California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2426, a new law that requires digital marketplaces to make it clearer to customers that they are only purchasing a license to access media. This law does not apply in the case of permanent offline downloads, but only in the all-too-common situation of purchasing digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows, and e-books from online storefronts. . The Verge noted this development, noting that marketplaces that falsely advertise in the state could be fined if they don’t explain in clear terms the restrictions on access. In other words, when the law goes into effect in 2025, words like “purchase” and “buy” will no longer appear.
The shift to digital storefronts has raised new parallel concerns about media ownership and preservation in the modern era. Ubisoft’s move to remove The Crew from players’ libraries after the game’s servers were shut down is the latest example of how customers can suddenly find themselves unable to access media they thought they owned. This is one of the. California’s new law will not stop events like The Crew’s disappearance from happening, nor will it stop the damage caused by these losses. But it becomes clearer that ownership is very rare and intangible for digital media.
Governor Newsom is having a busy week. He also signed the state’s “click-to-cancel” bill yesterday and two bills last week that include protections against unwanted AI caricatures of living and deceased actors.
