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Sony, Ubisoft scandals lead to California ban on deceptive digital goods sales

New California law reminds us we don't own games and movies.

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2426 into law, protecting consumers of digital goods like books, movies, and video games from being duped into purchasing content without realizing access was only granted through a temporary license. Irwin noted that the US has been monitoring this problem since at least 2016, when the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force published a white paper concluding that "consumers would benefit from more information on the nature of the transactions they enter into, including whether they are paying for access to content or for ownership of a copy, in order to instill greater confidence and enhance participation in the online marketplace." It took eight years for the first state lawmakers to follow through on the recommendation, Irwin said, noting that sellers are increasingly licensing content over selling goods and rarely offer refunds for "disappearing media."

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