A John Doe lawsuit filed by adult film producer Strike 3 Holdings may become part of its $446 million case against Meta. The producer claims that a Reality Labs executive downloaded nearly 20,000 files at home for work purposes, while Meta argues that the downloads are unrelated to the company. For over a decade, copyright holders have utilized U.S. federal courts to unmask anonymous BitTorrent users, with Strike 3 Holdings filing thousands of such lawsuits annually.
In a lawsuit filed last summer, Strike 3 and Counterlife Media accused Meta of downloading thousands of its films via BitTorrent to train AI models, involving 2,973 films. This case could be valued at up to $446 million. Recently, a motion was filed linking the John Doe case to the Meta lawsuit, revealing that the anonymous downloader is an executive at Meta’s Reality Labs division, which develops the Quest VR headsets.
The John Doe case began in March when Strike 3 filed a complaint against the subscriber of IP address 162.192.7.34 in a California federal court. A subpoena was granted to AT&T in April, and after obtaining the subscriber's information, Strike 3 identified the individual as a Meta executive with over a decade of experience at Facebook and Meta, although the name and title remain redacted.
Strike 3 argues that the timing of the downloads suggests an intention to conceal infringing activity. The company recorded significant BitTorrent activity from the executive’s connection, including nearly 20,000 files, which it claims are consistent with work related to making the headset compatible with adult films. Strike 3 reported over 150 daily downloads, including its own titles, as recently as August 25.
In its motion, Strike 3 seeks to relate the John Doe case to the Meta lawsuit, which could streamline proceedings. The company intends to amend the John Doe complaint to name Meta directly and argue joint liability for the executive's downloads.
Meta has responded to the motion, stating it cannot investigate the subscriber's employment status without knowing his name and arguing that the downloads are not linked to the company. Meta emphasizes that an IP address does not definitively identify the infringer and highlights inconsistencies in Strike 3's claims regarding the timing of the downloads.
The outcome of whether the John Doe case will be linked to the Meta lawsuit remains to be determined, and the identity of the Reality Labs executive remains undisclosed.