In today's CMU Daily: Cox Communications is trying to get the US Supreme Court to review the billion dollar judgement in its legal battle with the major record companies. Yesterday four other ISPs made a submission to the court supporting their rival and urging the top court to intervene

One Liners: Cargo Independent Distribution, Circa, Prescription Songs, Faith Sounds, MPLIFY, Dirty Hit, Co-op Live, Miley Cyrus, APM, Guvera, Coldplay, Motel 8, Jane’s Addiction, The Postal Service, Kanye West + more

Also today: Judges yesterday scrutinised lawyers from TikTok as the social media company tries to block the sell-or-be-banned law passed by US Congress earlier this year; following the numerous lawsuits accusing Diddy of sexual harassment and assault, the musician has now been arrested and charged with racketeering and sex trafficking

Plus: ATRIP is CMU Approved

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US internet providers slam “extortionate pressure” of copyright lawsuits as they urge the Supreme Court to scrap Cox judgement

The US Supreme Court has been urged to review and overturn the judgement in the billion dollar legal battle between the major record companies and Cox Communications by four internet service providers, which compete with Cox but back their rival in this dispute.

The four ISPs - Frontier, Lumen, Altice and Verizon - have invested “hundreds of billions of dollars in network infrastructure” over the last three decades, they declare in a submission to the Supreme Court. They did that partly to pursue their own business interests, but also to help US Congress achieve its official objective of promoting “the continued development of the internet”. The ruling in the majors v Cox case “strikes at the heart of that effort”, they insist.

That’s because it “saddles ISPs with responsibility for online copyright infringement committed by others”, even though they “do not participate in, encourage or in any way assist” in that infringement. In fact, they “forbid copyright infringement through robust anti-piracy policies and programmes”.

And, of course, being held responsible for another’s infringement can prove to be very expensive indeed, because US copyright law allows statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. “Cox faced a $1 billion verdict”, the ISP's write. “Frontier is currently defending a $400 million lawsuit, Altice USA is defending a lawsuit with an immense range of potential statutory damages, and recent press reports suggest Verizon is facing up to $2.6 billion in potential liability”.

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Selling is not an option says TikTok’s lawyer, as court proceedings open with freedom of speech arguments

TikTok’s battle to block the sell-or-be-banned law passed earlier this year by US Congress reached a court in Washington DC yesterday, with judges grilling legal representatives for both the US government and especially TikTok.

Andrew J Pincus, representing TikTok, set out the social media company’s key arguments. “Divestiture isn't feasible here”, he told the judges, “so this isn’t just about divestiture, it’s really about a ban”. And the ban is unconstitutional on First Amendment free speech grounds, he added, declaring that “this law imposes an extraordinary speech prohibition based on indeterminate future risks”.

TikTok, of course, denies that the Chinese government has access to its user data and influence over its content curation via China-based owner ByteDance, those being the concerns that prompted Congress to pass the law that forces a change of ownership or a US-wide ban of the short form video app.

Sean Combs charged with racketeering and sex trafficking

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested in New York on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. It follows the raids by US Homeland Security on property owned by the musician back in March, which in turned followed the filing of numerous lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual harassment and assault.

Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the arrest yesterday, stating, “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY”. That indictment was then unsealed earlier today making public the charges being pursued by the prosecution.

Combs has denied all the allegations made against him in the civil lawsuits and, earlier today, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo formally responded to the indictment, stating, “he's innocent of these charges, he’s going to plead not guilty, obviously. He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might. I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr Combs”.

🎧 Approved: ATRIP

Poland-born and London-raised producer/DJ ATRIP draws from the capital’s diverse club culture but shapes it into something with a balmier, almost cinematic emotional edge. Known for his genre-defying and emotion-driven approach to electronic music, ATRIP has crafted a sound that feels both honest and fluid.

Now he builds on this momentum with his latest single ‘Ocean’, featuring KAM-BU. The cinematic track delves into themes of human connection and escape, with KAM-BU delivering a raw, impassioned freestyle that became the heart of the song. Its rumbling bass and shuffling percussion fills the track with tension, with release found in its melodic moments, interposed by ethereal synths and KAM-BU’s vocals.

“‘Ocean’ is one of the most significant tracks from my upcoming tape”, ATRIP explains. “It’s a song that tells a story of healing and adventure. ‘Ocean’ is a balance between ecstasy and emotion, and Kam is a rapper that is not afraid to touch onto emotional spheres and display vulnerability in his music, which is something I resonate with deeply”.

🎧 Listen to ‘Ocean’ here

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