Reddit retaliates to Atlantic’s ‘Suicide Squad’ subpoena

Reddit has fired back at a subpoena issued by Atlantic Records, calling out the label for undertaking nothing more than a “fishing expedition” over the premature leak of the lead single from Suicide Squad’s #1 soundtrack album.

Source:ArtsTechnica
View full court filinghere

Atlantic Records appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of New York last week, seeking assistance in locating the IP address of the Reddit user who posted a linkto file locker service Dropfile.to, where the leaked file of Twenty One Pilot’s Heathens was being stored.

Reddit have issued a stern reply over the matter saying: “[We] only share information in response to a request for information if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request”.

The comment indicates Reddit’s unwillingness to cooperate with Atlantic’s request, claiming it does not comply with the company’s policy standards.

As a result of the leak that occurred on 15 June, Atlantic Records were forced to hurriedly reevaluate the official release and promotion of the single, limiting the beneficial effects of the track’s marketing campaign.

According to Atlantic, this caused substantial harm to the label in regard to lost album and single sales revenue. Higher sales numbers were originally projected from what Atlantic described as a “carefully-planned marketing strategy” for the single release.

Atlantic’s subpoena states that whoever uploaded and/or supplied the uploader with the concerning file did not uphold fiduciary duties, and thus, are in breach of contract with the label.

On the contrary, Reddit’s lawyers argue that their claims of breach do not meet the legal requirements for pre-action disclosure. The response also discredits the legitimacy of the breach because Atlantic did not disclose whether uploading the song is actually a breach of contract, assuming that a contract exists between Atlantic and Reddit.

Furthermore, Reddit has pleaded that if the court demands that the company disclose information that it be limited to specific usernames, indicating that IP addresses only serve to identify networks and not individuals.