Eh? Who the fuck was saying big boxy appliance can kill you when they want to and get away with it? Are there parts of America where Maximum Overdrive is real? The whole point of that spiel was to illustrate that such traditional items have static agreements that aren't dynamic or are updated when it conveniently suits the manufacturer, in this case Sony who at a whim can seemingly do whatever they want with the ps3 you paid for.
Getting mad over Xcom or some weirdo Spiderman game is one thing, but it amuses me at how apathetic people are when it comes to their consumer rights on physical goods they purchased. Trying to boycott any corporation is kind of fruitless given the wide array of products any one entity offers for consumption. Just look at the available infographics detailing the pots Monsanto, BP, Koch or Fox have their hands in and good luck trying to avoid their products in your daily life...When a situation demands it a messy 'useless' class action suit is one way to hit a business for wrong doing in which they will feel the consequences of any malfeasance. Even if it amounts to some piddly $5 dollar coupon for shitty dlc or avatar item - the executive(s) responsible at the end of the year will have to answer to the shareholders on why they paid out a settlement.
The wholesale nuking of consumer rights via
forced arbitration undoubtedly will favor Sony. It doesn't matter what financial advisor you subscribe to (Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, Rob Black, or Clark Howard) the common pattern when hearing the forced arbitration stories on their radio/tv shows for the past decade is that of having the deck stacked against you in a setting separate from the legal system, that tips the table in the corporations favor.
Quote:
from the linked site:
In arbitration, there is no judge, jury or right to an appeal. The arbitrators do not have to follow the law, and there is no public review of decisions to ensure the arbitrator got it right. Moreover, contracts typically name the arbitration that must be used – the one preferred by the company.
Forced arbitration frequently costs more than taking a case to court, and can cost thousands of dollars. Individuals often have to pay a large fee simply to initiate the arbitration process. Then in order to arbitrate, individuals sometimes have to travel thousands of miles on their own dime. In the end, the loser (usually the individual) often pays the company’s legal fees.
Forced arbitration strips our most basic rights and makes many employee and consumer protections unenforceable. The laws that protect us from discrimination based on age, sex, religion, race, disability, and unequal pay for equal work, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act, become meaningless and unenforceable in arbitration. Employees lose important protections for blowing the whistle on waste or fraud or for fighting retaliation for taking the family medical leave, for example.
Consumers cannot sue for negligence, defective products or scams. Even if a retirement account disappears, a home is dangerous and defective, or a loved one suffers harm in a nursing home, a forced arbitration clause means there is no right to take the company responsible to court.
