RedTube Drops $6M Suit Over Traffic Redirection

SAN JOSE, Calif. — RedTube has dropped its legal quest to seek out the parties that redirected all of its traffic last July, XBIZ has learned.

RedTube parent company Bright Imperial Ltd. of Hong Kong had waged a $6 million suit in damages against the unknown defendants named as John Does 1-20 who may have been responsible for the July 24 incident.

In its complaint, RedTube said defendants hacked in “with malice, ill will and intent to harm [the tube site].” RedTube said it lost “millions of visits” by its customers by the hackers’ efforts, as well as lost value to advertising rates that are dependent upon its traffic.

Thayer Preece, an attorney with the Menlo Park, Calif., office of Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton, which handles all of RedTube’s civil litigation, was not immediately available to answer XBIZ queries on why the tube site decided to retreat.

Preece became central to the case last year after she received an email threat over her litigation work with RedTube.

The threat to Preece on Oct. 18 said, "Anyone who works with them or an attorney who represents them should ask themselves who they're working for and what they're being paid to do — it really just might not be worth it in the end.”

But Preece, in an interview with XBIZ earlier this year, said RedTube had trouble identifying the perpetrators of the July 24 redirection and was seeking to subpoena 20 John Doe defendants named in the suit filed at U.S. District Court in San Jose.

At one point, RedTube attorneys were able to subpoena Chad Taylor, aka Gunner, over his possible involvement. RedTube wanted to depose Taylor because it was he who sent Preece the threatening email.

His attorney, Michael Fattorosi, told XBIZ that Taylor sent the email because he was "annoyed at RedTube's business model."

"I did what I felt is right; my convictions are strong," said Taylor in a statement provided by his attorney. "[RedTube's decision to drop the case] brings closure."

The suit claimed violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, unfair competition, tortuous interference with prospective business advantage and trespass.

RedTube, which said it lost “millions of visits” by its customers by the hackers’ efforts as well as lost value to advertising rates that are dependent upon its traffic, has about 7.5 million daily users in the U.S.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

NATS Launches Integrated Content Management System

Too Much Media (TMM) has rolled out an integrated, no-charge Content Management System (CMS) to its NATS platform.

AEBN Reveals Avery Lust as Top Trans Star for Q3 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the third quarter of 2025, with Avery Lust landing atop the leaderboard.

FSC: California's Device-Based AV Law Does Not Apply to Adult

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) put out an advisory today explaining that California's new device-based age verification law does not apply to adult websites.

Reena Sky Launches New Paysite

Reena Sky has launched her new official paysite, ILoveReenaSky.com.

NextGen Payment Joins ASACP as Corporate Sponsor

NextGen Payment has signed on as the latest corporate sponsor for the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Lauren Phillips, Derek Kage Cap AEBN's Top Stars for 3rd Quarter of 2025

AEBN has revealed its most popular performers in straight and gay theaters for the third quarter of 2025.

XBIZ 2026 Conference to Debut All-New Company Lounges, Community Track

The event website for XBIZ 2026 is now live, unveiling details for North America’s largest adult industry conference, including two all-new show features: Company Lounges and a Community Track.

Mymember.site Integrates VR Functionality

Mymember.site has added virtual reality playback capability to its website management platform.

Texas Patti to Launch Fetish Platform 'EmpireDom'

Performer and content creator Texas Patti is launching a new platform for doms and fetish creators, EmpireDom.com.

Ohio AG Threatens Action Against 'Major' Adult Sites Over AV Law

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today that his office is sending "notice of violation" letters to 19 adult websites for failure to comply with the state's recently enacted age verification law.

Show More