The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week that a person who reported alleged software piracy to SIIA is entitled to remain anonymous, a decision that sets a First Amendment precedent that will protect people who report piracy or other alleged corporate misconduct.
The case centered on the efforts of Solers Inc. to unmask an anonymous informant who had accused it of software piracy and filed a report with SIIA. Solers, a Virginia-based technology company, complained of defamation, and served a subpoena upon SIIA that demanded the identity of the informant.
SIIA contested the subpoena, noting that in the two-decade history of its anti-piracy program, it has never disclosed the identity of any informant that wished to remain anonymous. SIIA asserted that Solers’ allegations did not trump the anonymous speech rights of the informant, and the appellate court agreed, ruling that Solers’ allegations of defamation were insufficient to overcome the First Amendment rights of an individual (“John Doe”) to engage in anonymous criticism.
The appellate decision is an important vindication of the First Amendment speech rights of informants or whistleblowers. SIIA’s sources take risks in reporting software piracy and we take very seriously the significant concerns they may have about their identities being disclosed. As the Solers case demonstrates, SIIA will stop at nothing to protect the identities of those who report software and content piracy to SIIA in confidence.
Laura Greenback is Communications Director at SIIA.