Los Angeles
– A class action lawsuit has been filed against Sony (NYSE: SNE), over its intention to
disable the ability of PlayStation 3 owners to run Linux and other operating
systems on the game consoles.
Sony announced in late March that it would
eliminate the feature with a firmware update, saying at the time that its move
"will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the
broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners
on a more secure system."
Such modified PS3 consoles have been used by
researchers to create distributed computing projects, and by hobbyists to
create applications and games.
The lawsuit accuses Sony of breach of contract,
breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and unfair and deceptive
business practices.
"Consumers should not have to sit idly by when the
devices they have purchased are retroactively downgraded without their consent.
We look forward to seeing how this lawsuit turns out," the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties group, said in a statement.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w15v7
(EFF statement)
http://snipurl.com/w15vh
(DMW previous coverage)
