What is malicious compliance?

Malicious compliance refers to the act of intentionally following the rules or instructions in a way that is known to cause annoyance or problems for the requester, without technically breaking any rules. In the given context, Jordan Harbinger discusses an instance where a lawyer, Michael Kim, used this tactic in response to a legal demand. Kim, while unable to avoid a subpoena, complied in a way that was overwhelming and burdensome by submitting an excessive amount of information that was technically required but not harmful or sensitive. This tactic made it difficult for the opposing party to sift through the information effectively, protecting his client’s important documents while abiding by the legal demand 1.