Most companies, like Apple, Microsoft, and Sony who offer vast services like iTunes, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Network, change their terms of services on occasion to address to features while also protecting themselves from competitors and lawsuits. Last year, Sony would do just that for the PSN, introducing a term where users were required to take disputes to arbitration, rather than court. The new clause introduced by Sony is one that is found in most popular services like the ones mentioned above. It goes without saying that most people don’t the many pages of TOS and blindly agree to them and in this case, if you wanted to continue using PSN, you had to adhere to the new rules. This however, didn’t sit well with some users who did actually read the new document from Sony and in true American way, decided to file a  class action lawsuit against the PlayStation maker.

The original suit against Sony claimed that Sony had harmed the user which was quickly thrown out of the court. The ruling held that the plaintiff failed to show to show evidence that Sony had somehow harmed him. The court further went on to say that loss of access to a network service like PSN, is not evidence of harm, due to the fact that the user chose to opt out. This ruling sets a precedent for Sony which will allow them to continue to change their terms of service which I believe every company has a right to do.

Discuss:

Should companies be able to change their TOS as they see fit?

[Via TechDirt]