August 31, 2026ADMIN

Nine PBS sues data center provider over access to 50TB archive

Nine PBS has sued Iron Mountain Data Centers after its defunct cloud provider left the station unable to access a 50TB archive spanning 70 years.

Nine PBS sues data center provider over access to 50TB archive

A St. Louis public television station is turning to the courts after losing access to decades of digital material stored through a cloud provider that has become unresponsive.

Nine PBS filed a lawsuit against Iron Mountain Data Centers on July 28, seeking access to roughly 50TB of television programs, videos, and other files. The archive spans approximately 70 years and includes material that the station describes as largely unique and irreplaceable.

The dispute involves multiple companies in the storage chain. Nine PBS used cloud storage provider Open Source Storage, known as OSS, which in turn stored the station’s data at an Iron Mountain facility in Denver. After OSS went defunct and stopped responding, the station says Iron Mountain refused to release the data.

How the storage dispute developed

According to the lawsuit filed in Denver District Court, OSS used one of Iron Mountain’s Denver data centers to store Nine PBS content. The station is now seeking access through Iron Mountain because its own cloud provider is no longer responding.

The central facts described in the complaint are:

  • Nine PBS placed its archive with OSS for cloud storage.
  • OSS used an Iron Mountain data center in Denver to store that material.
  • OSS subsequently went defunct and became unresponsive.
  • Nine PBS says it cannot retrieve the archive through OSS.
  • The station alleges that Iron Mountain has refused to release the data directly.

The available reporting does not describe a resolution or court ruling. The lawsuit represents Nine PBS’s effort to regain access after attempts through the cloud provider failed.

What is contained in the 50TB archive

The inaccessible collection includes more than 11,000 files, according to reporting cited in the original account. It covers television programming, video, and other station data accumulated across seven decades.

Among the subjects specifically identified are:

  • Nine PBS coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Material documenting the history of East St. Louis
  • Content related to the Great Flood of 1993
  • Other programs and videos produced or preserved by the station

The lawsuit says that “most” of the material is “unique and irreplaceable.” That description raises the stakes beyond the storage capacity involved. Although 50TB indicates the archive’s scale, the station’s concern centers on the historical content of the files and the possibility that some material may not exist elsewhere.

The roles of OSS and Iron Mountain

The case reflects a storage arrangement involving separate service layers. Nine PBS dealt with OSS as its cloud storage provider, while OSS relied on Iron Mountain’s Denver infrastructure to hold the data.

OSS’s failure left the station unable to use the provider that had arranged the storage. Nine PBS then approached Iron Mountain, the company operating the data center where the files were kept. According to the station’s allegations, Iron Mountain would not provide access.

The reporting does not detail the contractual terms among the parties or explain Iron Mountain’s stated reason for refusing to release the archive. It also does not establish what technical or administrative steps would be required to identify, verify, and transfer the station’s files. Those questions may become important as the litigation proceeds, but they are not answered in the material currently available.

Why Nine PBS went to court

Nine PBS filed its case on July 28 in Denver District Court because the data was stored at an Iron Mountain facility in Denver. The station is asking the court to help it regain access to the archive after being unable to obtain a response from OSS.

The legal action is directed at Iron Mountain Data Centers rather than the unresponsive cloud provider. Based on the station’s allegations, Iron Mountain remains in a position to control access to the systems holding the files, even though OSS was the company that provided cloud storage services to Nine PBS.

The lawsuit therefore concerns more than whether the files continue to exist. Nine PBS is seeking the ability to retrieve them from infrastructure arranged by a provider that is no longer functioning or communicating with the station.

An archive caught between providers

Nine PBS’s predicament is defined by the gap between the company that sold or managed its cloud storage and the data center provider that housed the underlying data. The archive may still be stored in Denver, but the station says it cannot reach it through either route: OSS is unresponsive, while Iron Mountain has declined to release it.

For Nine PBS, the inaccessible material represents 70 years of programming and documentation, including records of major regional and national events. With more than 11,000 files at issue, the station is now relying on litigation to recover access.

Conclusion

The Denver court case will determine whether Nine PBS can regain access to the 50TB collection through Iron Mountain. Until the dispute is resolved, decades of public television material—including content the station considers unique and irreplaceable—remain inaccessible.

Original source: Ars

Originally reported by Ars.