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A Vienna court on Wednesday rejected a damages claim by an Austrian man convicted of plotting an attack on a Taylor Swift concert. He had sued Walt Disney after his family's home address briefly appeared in a documentary about the singer.
The plaintiff, identified only as Beran A., 21, was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison after admitting he planned a terrorist attack on Swift's 2024 shows in Vienna.
He objected to a scene in "The End of an Era," a six-part series about her Eras Tour that streams on Disney+, the company's subscription service. The series covers the cancellation of three Vienna concerts after authorities warned of a plot linked to Daesh, a militant organization.
Judge Nicole Baczak ruled that a concrete danger to the man had not been shown. The court heard that the address was visible for only a few seconds, that the program did not name him, and that neither he nor the building could be identified from the footage.
Reuters reported the court also found that a home address does not merit the highest level of legal protection and that he no longer lived there when the series aired. He was ordered to cover the court costs and was not present at the hearing.
His lawyer, Ulrike Zeller, had argued that his privacy and security were put at risk by exposure "to an audience of millions." She said she would appeal the full ruling, which means the decision is not yet final.
Disney's lawyer, Georg Kresbach, said the footage was removed in May, shortly after the complaint arrived. He added that the plaintiff's parents, who still live at the address, received €3,000 ($3,400) each in compensation.
Beran A. was arrested the day before the canceled concerts and has been in custody since. His criminal trial opened in April in Wiener Neustadt, a city south of Vienna. Austrian media reported that he told the court he wanted to appear as a hero and become famous.
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