– Should clearly be compensated – PressFire.no

(PressFire.no): A few days ago the news came that Sony is withdrawing all video content on PlayStation produced by Discovery.

Not only will it no longer be possible to download the series from the PlayStation Store, but the content will also be deleted from the users’ consoles.

Sony announced the possibility to buy and download movies and TV series in 2008, but the service did not become available in Europe until 2009 and here in Norway until 2010.

At the end of August 2021, however, this possibility was turned off completely on PlayStation – but Sony said that the content was still available and could be downloaded for those who had paid out.

So it is no longer like this.

In total, there are over 1,300 seasons (!) of TV shows being ripped from people’s consoles, and not unexpectedly, the news has been badly received – not just because people are losing this specific content, but on a fundamental level – because who owns digitally downloaded content you have purchased?

To PressFire, the Consumer Council is not gracious when they mention Sony’s role in the whole thing, and says clearly that consumers must get their money back for what they are now losing.

– Here the consumers should clearly be compensated for the content they lose, says senior legal advisor Thomas Iversen to PressFire.

– The message from Sony is concise, unapologetic and completely disclaims responsibility for customers now losing content they have purchased.

Iversen says that his assessment is that Sony is breaking both Norwegian and European contract law when they retain full payment at the same time as they unilaterally withdraw the performance provided to consumers.

– We understand that license agreements can lead to changes in digital offers, but then obviously the consumers must be compensated for what disappears, says Iversen.

– This applies equally even if Sony should have made reservations about the withdrawal of digital services in their agreements.

Iversen refers to the EU’s Act on unfair contractual terms in consumer contractswhich protects consumers from contracts that contain terms that are particularly unfair.

This law specifically states that the consumer must be protected against conditions “which obligate the consumer to fulfill all his obligations when the seller or supplier does not fulfill theirs”.

The law says that, if a contract is deemed unfair, then it is not binding – so even if Sony had made a reservation that they were going to remove the content, this would not give them the option to do so without further ado.

– Those who find that Sony is withdrawing digital benefits that they have already purchased must complain to Sony, recommends Iversen.

– It follows from general contract law that consumers are entitled to reimbursement when the purchased performance disappears. Such cases can be mediated at the Consumer Protection Authority and questions of principle can be dealt with in the Consumer Complaint Committee.