Topic: consumer rights
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Stop Killing Games: A Consumer Revolt Reshaping Digital Distribution
The "Stop Killing Games" movement highlights a consumer rights issue where always-online games can become permanently unplayable after server shutdowns, challenging the notion of what players actually own when they purchase a license. Current consumer protection laws offer little recourse for pla...
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Stop Killing Games joins Sony lawsuit over PlayStation Store pricing
Stop Killing Games and DoesItPlay are backing a legal challenge accusing Sony of running a digital monopoly on the PlayStation Store, which allegedly harms players and developers through restrictive, costly policies. The lawsuit argues Sony's control over distribution stifles competition, limits ...
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Aliens: Fireteam Elite vanishes from Switch, no refunds offered
The Switch version of "Aliens: Fireteam Elite" has been removed from the Nintendo eShop due to expiring licensing agreements, with no refunds offered to existing buyers. Nintendo’s policy treats digital purchases as final, so affected players can only access the game if they still have it downloa...
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Data Brokers’ Opt-Out Forms Fail Purposefully, Report Finds
A new EPIC report finds major AI vendors, defense contractors, data brokers, and dating apps use manipulative design to hinder consumer opt-outs from data sales, including hidden links and requiring multiple forms or paid subscriptions. Companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI fail to provide clea...
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U.S. State Privacy Laws: Your Essential Guide
The U.S. lacks a unified federal privacy law, creating a complex patchwork of state regulations that businesses must navigate, with common consumer rights but differing scopes and obligations. Key state privacy laws, such as those in California, Virginia, and Colorado, set specific thresholds for...
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Take Back Control of Your Online Shopping Data
Online shopping involves extensive collection and sharing of personal data, often without full user awareness or consent, posing significant privacy risks. Data is frequently stored indefinitely and shared with third parties, increasing exposure to breaches, misuse, and targeted scams, as seen in...
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Sony Deletes Purchased Digital Content, Highlighting You Don’t Own It
Sony will remove 551 StudioCanal films and shows, including popular titles like "Paddington" and "Terminator 2", from UK PlayStation users' digital libraries starting September 1, citing content licensing agreements. This follows a pattern of Sony removing digital content, including 314 StudioCan...
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Microsoft Makes Last-Minute Windows 10 Lifeline Deal
Microsoft will provide free extended security updates for Windows 10 to consumers in the European Economic Area, reversing its initial paid support plan after the 2025 end-of-life date. This policy change follows pressure from Euroconsumers, who argued that paid support violated the EU's Digital ...
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Physical games face a bleak future
Physical game ownership is declining sharply, with major publishers like Capcom reporting 93% digital sales and Sony planning to stop producing physical PlayStation discs by 2028. Rockstar Games' upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI will ship its physical version with a download code instead of a disc, a...
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New GOP privacy bill may be worse than no standard
The SECURE Data Act, a new Republican proposal, would create a federal data privacy standard that preempts stronger state laws like California's, potentially weakening existing protections for millions of Americans. While the bill introduces some new safeguards, such as requiring opt-in consent f...
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Anthropic Faces Class Action Over Alleged Misleading of Power Users
A class action lawsuit alleges that Anthropic misled high-volume users about the Claude Max plan’s capabilities by marketing dramatic usage multipliers while obscuring restrictive weekly limits in fine print. The complaint, led by former FTC officials, argues that these hidden constraints make th...
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Better Data Starts With Treating People Like People
Modern data collection prioritizes volume over accuracy, creating detailed but often incorrect profiles that users cannot inspect or correct, which undermines genuine customer insight. Companies like McDonald’s use loyalty programs to build extensive predictive dossiers on consumers, far exceedin...
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Honda Manager Demands Date, Adds $10K After Customer's Refusal
A viral video exposed a California Honda sales manager pressuring a female customer for a date and adding a $10,000 markup after she declined, highlighting severe unprofessional conduct. This incident reflects a longstanding pattern of gender bias in auto sales, documented by studies showing wome...
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Phantom Blade Zero Showcase Disrupted by Disc Protesters
Sony kept live chat open during the Phantom Blade Zero State of Play, which was flooded with "no disc no buy" complaints after the game was confirmed as digital-only, with no physical edition planned for its October 29, 2026 release. The backlash highlights global disparities in physical media re...
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Ross Scott on Stop Killing Games movement: live discussion
Ars Technica is hosting a live conversation with Ross Scott, creator of the Stop Killing Games campaign, on August 11, 2026, to discuss the growing problem of game preservation and whether regulation can solve it. Scott launched the campaign in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, and his initi...
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Ubisoft Gives Free PC License with Xbox Game Purchases
Microsoft and Ubisoft's offer provides a revocable license, not a true purchase, meaning games can be removed from libraries without refund, as seen with "The Crew". The "free" PC license requires buying an Xbox game and is locked to Ubisoft Connect with mandatory online DRM, preventing offline p...
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IAB Tech Lab Advances Privacy with GPP & DDRF Updates
The IAB Tech Lab has updated the Global Privacy Protocol (GPP) to include new state-level privacy laws and will transition to a twice-yearly update schedule starting in 2026 for better predictability. The Data Deletion Request Framework (DDRF) V2 introduces standardized formats and security measu...
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PS5 Players Unplug Consoles in Protest as Blackout Begins
PlayStation 5 owners are physically disconnecting their consoles to protest the industry's shifting stance on game preservation and the potential loss of access to digital libraries. Physical media does not guarantee lifelong ownership, as hardware decay, port incompatibility, and lack of backwar...
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Gamer Refunds Battlefield 6 After 470 Hours Following Removal of Game Modes
A Battlefield 6 player received a full refund from Steam after 470 hours of playtime, citing frustration over the removal of multiple game modes, including their most-played mode Rush, which they refused to accept. The refund was granted after the player contacted Steam support and linked the off...
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EU Fines Google $1 Billion for Prioritizing Its Own Search Services
The European Commission fined Google $1 billion for violating the Digital Markets Act by abusing its dominance in EU search and app store markets, and ordered it to stop prioritizing its own services in search rankings. Google must also allow app developers to communicate and transact with users ...
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