The Court ruled against a motion to quash a subpoena for info from ISP Cablevision about a client who had illegally downloaded copyrighted music. In this case, there is no right to anonymity when illegally violating copyright law. However, the Court noted that the First Amendment does protect anonymous speech, citing McIntyre v. Ohio, Reno v. ACLU, Doe v. 2TheMart, and Seescandy.com.

The Court used a five part test in deciding whether to quash a subpoena seeking disclosure of an anonymous person’s identity.

1. A concrete showing of prima facie claim of actionable harm
2. Specificity the discovery request. (The discovery request was specific enough to establish a reasonable likelihood that it would lead to identifying information that would make service upon specific defendants possible.
3. The absence of alternative means to obtain the subpoenaed information
4. A central need for the subpoenaed information to advance the claim.
5. Defendant’s expectation of Privacy

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The DMCA is Unconstitutional