Sony to music owners: Drop dead
Not too long ago I commented on the things users of Pinnacle software and iTunes (among others) agreed to when they clicked “Accept” on the end-user license agreement (EULA).
Taking things a step further is Sony, which makes you agree to a long and disturbing list of things if you want to play its CDs on your computer. Included among them, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is
Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to “enforce their rights” against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this “self help” crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.
There is software out there that will allow you to circumvent Sony’s nasty copy protection so you can use its music in accordance with US law, rather than Sony law. More on that when I can.
(Thanks to BoingBoing for the tip off!)
David says:
After some very careful consideration about music piracy and the music industry’s attempts to quell it, I have concluded the following: SONY CAN GO TO HELL!
I don’t take kindly to anybody who tells me how to use something that I have purchased with my own hard-earned, heavily-taxed, well-deserved paycheck. These music companies want their rights protected; rights they CLAIM are being enforced and enacted to protect the artists whom they represent. The simple fact is that they want to continue to control the music industry, from the fans who listen to the music to the artists whom the fans keep in business by buying their wares. For Sony to come in and expose people to computer hacking, viruses, malware, and other security threats just so they can protect their interests speaks volumes of what kind of company Sony is. With so little as a genuine acceptance of responsibility for this issue, Sony is holding themselves above all of us. I say we BOYCOTT Sony and all products manufactured and distributed by Sony as a form of punitive punishment for their arrogance and their lack of concern for those who keep them in business in the first place. It’s time all corporations realize that they need US; it is not the other way around.