SONY BMG is selling spyware?!

[Doramius]

I'm telling you, I can't tell whether they are trying to help people pirate or block out pirating altogether. Honestly, wouldn't (or shouldn't) their legal department tell them whether or not they could place software like that on their CDs? And did they not think people were going to notice the software right away? It's almost blatent for them to do this. Again, I think either Sony is up to something big to accomodate a certain level of piracy or they are playing chess and distracting the system while something way huge comes into play and they totally heinously restrictive in a legal way.


Its all a conspiracy, I tell you.

Texas sues Sony over spyware



Knight Ridder - Monday, November 21, 2005

The Dallas Morning News

By Christy Hoppe

AUSTIN, Texas _ The state of Texas filed suit against Sony BMG on Monday for hiding spyware in music CDs that, when played in a computer, can leave the system sluggish or vulnerable to outside viruses.

In recent months, the music company introduced the XCP technology on CDs by 52 artists _ including Frank Sinatra, Pete Seeger and Cyndi Lauper _ that was designed to deter piracy. The software stopped a CD from being copied more than three times.

Since bloggers discovered the hidden files, Sony BMG has been hit with a firestorm of criticism and in the last week has recalled millions of CDs and promised consumers either full reimbursement or replacement.

"Sony BMG deeply regrets any inconvenience to our customers and remains committed to providing an enjoyable and safe music experience," the company said.

Sony already had been hit with class-action suits in California and New York, but Texas became the first state to sue under a new consumer protection law that went into effect Sept. 1.

"Today is the day when the long arm of the law catches up with new technology that turns out to be bad," Attorney General Greg Abbott said.

He said that despite the recall of CDs, checks with music shops around the state show that many of the affected titles are still on store shelves.

"People buy these CDs to listen to music. What they don't bargain for is the computer invasion that is unleashed by Sony BMG," Abbott said.

A spokesman for Sony said Monday that the company will not comment on pending litigation, "However, we are fully cooperating with the attorney general."

The CDs operate normally in a CD or DVD player, but when plugged into a computer, the consumer is told that he or she must download a Sony music player to listen. The CD then launches a series of files that collect information from the computer without telling the user.

The new files also are hidden so that even sophisticated computer users would have difficulty locating and removing them.

The files can cause sluggishness in a computer system and could be used to send back information to Sony regarding the consumer's listening habits. Outside viruses could also hide behind the XCP cloaking system.

Abbott called the system a technological "cloak and dagger."

"First they hide on your computer secret files, and then they stick it to you by causing lasting damage to your computer and making your computer vulnerable to things like viruses, spyware and even Internet-based crime," he said.

The company has created a patch available online that uncloaks the hidden files, but it is still working on a program that can successfully uninstall the files from computers.

Under the lawsuit, the state will seek millions in damages on behalf of consumers. The attorney general's office also said it will add a provision to the suit, under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, that could allow consumers damaged by the product to seek compensation.

Consumers are only now beginning to learn of the problem, said John Kunz, owner of Waterloo Records in Austin.

"I suspect the word isn't out there very well," Kunz said. "The Texas AG's lawsuit is going to get it on a lot of people's radar."

He said his record store reacted to the recall by pulling all the affected titles on Thursday.

Kunz said he hopes this snafu will not make people wary of buying CDs. "It took Sony a little longer to react than I would have liked, but they've done the right thing," he said.

___

(c) 2005, The Dallas Morning News.

[greymalkin]

phew...this is really sort of an old topic thats been in the "headlines" of this site for quite some time...

[Doramius]

True. In general, it's old. However, the fact that Texas has filed a full lawsuit against Sony, now that's new.

Don't Mess With Texas!

[Richie V]

You're a day late.