Reddit, a popular forum with sub-pages for any topic you can imagine, has seen a DMCA subpoena by Activision lobbed their way following a user leaking information of an upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare mode.
The user, who goes by Assyrian2410, allegedly found the image online. Later, they confessed they were sent it but never revealed who provided it.
The now-deleted post depicted COD‘s upcoming Warzone mode, according to THR. This post sparked Activision’s legal team to push forward and file a DMCA notice against Reddit. The reason behind the notice was to push the forum to reveal exactly who shared the info so they could pursue legal action.
Odds are, Reddit will or already has revealed the user’s identity, though, as they have to comply with the DMCA notice. Started in 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act made efforts to protect forum websites from being sued for its users’ posts. In return, the forum will remove the offending material and reveal the offending user’s information to the copyright holder if they so choose in case they wish to pursue legal action.
Taking action against leakers has been getting more and more prominent, earlier this year, Activision caused content creator and insider The Gaming Revolution to have his Twitter suspended where it remains that way to this day. Fellow COD player, Dean Carter, had his account suspended temporarily and warned users to not boast about getting access to Warzone’s lobby.
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Is Activision The Odd One Out?
Recently, other companies including Nintendo went about taking action against leakers. Ahead of Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s release, three users began sharing images of an unreleased strategy guide across Discord and 4Chan. The images showcased multiple Pokémon in their Gigamaxed form, new characters, and region-specific Pokémon. Supposedly, this disrupted their marketing plans and lessened the level of hype they built up.
Last year, Epic Games also sued a tester for leaking Fortnite Chapter 2 ahead of its cleaver build up. A former employee was also fired in 2018 for a different set of leaks.
What do you think? Do leakers do more harm than good or vice versa?
