Do you read every single user agreement with which you're presented or do you just hurry past and click with abandon to get to your music, video game, or Web site? Most likely it's the latter, but an updated agreement from Sony might cause you to think twice.
As first discovered by The Examiner, Sony updated its PlayStation Network terms of service on September 15 to ban class-action lawsuits against the company.
"Any dispute resolution proceedings, whether in arbitration or court, will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class or representative action or as a named or unnamed member in a class, consolidated, representative, or private attorney general action unless you and [Sony] agree to do so in writing," according to the updated terms.
Users do have the ability to opt out of this agreement, but it must be done in writing within 30 days of the date that you accept the agreement. That opt-out request must include your name, address, PSN account number, and a clear statement that you don't want to resolve any Sony-related issues via arbitration (mailed to 6080 Center Dr., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045).
That option, however, goes back to the issue of whether you read updated terms of service or not. How many PlayStation users are just going to click "OK" in order to get back to their games and not realize they're signing away their rights to a class-action suit?
TechDirt argued that agreements in which users agree not to sue a company are pretty common, though it's debatable how enforceable they are. The ban on class-action lawsuits, however, "seems much more questionable," the blog said.
"Where Sony gets ridiculous is in claiming that this change 'is designed to benefit both the consumer and the company by ensuring that there is adequate time and procedures to resolve disputes.' That makes me think of a two syllable word whose first four letters are bull," TechDirt wrote. "Come on. At this point, everyone knows that binding arbitration between a company and a consumer wildly favors companies."
Gamasutra, however, argued that the update "really seems to be more a case of the collective gaming public getting riled up over something that has little, if any, consequence for them."
Sony is currently facing several class-action lawsuits related to the breach of its PlayStation Network earlier this year. A suit filed in April accused the company of failing to adequately protect, encrypt, and secure its customer data. It seeks damages for the data loss and PlayStation Network downtime.