsed were Chinese companies, as well as claims that she was an ethnic Chinese person who spoke fluent Cantonese.
Third, the account allegedly tried to diminish IU’s global success by claiming she had virtually no international popularity and that her drama ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines‘ had performed poorly overseas. IU’s legal team submitted international streaming data and global performance metrics to refute those claims.
One of the filing’s most serious allegations involved deceased celebrities. It says the account repeatedly shared videos claiming to expose the “serious exploitation of deceased celebrities by Female Singer B,” while prominently featuring the late Sulli, Jonghyun, and Gu Hara. IU’s legal team argued the account maliciously exploited the tragic deaths of the three artists in an attempt to damage IU’s reputation.
The filing says the account also accused IU’s agency of manipulating the media and public opinion. The account allegedly claimed:
“I’ve never seen an entertainer control the media as completely as the Chinese Communist Party. Not even politicians do this.”
Finally, IU’s legal team highlighted posts that forced baseless connections between her song lyrics and major national tragedies. The account allegedly claimed that “Strawberry Moon” alluded to the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy, while “Ah puh” was supposedly created to mock the Sewol ferry disaster. IU’s representatives described these claims as malicious fabrications with no factual basis whatsoever.
IU and her agency have consistently maintained a zero-tolerance policy toward malicious commenters and individuals who spread false information, pledging to pursue legal accountability to the fullest extent.
As of February, IU’s legal team revealed that it had simultaneously filed criminal complaints and civil lawsuits against 96 individuals accused of posting malicious comments. Those efforts have already produced legal results. In May, one defendant who had repeatedly posted insulting content about IU received a sentence of four months in prison, suspended for one year, after losing an appeal.