California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2426, a new law that requires digital marketplaces to make it clear to customers when they are only purchasing a media access license. The law will not apply in cases of permanent offline downloads, only in the more common case of buying digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows or ebooks from an online storefront. saw the development, which could see marketplaces face federal false advertising fines if they don’t use clear language to define the limits of what constitutes access. In other words, you won’t see language like “buy” or “purchase” when the law goes into effect in 2025.
The move to digital outlets has raised similar new concerns about ownership and preservation of media in the modern age. Ubisoft’s move after the game’s servers were shut down is one of the latest examples of how customers can suddenly lose access to media they felt belonged to them. California’s new law won’t stop situations like this The group‘s disappearance is impossible, and will not prevent that loss from harm. But it’s more clear that ownership is a rare and intangible thing in digital media.
Governor Newsom has a busy week. He also signed the federal “” bill yesterday and last week he signed two bills with protections, both living and dead.