Potential problems for Patreon
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02 Aug 2020, 9:09 pm
Quote:
Patreon has lost a lawsuit they filed against fans of Owen Benjamin, a comedian kicked off the platform due to hate speech concerns, and now will have to pay millions in arbitration fees.
Last year, Owen Benjamin was kicked off of Patreon for violating their terms on “hate speech.” Benjamin then encouraged his fans to sue the site, given they had participated in, in legal terms, “tortious interference with a business relationship.”
Patreon’s terms included language that allowed any users of the plaltform to litigate their case individually under California’s JAMS arbitration scheme.
Under California law, Patreon would have to pay the arbitration fees up front, as each user would have to be dealt with on a one to one basis. These fees range from a few thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars per case. It is unclear how many users intended to sue the platform.
However, Patreon then changed its Terms of Service in an attempt to stop this from happening after the claims were filed:
You may not bring a claim against us for suspending or terminating another person’s account, and you agree you will not bring such a claim. If you try to bring such a claim, you are responsible for the damages caused, including attorneys fees and costs.
Patreon then sued Benjamin’s backers for attempting to receive arbitration, and filed for a preliminary injunction to stop this from happening. However, earlier this month, the judge in the case ruled against them, noting that their changes of the Terms of Service was tantamount to them changing the rules “in the middle of the game.”
The formal judgement was revealed on Wednesday, with the ruling being solidly based on previous California legal findings. Patreon will now have to go through arbitration with each of the fans, and will not be able to recoup any of the fees, even if they win the individual cases.
Last year, Owen Benjamin was kicked off of Patreon for violating their terms on “hate speech.” Benjamin then encouraged his fans to sue the site, given they had participated in, in legal terms, “tortious interference with a business relationship.”
Patreon’s terms included language that allowed any users of the plaltform to litigate their case individually under California’s JAMS arbitration scheme.
Under California law, Patreon would have to pay the arbitration fees up front, as each user would have to be dealt with on a one to one basis. These fees range from a few thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars per case. It is unclear how many users intended to sue the platform.
However, Patreon then changed its Terms of Service in an attempt to stop this from happening after the claims were filed:
You may not bring a claim against us for suspending or terminating another person’s account, and you agree you will not bring such a claim. If you try to bring such a claim, you are responsible for the damages caused, including attorneys fees and costs.
Patreon then sued Benjamin’s backers for attempting to receive arbitration, and filed for a preliminary injunction to stop this from happening. However, earlier this month, the judge in the case ruled against them, noting that their changes of the Terms of Service was tantamount to them changing the rules “in the middle of the game.”
The formal judgement was revealed on Wednesday, with the ruling being solidly based on previous California legal findings. Patreon will now have to go through arbitration with each of the fans, and will not be able to recoup any of the fees, even if they win the individual cases.
Since then, it seems another 2 former members who had significantly higher numbers of backers (Carl Benjamin and Lauren Southern) and were removed have also "suggested" to those backers who had not signed in to Patreon this year (or who had deleted their accounts prior to this year) should follow the same path.
My understanding is that the "filing fees" (excluding lawyer costs, payment for arbitrator, etc.) are $3000 per individual arbirtation, making it $2750 per case (minimum) that Patreon needs to pay, with around 100 cases thus far and the 2 former members having at least 10 times that many potential additional cases.
So far, it seems to have only been picked up by a few smaller you-tube channels (I found out through some legal ones) and the "right" as far as media coverage (probably due to right-wing members having been the only ones removed), but depending on how many other cases are lodged it could have a major impact on all users of Patreon regardless of their political affiliation or lack thereof, or even on the viability of Patreon itself:
https://web.ground.news/article/rss_4302_1596158116242_6/judge-orders-patreon-to-pay-owen-benjamin-fans-millions-of-dollars-in-massive-blow-to-tech-censorship
A couple of videos explaining this:
Looking at Patreon's case (pre-judgement):
(Youtuber mistakes the person involved at start - says Carl Benjamin rather than Owen Benjamin Smith, and notes this in note below video)
Discussing judgement:
