Originally published January 24 2006
Sony proposes compensation for spyware-affected consumers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The two proposed compensation packages would give customers $7.50 and a code to download one additional album or allow people to download three albums.More than 20 suits have been filed.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has proposed two compensation packages for consumers who bought pre-recorded CDs that contained spyware.
Lawyers for the world's second-largest music label filed a proposed settlement in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Dec. 28.
A judge is expected to rule on it in January.
More than 20 lawsuits have been filed against the entertainment giant after it was discovered that more than 50 music CDs contained a hidden software program that made the user's computer more susceptible to hackers.
Sony had begun including Mediamax software on some discs in 2003 and introduced a similar program, XCP, in January 2005.
As many as 20 million CDs containing MediaMax and 2.1 million containing XCP have been sold.
About 120,000 of the affected CDs have been sold in Canada, including titles by artists such as Alicia Keys, Roseanne Cash, Celine Dion and Van Zant.
The label recalled XCP discs in November and told consumers how to remove the files from their computers.
Sony's proposal is to give consumers replacement discs without the anti-piracy technology, as well as let them choose from one of two compensation packages.
The first one would give consumers a cash payment of $7.50 US and a special code allowing them to download one additional album from a list of more than 200 Sony titles.
The second would allow people to download three additional albums from the list.
The settlement provides for compensation to be paid out as early as mid-January.
According to court papers, the MediaMax and XCP software programs disabled any firewall and anti-spyware protection programs previously installed on the consumer's computer.
Manual attempts to remove the software, which works only on Windows PCs, can disable the PC's optical drive.
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