Round three of Reddit versus the movie industry ends in yet another win for the social network site, because the First Amendment didn't suddenly change overnight

HardwareRound three of Reddit versus the movie industry ends in yet another win for the social network site, because the First Amendment didn’t suddenly change overnightWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Mallet of a judge, with books and scales of justice in background, of a court-like scene. on the floor, place for typography. Courtroom theme

So what went wrong? Reddit’s lawyers argued that the film group’s motion to force the information to be handed over was tantamount to being a Doe subpoena, a legal summons to identify an unknown defendant in a legal case. However, the lawyers claimed that what was being demanded of Reddit was unmasking potential witnesses, not defendants, and thus the motion is subject to First Amendment scrutiny.

In short, it’s seemingly about freedom of speech and the right to anonymity.

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The court disagreed, finding little evidence in the film group’s case to suggest that the use of IP addresses alone doesn’t count as unmasking that is subject to FA scrutiny.

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In addition, the US Magistrate Judge said that if Reddit posts themselves are good enough evidence for any legal action against cable companies ‘allowing’ users to commit media piracy, then there’s simply no call for the IP addresses.

The movie companies can still move to sue the relevant cable companies, of course, but it’ll have to be done with all the info that Reddit has coughed up already. Unless they’re planning round four, of course, which they probably are. In the meantime, best to keep any chitchat about pirating movies off a public social platform, yes?

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