Charged against Netflix for When They See Us dismissed

A judge in the U.S. state of Illinois has turned down a lawsuit against Netflix and When They See Us creator Ava DuVernay. The two sides were sued by a company that has developed an interrogation technique that burns down in the series.

The company, John E. Reid & Associates, filed suit last fall for the streaming service’s ‘Central Park Five’ show to be removed until statements about the so-called Reid technique were dropped from the series.

When They See Us is a drama series based on the true story of the five, which was improperly imprisoned for years for a rape. In the fourth episode of the show, someone addresses a New York City police detective over the use of the technique. “You got them out of statements after 42 hours of interrogation and pressure, without food, without toilet breaks, without parents,” the character says. “The Reid technique has been rejected worldwide.”

The company saw that statement as defamation and demanded an unknown amount of money in addition to the removal of the passage. However, according to Deadline, the judge ruled that DuVernay and Netflix had the artistic freedom to discuss the interrogation technique in the drama series, and the matter will not be heard further.