A judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that emojis such as the rocket ship, stock chart and money bags signify “a financial return on investment.”according to a recent court filing.
In a tweet, Former head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission branch, Lisa Braganca, warned users of the potential legal consequences of using emojis that could indicate future earnings:
A federal court judge ruled that these emojis objectively mean “one thing: a financial return on investment.” Users of these emojis are hereby warned of the legal consequence of their use. #emojis #rocketshipemoji #DapperLabs https://t.co/4yRfWBH96R
— Former SEC Branch Chief Lisa Braganca (@LisaBraganca) February 23, 2023
Braganca shared the link to a court filing in which Federal Court Judge Victor Marrero denied Dapper Labs’ motion to dismiss the amended lawsuit alleging that his NBA Top Shot Moments violated security laws.
Inside the presentation the judge noted that some tweets posted by the NBA Top Shot Twitter account contain emojis indicating financial gain. “And while the literal word ‘profit’ isn’t included in any of the tweets, the ‘space rocket,’ ‘stock chart,’ and ‘money bags’ emojis objectively mean one thing: a financial return on investment.”they wrote.
Oscar Franklin Tan, Legal Director of the NFT Enjin platform, also commented on the matter. Tan told Cointelegraph that Dapper Labs’ decision should not create a “dangerous rule” that emojis convert NFTs into securities.”. Tan explained that:
“Courts should protect the bold and free messaging of NFT communities because shitposts and emojis are also part of free speech.”
According to Tan, sneaker resellers can also use the same “fear of missing out” argument and use the emojis cited in the case.
Members of the cryptocurrency community reacted to the warning, tweeting various responses. A Twitter user qualified the “tragic” news, while another he pointed that freedom of expression no longer extends to emojis. Meanwhile, one user decided to make a statement about the meaning of his use of emojis.
On February 23, the lawyers also reacted to the judge’s decision to allow the lawsuit against Dapper Labs to proceed. US lawyer Jake Chervinsky noted that “it would be absurd” for a US court to consider assets on private blockchains as securities.. Chervinsky explained that this could turn every major video game developer, ticketing platform, and travel rewards program into an SEC-regulated company.
In the same way, the way the SEC went after Terra also caught the attention of lawyers. On Feb. 17, crypto lawyers took to Twitter to express their views on the SEC alleging that Terra was selling a pool of crypto asset securities.. Web3 attorney Mike Selig explained that anything can be a security under this theory, while attorney Justin Browder described the SEC’s actions as “wild.”
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