Summary

  • A new California law will effectively "ban" digital storefronts from using the words "Buy" or "Purchase" for digital goods that are essentially licenses.
  • Those storefronts will now be required to explicitly inform consumers that they are purchasing a license that can be revoked at any time for any reason.
  • The law comes as a result of companies like Ubisoft revoking access to purchased games, leaving consumers wondering what ownership means in this age.

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When the law goes into effect in 2025, it will effectively ban digital storefronts from using words like "Buy" or "Purchase" when it comes to digital items, including games and acc🅰ompanying DLC, among other items. That is unless those storefronts explicitly inform a customer that they are purchasing a license that is not permanent and can be revoked.

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The law, , comes as consumers have increasingly lost access to digital goods that they thought they "owned." Particularly, the bill is in response to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ubisoft taking The Crew offline🌸﷽ permanently, as well .

“As retailers continue to pivot away from selling physical media, the🌄 need for consumer protections on the purchase of digital 💧media has become increasingly more important," . “AB 2426 will ensure the false and deceptive advertising from sellers of digital media incorrectly telling consumers they own their purchases becomes a thing of the past.”

Do We Own Anything Anymore?

As mentioned above, The Crew's delisting was a major topic among gamers. The servers originall𝓰y went offline in late March, and with the game being an online-only title, copies of the game were rendered unplayable.

Not only were those copies unplayable, but gamers began seeing their "owned" copies revoked from their Ubisoft accounts. In the wake of the backlash, Ubisoft announced plans to create offline modes for The Crew 2, as well as The Crew Motorf🌟est "to ensure long term access to both titles."

Late last year, before a .

Elsewhere, Steam users discovered via a forum response that ܫan account and its library canno🌸t be transferred to another person upon death. Giving your password to someone else to inherit your l🅷ibrar𝕴y .

All of this is to say that digital ownership is an increasingly important topic. California is taking steps to help better define that and inform consumers aheꦏad of purchase, and hopefully, more states and countries can follow.

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