Smiley face has legal consequences-New York Court
2023.02.24 07:22
Smiley face has legal consequences-New York Court
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – According to a recent court filing, a judge for the Southern District of New York in the United States of America ruled that emojis like the rocket ship, stock chart, and money bags mean “a financial return on investment.”
Lisa Braganca, a former branch chief of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued a tweet warning users about the potential legal repercussions of using emojis that could indicate future gains. She tweeted:
These emojis, according to a federal court judge, objectively mean “one thing: a profit from the investment.” The legal repercussions of using these emojis are brought to the attention of those who use them. Emojis for DapperLabs: #rocketshipemoji https://t.co/4yRfWBH96R
Braganca provided a link to a court filing in which federal court judge Victor Marrero denied Dapper Labs’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint claiming that its NBA Top Shot Moments were in violation of security regulations.
The judge noted in the filing that some tweets from the NBA Top Shot Twitter account contain emojis indicating financial returns. “And despite the fact that none of the tweets contain the literal word “profit,” the emojis “rocket ship,” “stock chart,” and “money bags” all objectively mean the same thing: a monetary return on investment, as they wrote.
Enjin’s chief legal officer, Oscar Franklin Tan, offered his thoughts on the matter as well. Tan stated to Cointelegraph that the Dapper Labs decision ought not to establish a “dangerous rule” that emojis constitute securities for NFTs. Tan elaborated on this:
Because shitposts and emojis are also forms of free speech, “courts should protect the edgy, freewheeling messaging in NFT communities.”
Tan claims that sneaker resellers can also make use of the emojis mentioned in the case and the same “FOMO,” or “fear of missing out,” pitch.
In response to the warning, members of the crypto community tweeted a variety of responses. One Twitter user characterized the news as “tragic,” while another noted that emojis are no longer protected by freedom of speech. In the meantime, a user decided to state the meanings of their emoji usage.
Lawyers also responded on February 23 to the judge’s decision to allow the lawsuit against Dapper Labs to proceed. Jake Chervinsky, the United States attorney, stated that “it would be absurd” for a U.S. court to treat assets on private blockchains as securities. Chervinsky explained that this could make the SEC regulate every major travel rewards program, ticketing platform, and video game developer.
Lawyers were also interested in the SEC’s approach to Terra’s case. On February 17, crypto lawyers posted their opinions on Twitter regarding the SEC’s claim that Terra sold a suite of securities backed by crypto assets. Lawyer Justin Browder characterized the SEC’s actions as “wild,” while Web3 attorney Mike Selig explained that the theory states that anything can be a security.
