Can you believe we're still reporting on the old rootkit debacle? The latest bit of news relating to the dodgy DRM that SonyBMG installed on a string of North American CD releases is that the major has settled with two US states in legal action pursued against them by those states' Attorney Generals.
Texas was the state that took the most proactive interest in the major record company's use of the rootkit technology, which was designed to stop people from ripping and sharing music from the CDs on which it was installed. As previously reported at length, the technology proved controversial because it automatically installed itself on users' computers, then made those machines more susceptible to virus attack, and was then more or less impossible to de-install until the major subsequently released an extra bit of 'de-install' software (which they only did after the shit hit the fan in PR and legal terms).
Although SonyBMG quite quickly realised that they'd fucked up big time in using the dodgy technology, and then instigated measures to compensate those customers affected by it, legal action was launched against them, both by individual customers and, in Texas, by the State, on the grounds the major had breached the duty of care it owed its customers and their PCs. The individual lawsuits quickly became a class action, therefore representing anyone who had bought one of the 'infected CDs', and that action was resolved earlier this year when the courts approved a settlement by the major that was more or less the compensation package they had already made available to affected customers.
But the litigation against them in Texas was unaffected by the resolution of the class action, and negotiations between the major and the Texas Attorney General continued until this week when the case was settled with SonyBMG agreeing to pay $750,000 in compensation, and to put any future DRM technologies used on CDs through a third party audit before releasing them in the public domain (not that SonyBMG are especially likely to use such technologies, given the PR nightmare rootkit proved to be). That settlement will enable anyone in Texas who was affected by the dodgy CDs to claim $175 in compensation to cover the cost of PC repairs, over and above any settlement they have already received from SonyBMG as a result of the aforementioned class action.
But it doesn't end there. Other States have also been investigating the rootkit affair, and with a deal having been done in Texas they will probably now seek a similar settlement within their own jurisdiction. To that end the Attorney General in California launched his own legal action against the major on Tuesday, which was resolved almost immediately in line with the settlement in Texas, and with SonyBMG handing over another $750,000.
With a dozen more States now reportedly considering taking action over the rootkit issue, SonyBMG may well be writing out a lot of $750,000 cheques in the coming months. Which should remind everyone that when IT people come along with some neat trick to help you cling on to an outdated business model, it's probably a better idea to find a new business model.