Supreme Court narrows platform liability in copyright cases

The Supreme Court ruled Cox Communications isn’t liable under the DMCA for subscribers’ pirated activity, finding no inducement or tailoring of Cox’s service for infringement. It limits contributory infringement to two paths—intentional inducement or tailoring—potentially shielding many tech platforms beyond ISPs and affecting cases involving Nvidia, Google, Meta, and X that cite Cox. Some record-label lawsuits have been dropped or paused against other carriers, and the decision raises questions about the DMCA safe harbor as lower courts apply Cox to broader tech contexts.