A lot of people were fairly angry when Sony included a clause in their updated Terms of Service that prevented them from pursuing a class-action lawsuit against the company. Even more people were angry when that led to companies like EA and Microsoft doing the same in their Terms of Service. One of these people has decided to stand up and not take it.
A man from California is suing Sony on the behalf of all users who signed up before the TOS change. His argument is that the company changing the terms after so many people had bought the console with the old terms and denying PSN service to those who refuse to agree is unfair. He also believes that the company's decision to bury the clause and not allow any other means of opt-out except snail mail is at fault.
Well, we had to see this coming. I had a feeling from the start of all this that someone out there with enough time and money on their hands would decide not to accept the TOS and sue Sony for the sakes of everyone. I applaud the guy for taking the plunge but I can't help but wonder how worthwhile it may be. I don't see Sony, Microsoft, and many other companies including such a clause without being sure it was legal to do so. Sony may take a hit for the other parts of the suit (not too clear on legal matters so I don't know) but I wouldn't be surprised to see the clause stay in.
Terms of Service agreements aren't really taken seriously enough and both sides are at fault. On one hand, the companies make these agreements extremely hard to read, using legal jargon and unending paragraphs to deter potential readers. As for the people agreeing to these terms, most of them don't even bother to ever read one of these agreements, a tact that rarely works out well in life. Both sides need to adapt to ensure Terms of Service don't get even more out of hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment