Twitch Interactive, Inc. v. John and Jane Does 1 Through 100

Twitch Interactive, Inc. (Twitch) (plaintiff) operated an online video-streaming platform. Much of the content streamed on Twitch involved video games. Before being permitted to stream, users had to register their accounts and agree to various terms of service and community guidelines. Twitch filed a complaint in federal court, alleging that in May 2019, a group of unnamed individuals (Doe defendants) flooded a Twitch video-game channel with racist, misogynistic, and violent content in violation of Twitch’s terms and guidelines. Twitch took down the prohibited videos and blocked the accounts that posted them, but the content soon reappeared under new accounts. Twitch alleged that the Doe defendants drove traffic to the prohibited videos by using bots to manipulate their viewer counts and that, in an effort to deceive the public, the Doe defendants unlawfully used Twitch’s registered trademark in Discord groups and a Twitter account they created. Twitch was able to ascertain IP addresses associated with the offensive content but could not identify the specific actors. Twitch filed an ex parte motion for expedited discovery, seeking to serve subpoenas on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and social-media companies associated with the Doe defendants’ IP addresses to obtain information identifying the Doe defendants so that Twitch could effectuate service of process.