Beginning in July 2024, the three major music labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Verizon, claiming Verizon has allegedly been deliberately ignoring the activity of their customer’s alleged theft of copyrighted music. If found guilty, Verizon faces over $2.5 billion in damage to these companies, as each violation totals to $150,000.

Now, Verizon is striking back at these allegations. On September 6th, Verizon stated that the lawsuit is “legally deficient” and that they are not responsible for the alleged actions of their users. 

In a report by Billboard, Verizon’s attorneys stated that “The plaintiffs are massive record labels — together worth billions — alleging that some people illegally shared their artists’ songs over the internet. Yet they made a calculated choice not to sue those people.” Furthermore, Verizon’s attorneys claim that “All Verizon did was sell general internet access, which some people abused to share copyrighted music with others.” This statement by attorneys seemingly brings light to the multiple ongoing lawsuits aimed at internet service providers, urging them to terminate piracy through their networks.