Behind the scenes of one of the biggest social media platforms there has been an epic fight with a valuable payment: user data. But you don't care about any user's data. This fight allegedly involves Nexon Korea Corporation, a South Korean video game maker, attempting to obtain data from copyright infringers on the Discord platform.
Nexon Korea Corporation is behind video games known as History of maple, MapleStory2, Sudden attack, The kingdom of the winds, Dungeon and fighter, great chase, Dave the diverand elsword. And it appears that Nexon has had multiple criminal copyright infringement complaints against other Korean servers that players use to run Nexon games, including one of those culprits who is currently at large and wanted by interpol.
Needless to say, Nexon has no qualms about using the US judicial system to also pursue suspected copyright infringement, but after serving two such subpoenas to Discord, the online service provider apparently has had enough and is fighting back in the name of user privacy. and freedom of expression rights.
Discord and privacy
Discord hasn't had the best relationship with user privacy in the past. In 2023, he was forced to walk backwards changes to its privacy policy when it first introduced AI integration into its servers, including Clyde, AutoMod AI, Conversation Summarizes, Avatar Remix, and more.
It had originally removed text from a previous version of its policy, which was later added back to its current version, as well as the following statement: “We may create features that help users interact with voice and video content, such as creating or send short recordings. .”
Then, in 2024, it was discovered that four billion Discord chats, made by approximately 620 million users, logged into more than 14,000 servers. had been harvested by a site called Spy.pet and will be auctioned to the highest bidders.
In a statement, Discord said it would investigate the matter to determine whether it violates its Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. However, considering there has been no news since then, we still don't know the results of that investigation.
The battle for user data
Despite these privacy issues, Discord is now embroiled in a legal battle with Nexon Korea Corporation because the latter is demanding that the former continue to hand over data of users suspected of infringing copyrights online.
According to a report by TorrentFreakThe Korean company obtained a DMCA subpoena requiring Discord to hand over such information and now says it is refusing to cooperate with the US federal government's court order.
Discord, however, claims it has already complied with a previous order issued in October 2023. While Discord initially resisted, both parties reached an agreement to confidentially disclose basic subscriber information on a total of 64 Discord user IDs. Discord.
Nexon then returned in May 2024 with a new subpoena demanding Discord to reveal the information of approximately two dozen alleged copyright infringers related to the game MapleStory. Discord once again complied and sent that data on June 13.
In July, however, Discord decided to draw a line and sent Nexon a letter from its lawyers, along with the Texas law firm Haltom & Doan:
“You now appear to be demanding additional information for even more user IDs, which you claim infringes one of the same copyrights you have already asserted. You are trying to renegotiate an agreement that has already been closed and fulfilled. Your actions are improper. Discord is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law, but acting as your copyright assertion partner is not one of them.”
He then listed twenty-two objections and reservations, one of which was a desire to protect users' privacy and their First Amendment right to free speech. The letter further urged Nexon to withdraw its lawsuits and stop sending similar subpoenas in the future.
Instead, Nexon submitted a motion to compel in a Texas federal court last week, asking the court to issue an order requiring Discord to produce the requested user data. Discord is expected to file a formal motion against the subpoena in response to this request.
What does this mean for users and providers of online services?
There are several things that this entire legal battle and the broader impact of such battles means on future DMCA subpoena cases like this one.
First, it's a battle over how knowledgeable companies are of user data when it comes to allegations of copyright infringement, which, as noted above, boils down to whether such claims can be seen as a violation of copyright. privacy and First Amendment rights. The scope of such requests is especially important as it could greatly affect the amount of data that is collected in the wake of such rulings, as well as what might constitute copyright infringement in the first place that would warrant a subpoena.
There is also the impact this could have on online service providers and their own compliance with such DMCA citation cases. This creates natural friction between providers and their users, who may not feel safe using the online service after user data is disclosed through a subpoena. Furthermore, these online service providers who receive DMCA subpoenas are forced to comply using their own time, money, and resources to do so, preventing those three aspects from being used for the service itself.
As such, this is an incredibly complex issue and the results of this case have far-reaching implications for what companies can demand from online service providers, how much or how little users will actually be protected in these cases, and whether requires online service providers. to meet these demands.