A group of film companies are seeking to have Reddit divulge information about users who reportedly promote piracy on its platform. The move is part of a 2021 lawsuit that lists Bodyguard Productions, Millennium Media and others as plaintiffs against the Internet provider then known as RCN, subsequently rebranded Astound, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The complaint alleges 34 copyrighted films — including “Hellboy” and “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” — were illegally downloaded while RCN turned a blind eye. The producers subpoenaed Reddit for information on nine individuals, including name, IP address and user logs from 2016 to present.

“Reddit’s response provided at least some information about one user but no information on any of the other eight,” according to Ars Technica, which says Reddit’s position is “that the requests for identifying information associated with the additional eight accounts are more in the nature of a fishing expedition and are neither relevant nor permissible under the First Amendment.”

The film firms are not ready to give up, however. Ars Technica reports that last week they “filed a motion to compel Reddit to respond to the subpoena in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California” that claims “the Rule 45 subpoena is clearly relevant and proportional to the needs of the case.”

The motion argues that emails from all of the nine subscribers in question demonstrate that “RCN has not reasonably implemented a policy for terminating repeat infringers” and that the company, which also provides cable television, “controls the conduct of its subscribers and monitors its subscribers’ access,” while also establishing that RCN cultivated an environment in which “the ability to freely pirate without consequence was a draw to becoming a subscriber of RCN,” Ars Technica says.

U.S. law requires Internet providers to terminate the accounts of repeat copyright infringers “in appropriate circumstances,” although TorrentFreak writes that “many ISPs have been reluctant to take such drastic measures, which triggered a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits in recent years.”

Both Ars Technica and TorrentFreak provide examples of comments the plaintiffs claim came from Reddit users offering insights on topics such as how to evade consequences for pirating. TorrentFreak provides links to some of the filings.

“RCN denied most of the allegations and asked the New Jersey federal court to dismiss the case,” TorrentFreak reports, noting “that effort failed last October and the matter is now proceeding, with both parties gathering evidence.”