[southerntofu]

> It's obviously implying a threat if you're at all familiar with the legal sphere.

And if you're not a lawyer it's just a very normal message of someone trying to get answers and have their privacy rights respected. I've both sent and received many messages like this one over the years (CNIL requests) and there's nothing frightening about it.

> Talk about failing to meet even baseline ethical standards.

This study certainly meets my ethical standard of trying to hold corporations accountable to what they do with out data. I really don't see what the fuss is about: if freeradical.zone admin had received this email from anyone else (as could well be the case) would we even talk about it?

[desmosxxx]

You're wrong. The reaction to the email and apology from Princeton is proof of that, but there are also very few people here agree with you. I'm not a lawyer or a business man and I read the email as a clear legal threat. I had anxiety just reading it, the same as the OP.

It's clear as day. And if for whatever reason you don't see it that way the rest of the email and the way it's written should set off alarm bells as being a potential scam.