Crazy how this isn't on the frontpage but nonsense like "How to Get Every Email Returned" is.
"Moreover, the First Amendment protects the audience as well as the speaker.”
Couldn't the judge release the identity to an independent 3rd party rather than the plaintiff's lawyers? Granted the lawyers aren't allowed to reveal the identity to their client, but I think it would have been better to release that info to a 3rd party and have the 3rd party determine if the plaintiff suffered any harm.
This was an interesting and unexpected (but not unwelcome) interpretation of the First Amendment.
> In a hearing earlier this month, Watch Tower argued that they met the requirements of the Doe test, claiming that their copyright was infringed and also that the Doe test did not apply because Darkspilver is not a U.S. resident. On Friday, May 17, Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim rejected the latter argument, holding that the First Amendment can apply even if a Doe is not in the U.S. The court noted that because Darkspilver’s speech was on a U.S. company’s platform and has a U.S. audience, silencing them would have unavoidable domestic ripple effects. As Judge Kim explained, “The subpoena here was issued by a court in the United States, on behalf of a United States company (Watch Tower) and was directed against another United States company (Reddit). Moreover, the First Amendment protects the audience as well as the speaker.”
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 5.3 ms ] thread"Moreover, the First Amendment protects the audience as well as the speaker.”
Couldn't the judge release the identity to an independent 3rd party rather than the plaintiff's lawyers? Granted the lawyers aren't allowed to reveal the identity to their client, but I think it would have been better to release that info to a 3rd party and have the 3rd party determine if the plaintiff suffered any harm.
> In a hearing earlier this month, Watch Tower argued that they met the requirements of the Doe test, claiming that their copyright was infringed and also that the Doe test did not apply because Darkspilver is not a U.S. resident. On Friday, May 17, Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim rejected the latter argument, holding that the First Amendment can apply even if a Doe is not in the U.S. The court noted that because Darkspilver’s speech was on a U.S. company’s platform and has a U.S. audience, silencing them would have unavoidable domestic ripple effects. As Judge Kim explained, “The subpoena here was issued by a court in the United States, on behalf of a United States company (Watch Tower) and was directed against another United States company (Reddit). Moreover, the First Amendment protects the audience as well as the speaker.”