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Canadian consumers are being handed a raw deal by entertainment conglomerate Sony BMG Music Entertainment Corp, according to an Ottawa-based public interest watchdog.
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) yesterday criticized Sony BMG, alleging the company was practicing "double standards" by withholding from Canadian consumers warnings and protections it offered US customers.
CIPPIC executive director Phillipa Lawson said her organization's complaint stems from Sony BMG's efforts to remove from the Canadian settlement key elements that would prevent it from gathering personal data. "Sony BMG regularly sues consumers in the US on the basis of this information, and in the past has tried to do so in Canada."
Several class action suits were filed in Canada against Sony BMG in connection with the practice of surreptitiously planting digital rights management technologies on music CDs, including a "rootkit" technologythat left the users' computer vulnerable to malicious attackers.
An Ontario court approved on Thursday a settlement deal that had the music company offering $8.40, a replacement CD and free downloads of selected CDs to customers who purchased the CDs containing digital rights management (DRM) programs .
CIPPIC contends the Canadian settlement falls short of what was provided to U.S. Sony customers.
"There are clearly some double standards at play. Sony BMG agreed to take a number of steps that protected U.S. customers, but [the company] is not willing to provide the same to Canadian consumers," said Lawson.
Meanwhile, Sony BMG Music (Canada) Inc. issued a statement yesterday simply saying, the company "is pleased that Justice Winkler approved the Ontario settlement."
Lawson told IT World Canada that CIPPIC's complaint filed on Thursday before the Privacy Commissioner's Office demanded that Sony be investigated and fined for "wrongful conduct" and "violation of Canadian privacy and competition laws."
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