IU Wins U.S. Court Approval to Identify Anonymous Threads User

Singer and actress IU has cleared a key hurdle in her fight against an anonymous online user. A U.S. federal court has allowed her legal team to seek the identity of a Threads user accused of posting defamatory content about her.

According to a report by South Korean outlet Sports Kyunghyang on Nov. 9, Judge Noel Wise of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved the request on Nov. 5 (local time). The order lets IU's legal team to issue and serve a subpoena on Meta, Threads' parent company, requesting for the account's information.

The decision came 113 days after IU's side filed the application with the U.S. court on July 15.

The case started in South Korea. On June 25, IU filed a defamation lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court, seeking damages from the people behind malicious posts about her. However, some of the defendants could not be identified, which made it difficult to serve them with the complaint. This prompted her legal team to seek assistance from the U.S. court.

According to IU's side, one anonymous Threads account published at least 52 posts and comments about her between March and October 2025. The posts reportedly included allegations of plagiarism and a rumor that she holds Chinese citizenship. Her legal team claims the posts damaged her reputation.

Although her team was able to identify the account, it could not determine the user's real name, address or other identifying details. A lawsuit in Korea can only move forward once the complaint reaches the defendant, so IU's side says it needs the subscriber information held by Meta.

The complaint filed in Korea seeks 30,000,100 won (around 22,500 USD) in damages for emotional distress. IU's side labeled that figure an "explicit partial claim," a Korean legal term meaning that the amount sought is only part of the total damages being claimed. The team plans to include legal expenses and damages related to harm to her reputation as an advertising model. It also said it will raise the emotional distress claim at a later stage.

Before the ruling, IU's side reportedly raised concerns several times over repeated delays. In a filing submitted on Oct. 16, her U.S. lawyer said the team had inquired about the case's status every week for three consecutive weeks. The filing warned that the Korean lawsuit could be dismissed if the defendant's identity stayed unknown. It also said the account's access records could be deleted as time passed.

With the court's approval, IU's side can now seek information from Meta to help identify the account holder. This includes the subscriber's name, email address, phone number and access records.

The ruling does not guarantee that Meta will hand over any data, or that the account holder will be identified. Under the procedure set by the court, Meta must respond within 21 days of receiving the subpoena. It may also ask to cancel or modify the subpoena within 30 days of being served.

Any information Meta provides will be limited to what can legally be disclosed under U.S. law. The type and amount of data actually provided could change as the process goes on.

If Meta's records reveal the user's name and address, IU's side plans to ask the Korean court to update the defendant's identifying information. It will then continue the damages suit against the identified writer.

For Korean stars fighting online abuse, the case shows how far a lawsuit at home may need to reach when the platform is based overseas.