PBS sues Iron Mountain over 50 TB archives stuck after cloud provider's bankruptcy
US public broadcaster PBS has filed a lawsuit against Iron Mountain Data Centers seeking to regain access to 50 TB of archival material accumulated over 70 years. The data includes television programs, video footage and other files, among them 11,000 lost video recordings.
The archives were stored at an Iron Mountain data center through cloud storage provider Open Source Storage, which went bankrupt and stopped responding to inquiries. Iron Mountain refused to hand over the data to the broadcaster, saying it has no access to the files and acted properly under its contract with Open Source Storage.
Last month, a court ordered Iron Mountain not to delete or modify the data and to transfer all physical devices containing the broadcaster's materials. The judge ruled that Nine PBS, the PBS affiliate involved, must find a third party capable of recovering the data within 30 days without touching or damaging files belonging to other Open Source Storage clients.
Nine PBS is already in talks with a former Open Source Storage employee who has offered to help restore access. If complications arise with data encryption or other technical aspects, the court will schedule another hearing. Both parties must provide updates by September 14, 2026.
In its defense, Iron Mountain said it acted appropriately and responsibly at every stage to protect client data and fulfill its contractual obligations to Open Source Storage. The company emphasized that it does not have access to the broadcaster's data.
Nine PBS's last contract with Open Source Storage ended on March 6. The plaintiffs said that in February they were already unable to get responses from the provider.
The case highlights the risks of relying on third-party cloud infrastructure: when a storage provider goes bankrupt, the data owner may lose access to its own archives for months or even years. The court's decision to preserve the physical devices while a recovery specialist is sought sets a precedent for similar disputes involving failed cloud services.
