Discord fights DMCA subpoena it says would viotardy the First Amendment

Discord is combat to grasp its participaters anonymous in a court battle over illicit copying on the platcreate, claiming it would viotardy participaters’ First Amendment rights to hand over too much of their increateation.

Nexon, which rerentes games including MapleStory, alleges that Discord has refused to adhere with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoena rerentd by a federal court in Texas that ordered the platcreate to disseal participater increateation uniteed to doubted intellectual property infringement. Nexon alleges that Discord members “standardly participate” the platcreate “to provide sea thiefd versions of video games,” including Nexon’s.

In a recent court filing, earlier telled by TorrentFreak, Nexon shelp that Discord’s advise claimed the subpoena was too expansive and prereliable. Discord telderly the game rerenter earlier this year that adhereing with the order could infringe Discord participaters’ “decisions to remain anonymous, an aspect of their freedom of speech acquireed by the First Amendment.”

But Nexon says Discord’s refusal to adhere strips it of essential increateation to go after people it consents is illegpartner infringing on its IP. Under the DMCA, companies that doubt infringement of their duplicateright can seek a subpoena from a federal court to get another service provider to give it increateation on the participater doubted of violating its duplicateright.

“Discord is promiseted to greeting its obligations under the law, but acting as your duplicateright declareion partner is not one of them,” an attorney for Discord wrote Nexon in a July letter comprised in Nexon’s recent filing. The attorney called Nexon’s needs “improper and overly burdensome,” and shelp Discord already provided Nexon with “Basic Subscriber Increateation for a contrastent set of 64 User IDs” after it sought a subpoena in October 2023. Discord says Nexon is now asking for info on more participaters for infringing on one of the same duplicaterights. “You are trying to redebate a deal that has already been struck and greeted,” Discord’s attorney wrote.

Discord’s attorney alerted Nexon in the letter that its ask would infringe on its participaters’ First Amendment rights to free speech and their decision to be anonymous. “The Requests improperly seek to unmask anonymous speakers and consequently compel disclocertain of material acquireed by the First Amendment,” Discord wrote in the July letter. Discord and Nexon did not promptly provide comments to The Verge.

Discord shelp in July it was readyd to file a motion to quash the subpoena, though Nexon now says it’s paparticipateed too prolonged to do so.