![]() ![]() The plaintiffs, attempting to prove that RCN "ignores piracy on its network" and is thus liable for its users' copyright infringement, "subpoenaed non-party Reddit for identifying information for eight Reddit users' accounts and then moved to compel Reddit's compliance after Reddit objected," Beeler wrote. As Reddit pointed out in a filing that accused the studios of spewing "nonsense," some of the commenters didn't even mention RCN, and others merely "discuss issues (such as their customer service experience) unrelated to copyright infringement or Plaintiffs' allegations." The studios filed a motion to compel Reddit to respond to the subpoena after Reddit refused to identify eight of the nine users. While some of the comments were posted in 2022, other comments were made in 20. In an attempt to prove that RCN (now known as Astound Broadband) turned a blind eye to customers illegally downloading copyrighted movies, the studios subpoenaed Reddit seeking identifying information for specific users who commented in piracy-related threads. Bodyguard Productions, Millennium Media, and other film companies sued RCN in the US District Court in New Jersey over RCN customers' alleged downloads of 34 movies such as Hellboy, Rambo: Last Blood, Tesla, and The Hitman's Bodyguard. Reddit has no involvement in the underlying case, which is a copyright lawsuit in a different federal court against cable Internet service provider RCN. After reviewing the facts and arguments, she found that the Reddit users' comments were irrelevant to the film studios' underlying case and that the studios could obtain relevant information from other sources. ![]() The First Amendment right to anonymous speech is not absolute, but the precedent followed by US district courts only forces disclosure of anonymous users' identities "in the exceptional case where the compelling need for the discovery sought outweighs the First Amendment rights of the anonymous speaker," Beeler noted. ![]() US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler quashed a subpoena issued by film studios in an order that agrees with Reddit that the First Amendment protects the users' right to speak anonymously online. Reddit doesn't have to identify eight anonymous users who wrote comments in piracy-related threads, a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on Friday. Getty Images | NurPhoto reader comments 44 with ![]()
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