, 2005-11-14
Last month I wrote about a dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and a spyware distributor where the FTC alleged that an End User License Agreement, which essentially told downloaders that they were downloading spyware, was a false and deceptive trade practice. Two events cause me to revisit this issue. First, the FTC has gone after another spyware distributor, and second, Sony Corporation has caused the surreptitious installation of a rootkit-type program to enforce its digital rights management on its music CDs, claiming authority to do so under an End User License Agreement.
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Sony's legal issues
2005-11-14
fatman (2 replies)
fatman (2 replies)
Sony's legal issues
2005-11-15
Anonymous (2 replies)
Anonymous (2 replies)
Sony's legal issues
2005-11-16
Steve (1 replies)
Steve (1 replies)
But what are the consumer's remedies?
2005-11-17
HavaCuppaJoe (2 replies)
HavaCuppaJoe (2 replies)
DELL, I think several years ago (I don't know if they still are doing it) shipped computers whose BIOS had a EULA agreement requirement when the computer was first turned on, essentialy saying ONLY that "You have read the EULA and agree to it's terms, YES/NO" and if you hit NO the computer would not boot. There was NO EULA text available, in the box or on the computer screen. When a security expert called DELL to get a copy of the EULA, he was told he could not get one. He persisted, and finally the legal department returned his call, said they could not supply him with the EULA text, and that he should just click YES because that's what everyone does anyway.
Now - That CERTAINLY CANNOT be an enforceable EULA. Or is it?
There are EULA's which are inside a box, and read something like "By opening this Box, you agree to blah blah". I assume those aren't enforceable. But what about the DELL case?
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/369/32674#32674