Discord says piracy subpoena would violate users’ First Amendment rights

Discord is fighting to keep its users anonymous in a court battle over piracy on the platform, claiming it would violate users’ First Amendment rights to hand over too much of their information.

Nexon, which publishes games including MapleStory, alleges that Discord has refused to comply with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoena issued by a federal court in Texas that ordered the platform to disclose user information connected to suspected intellectual property infringement. Nexon alleges that Discord members “often use” the platform “to provide pirated versions of video games,” including Nexon’s.

In a recent court filing, earlier reported by TorrentFreak, Nexon said that Discord’s counsel claimed the subpoena was too broad and premature. Discord told the game publisher earlier this year that complying with the order could infringe Discord users’ “decisions to remain anonymous, an aspect of their freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.”

But Nexon says Discord’s refusal to comply deprives it of necessary information to go after people it believes is illegally infringing on its IP. Under the DMCA, companies that suspect infringement of their copyright can seek a subpoena from a federal court to get another service provider to give it information on the user suspected of violating its copyright.

“Discord is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law, but acting as your copyright assertion partner is not one of them,” an attorney for Discord wrote Nexon in a July letter included in Nexon’s recent filing. The attorney called Nexon’s demands “improper and overly burdensome,” and said Discord already provided Nexon with “Basic Subscriber Information for a distinct set of 64 User IDs” after it sought a subpoena in October 2023. Discord says Nexon is now asking for info on more users for infringing on one of the same copyrights. “You are attempting to renegotiate a deal that has already been struck and fulfilled,” Discord’s attorney wrote.

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Discord’s attorney warned Nexon in the letter that its request would infringe on its users’ First Amendment rights to free speech and their decision to be anonymous. “The Requests improperly seek to unmask anonymous speakers and consequently compel disclosure of material protected by the First Amendment,” Discord wrote in the July letter. Discord and Nexon did not immediately provide comments to The Verge.

Discord said in July it was prepared to file a motion to quash the subpoena, though Nexon now says it’s waited too long to do so.