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Developer Suing Steam Users; Subpoenas Valve for Personal Details

Developer Suing Steam Users; Subpoenas Valve for Personal Details

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 16 September 2016 19:52 IST

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Highlights

Digital Homicide, a games developer is suing users on Steam
It appears to be an attempt to silence negative criticism
If this goes through, it could be a serious violation of free speech

Embattled developer Digital Homicide is suing Steam users. James Romine, co-founder of Digital Homicide, has also filed a subpoena against Valve in order to unveil the identities of 100 anonymous Steam users who have made statements about the company in the past. Romine is representing himself and is demanding $18 million with the nature of the suit being personal injury.

This was first brought to light by YouTuber SidAlpha after a commenter tipped him off on the company filing the public domain documents necessary for a subpoena.

(Also see: BT Suing Valve Over Alleged Steam Patent Infringement)

“The Romines have decided to further attempt to silence criticism by going after Steam commenters, filing a personal injury lawsuit. They paid the filing fee yesterday September 14, 2016,” said SidAlpha on his channel.

And this isn’t the first time Digital Homicide has sued someone for being critical of its work. In the past it tried to sue games industry insider and popular YouTuber Jim Sterling to the tune of $10 million.

(Also see: Valve Is Changing How Steam User Reviews Work)

It sets a dangerous precedent not just for YouTubers and critics but most importantly, regular consumers. Imagine being taken to court for simply voicing an opinion on a game or a piece of art? If this goes through it would be a massive affront to free speech. Hopefully better sense prevails.

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