Alongside the lawsuit, Google has launched evidentiary actions against the MPAA and its retained counsel at Jenner & Block, asking them to retain documents for a possible future action. Alongside the legal campaign, Google has launched a public advocacy campaign against the MPAA's
newly revealed site-blocking measures, asking users
"kill off #ZombieSOPA" with a petition to the MPAA. Google has fought the legal actions before, but this is the first time the company has gone on the offense, and suggests a new dynamic in the ongoing struggle between Google and the MPAA. Google is striking back against the Goliath project, and it's doing so in court.
The lawsuit centers on a subpoena Hood delivered on October 27th, 2014, asserting that Google anti-piracy provisions were violating a Mississippi consumer protection law. Google says it's protected under federal law and the first amendment, and that the subpoena is an attempt to coerce them into blocking sites that infringe on copyright. "The Attorney General may prefer a pre-filtered Internet," the lawsuit reads, "but the Constitution and Congress have denied him the authority to mandate it." While the case is pending, Google's suit also asks that the court enjoin Hood from enforcing the subpoena or bringing any new charges against Google, which would stop Hood's crusade in its tracks.
