A group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors has filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and Google, alleging that the release of Epstein-related documents exposed the identities and personal information of dozens of victims.
The complaint, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims documents published by the Justice Department in late 2025 and early 2026 revealed identifying information for approximately 100 survivors of the late convicted sex offender.
According to the lawsuit, the records “outed approximately 100 survivors” by publishing private details that allowed the public to identify them. The plaintiffs argue the disclosures violated privacy protections required under federal law.
The legal action follows a letter sent earlier this year by attorneys representing Epstein survivors who demanded the removal of millions of pages of documents tied to the case after discovering thousands of alleged redaction errors.
The Justice Department responded at the time by saying it had removed documents flagged with mistakes and was reviewing additional files to ensure any sensitive information was properly redacted. Officials said they were continuing to process requests and conduct their own searches for additional errors.
However, the newly filed lawsuit claims that even after the documents were taken down or corrected by the government, copies continued circulating online through search engines and digital platforms. The complaint specifically accuses Google of republishing or indexing the material despite requests from victims to remove it.
“Survivors now face renewed trauma,” the lawsuit states, adding that some victims have received threatening calls and messages from strangers who mistakenly accuse them of being involved with Epstein rather than recognizing them as victims.
The plaintiffs argue Google has the technical ability to remove or de-index the pages from search results and cached archives but allegedly failed to do so, showing what the complaint describes as reckless disregard for the safety and wellbeing of survivors.
The lawsuit also accuses the Justice Department of prioritizing the rapid release of records over the protection of victims’ privacy when publishing documents under the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law requires federal authorities to disclose Epstein-related records while ensuring that victims’ identities and private information remain redacted.
A Justice Department spokesperson previously said the agency takes victim protection “very seriously” and had already redacted thousands of names during the review process. Officials said more than 500 reviewers examined the documents to prevent sensitive information from being released.
According to the department, only about 0.1 percent of the pages published were found to contain unredacted identifying information, and teams have been working continuously to correct any mistakes and republish properly redacted versions.
CNN has reached out to both the Justice Department and Google for comment on the lawsuit.