It wouldn't occur to the department manager of a supermarket or the salesperson of a local store to come to your house and rummage through your closet or shelves to retrieve a 4K Ultra HD disc, a Blu-Ray concert disc, a book or a video game that you had bought a few months/years before... Yet this is what has already happened on platforms selling dematerialized cultural products, depriving consumers of a duly paid-for good.
Disappearance of dematerialized content, already several precedents££££
This mishap affected, for example, in 2022, owners of Studiocanal films "purchased" on the PlayStation Store service. They were informed overnight that their purchase(s) had been deleted without financial compensation or the possibility of downloading a copy of the works offline. Amazon's store is also affected by the disappearance of a book from its library...
The American magazine The Verge indicates that to prevent this situation from happening again, the State of California has enacted a new law (AB 2426) requiring online stores/platforms that mention the term "Buy" to clearly specify whether the purchase can be canceled over time or whether there are usage limitations associated with it. To summarize, if today it is necessary to carefully consult the general conditions of sale to obtain this information, they will have to be immediately accessible from 2025.
The floor to Jacqui Irwin, member of the California Assembly££££
"As retailers continue to move away from selling physical media, the need to protect consumers when purchasing digital media has become increasingly important," said Jacqui Irwin, member of the California Assembly, in a press release. I thank the Governor for signing AB 2426, ensuring that false and misleading advertising by digital media sellers that misrepresent to consumers that they own their purchases will become a thing of the past."
It now remains to be hoped that the European Community will adopt the same kind of legislation.
