California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that won’t stop companies from taking away your digitally purchased video games, movies, and TV shows, but it’ll at least force them to be a little more transparent about it.

As spotted by The Verge, the law, AB 2426, will prohibit storefronts from using the words “buy, purchase, or any other term which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good or alongside an option for a time-limited rental.” The law won’t apply to storefronts which state in “plain language” that you’re actually just licensing the digital content and that license could expire at any time, or to products that can be permanently downloaded.

The law will go into effect next year, and companies who violate the terms could be hit with a false advertising fine. It also applies to e-books, music, and other forms of digital media.

  • TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    A good test for that was whether they would allow the inheritance of Steam accounts, but their staff said they wouldn’t.

    • Blisterexe
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      3 months ago

      They just said that because thats what the liscence is non-transferable, it is piss easy to transfer ownership of an account.

      Also dont forget family share