Sony PS3 owners and PSN users have probably seen some news elsewhere regarding the recent PSN Terms of Service update. Qriocity is getting rebranded as “Sony Entertainment Network” and the whole Sony Network Entertainment America Inc. is becoming Sony Network Entertainment International LLC. The updated agreement is included with a mandatory PS3 update. Beyond the usual smaller tweaks of changing particular words and replacing all the previous abbreviations with the new ones, Sony added two new sections to the Terms of Service. You can see the changed Privacy Policy and Terms of Service (.pdf files) for yourself. The two new sections, 15 and 16, in the ToS bind you to individual arbitration, remove your ability to join a Class Action Lawsuit, and determines California as the agreed upon governing law.
To be fair, Sony does include a paragraph note on the first page of the Terms of Service due to the importance of the added sections:
NOTE: THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISION IN SECTION 15 THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND WITH RESPECT TO ANY “DISPUTE” (AS DEFINED BELOW) BETWEEN YOU AND SNEI, SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC., SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC, THEIR AFFILIATES, PARENTS OR SUBSIDIARIES (ALL ENTITIES COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO BELOW AS “SONY ENTITIES”). YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISIONS AS FURTHER DESCRIBED IN SECTION 15.
As you read through the legalese of section 15, you may opt out of the binding arbitration and class action waiver.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THIS SECTION 15, YOU MUST NOTIFY SNEI IN WRITING WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE THAT YOU ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR WRITTEN NOTIFICATION MUST BE MAILED TO
6080 CENTER DRIVE, 10TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045, ATTN: LEGAL DEPARTMENT/ARBITRATION AND MUST INCLUDE: (1) YOUR NAME, (2) YOUR ADDRESS, (3) YOUR PSN ACCOUNT NUMBER, IF YOU HAVE ONE, AND (4) A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH ANY SONY ENTITY THROUGH ARBITRATION.
Wow! What a hassle! I wonder which option Sony wants you to take…
If you want to retain your right to sue and participate in any future class action lawsuits against Sony, you have to send them good ol’ fashioned snail mail with your name, address, PSN account number, and a statement saying you do not wish to resolve disputes with any Sony entity through arbitration. While it sounds like a big hassle, it even sounds a bit intimidating.
To make things easier, a thread started over at Reddit with a Google Docs form letter. You can make a copy of the form letter to your Google account, fill it out, and mail it in. The form letter has since evolved to a fillable form that will then generate a PDF file that you can then download and print off.
If you’d like to retain these class action rights, it just got a lot easier. Fill out the form, print the PDF, and mail it off. It’s recommended that you send the letter Signature Required A) to equally inconvenience Sony and B) for your records should a class action suit ever come up and this change come into question.
Good job, Internet!