[Air-L] Internet Society Amicus Brief in Cox v. Sony – US Supreme Court – September 2025

[Joly MacFie]

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In the case of Cox v. Sony, in 2019, a Virginia jury awarded roughly $1
billion in statutory damages to a group of record labels, led by Sony,
ruling that Cox had ‘secondary liability’ for copyright infringement by its
users. In 2024, the Fourth Circuit validated that decision, but vacated the
award and ordered a new damages trial. Cox successfully petitioned the
Supreme Court to review the decision, asking whether an Internet service
provider can be held secondarily liable for subscribers’ alleged copyright
infringement—based largely on infringement notices and “repeat infringer”
accusations—simply for continuing to provide access, and what legal
standard should govern that liability.

In September 2025 the Internet Society (ISOC) filed an Amicus Brief in the
case, urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit’s
secondary-liability rule, arguing it would force ISPs to police users and
terminate whole accounts on mere allegations of copyright infringement. The
brief warns this would disconnect innocent people from essential
connectivity, undermine the Internet’s layered, multi-intermediary
architecture, and incentivize privacy-eroding surveillance, while rights
holders can instead sue account owners directly.



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Joly MacFie  +12185659365
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