Nexon subpoenas Discord, demanding user data. But Discord says unmasking users would violate their privacy and First Amendment rights.
MapleStory game publisher Nexon is fighting Discord in the US court system because Nexon wants the chat platform to hand over more user information so it can tackle what it says is a piracy problem.
An unspecified number of Discord users are violating the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), according to the publisher. It's sent a subpoena to force Discord to comply with its user data requests so that Nexon can take legal action against those users. Nexon says Discord users "often" share "pirated versions of video games" through the social platform, and believes it is "rightfully entitled" to user data and information Discord stores that could help it stop the alleged pirates.
Nexon has sent Discord DMCA notices, which are takedown requests like what record labels use to pull reposted music off of YouTube. Nintendo has also used the DMCA to force platforms like Github to delete copies of Nintendo Switch emulators.
"Discord has failed to produce any responsive documents or written responses on or before the time for compliance," Nexon attorneys wrote in a proposed motion to compel a response to its subpoena last week.
Discord's legal counsel has rejected the subpoena, however, arguing that it is premature, its scope is too broad, and it actually violates federal subpoena law. Unsurprisingly, Nexon disagrees with these assertions.
Back in July, a Discord attorney said: "Discord is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law, but acting as your copyright assertion partner is not one of them."
Discord said it's already given Nexon "basic subscriber information" for 64 different Discord User IDs, but Nexon is now "attempting to negotiate a deal that has already been struck and fulfilled."
Discord further argued that attempting to "unmask anonymous speakers" and disclose material "protected by First Amendment" was a violation of user privacy rights and free speech rights. Discord and Nexon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Discord already has some anti-piracy features built-in. For example, it won't let gamers stream movies or TV shows via streaming platforms like Netflix through Discord's screen-sharing and streaming options. Instead, only games are allowed to be streamed. But users can still share files through the platform, including, potentially, game files. But Discord also recently launched end-to-end encrypted chats, so some data could be reshared that not even Discord would know about or have access to view or deliver to Nexon.
Besides Discord, Nexon has also been fighting a Korean game company in the US court system last year, alleging Ironmace stole one of its game's source code and other assets. The judge dismissed the case, but Nexon has since filed an appeal.
Telegram, another messaging platform that lets users be pseudonymous, has also faced scrutiny over denying information requests about its users. Telegram, however, was accused by French law enforcement of failing to comply with information requests. About a month after its CEO was arrested, Telegram said last month it would start complying with law enforcement requests and will share users' IP addresses and phone numbers with police.