Discord, a messaging platform known for having challenges related to user privacy protection, is currently involved in a dispute with a South Korean video game company that is working to identify alleged copyright violators on the platform. Discord has been withholding certain account information, leading to ongoing legal proceedings.
According to a court filing first reported by TorrentFreak, Nexon Korea Corporation alleges that since May, Discord has not complied with a federal court’s subpoena. The subpoena demands that Discord provide sufficient information to identify users responsible for allegedly infringing content. Nexon’s filing reveals that Discord’s legal team has argued that the subpoena is overly broad and wrongly requires the platform to operate as a copyright enforcer on behalf of another company.
Nexon Korea, which develops popular video games such as MapleStory, MapleStory2, Sudden Attack, The Kingdom of the Winds, Dungeon & Fighter, Grand Chase, and Elsword, obtained the subpoena from a federal court in Texas under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
This is not the first time Nexon has issued DMCA takedown notices regarding Discord posts. Correspondence from Discord’s attorneys, included in the Nexon filing, indicates that Discord previously responded to what they described as an “overly broad and unduly burdensome subpoena” in October 2023. At that time, Discord provided information on 64 users in response.
Discord’s attorneys, from the Texas law firm Haltom & Doan, wrote in a letter that they submitted this information to Nexon’s representatives on June 13, 2024. The letter conveys Discord’s opposition to providing further details on additional user IDs alleged to infringe the same copyrights that Nexon previously claimed. The attorneys assert that Discord has fulfilled its obligations and refute what they consider Nexon’s attempts to renegotiate an agreement that has already been fulfilled. Discord emphasizes its commitment to legal compliance, but not to acting as a copyright enforcer for external entities.
In the letter, Discord’s attorneys indicated their readiness to file a motion to quash the subpoena. However, Nexon argues that Discord has not done this promptly. Consequently, Nexon has requested the court to mandate Discord’s compliance with the subpoena by supplying identifying information about the so-called “wanted infringers.”