Audible class action lawsuit: Difference between revisions
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{{IncidentCargo|title=Audible allegedly misleads consumers into thinking they own the audiobooks they purchase|company=Audible (Amazon)|date=2025-08-28|}}location=United States|type=Digital ownership / licensing controversy}} | {{IncidentCargo|title=Audible allegedly misleads consumers into thinking they own the audiobooks they purchase|company=Audible (Amazon)|date=2025-08-28|}}<nowiki>location=United States|type=Digital ownership / licensing controversy}}</nowiki> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Audible markets audiobooks for “purchase,” yet its legal terms state that consumers receive a '''limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license''' to access content rather than full ownership, and that continued access and re-download are not guaranteed.<ref>{{cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=License Agreement |url=https://www.audible.com/legal/license-agreement |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=Audible.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2025-09-10 |title=Audible Service Conditions of Use |url=https://www.audible.com/legal/conditions-of-use |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=Audible.com |quote=As a convenience to you we may continue to make your purchased content available for re-download… we do not guarantee that such content will be available for re-download.}}</ref> | [[Audible]] markets audiobooks for “purchase,” yet its legal terms state that consumers receive a '''limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license''' to access content rather than full ownership, and that continued access and re-download are not guaranteed.<ref>{{cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=License Agreement |url=https://www.audible.com/legal/license-agreement |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=Audible.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2025-09-10 |title=Audible Service Conditions of Use |url=https://www.audible.com/legal/conditions-of-use |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=Audible.com |quote=As a convenience to you we may continue to make your purchased content available for re-download… we do not guarantee that such content will be available for re-download.}}</ref> | ||
In '''California''', the '''Digital Property Rights Transparency Law''' (AB 2426) amended the state’s False Advertising Law by adding '''Business & Professions Code § 17500.6'''. Effective '''January 1, 2025''', sellers may not use terms a reasonable consumer associates with '''unrestricted ownership''' (e.g., “buy,” “purchase”) for digital goods '''unless''' they provide a clear pre-transaction disclosure that the consumer is receiving a license (with a link to the full terms), or obtain the consumer’s affirmative acknowledgment of license restrictions at the time of purchase.<ref>{{cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=AB 2426 (Irwin) – Chapter 513, Statutes of 2024 |url=https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2426/id/2927156 |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=LegiScan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2024-04-02 |title=Assembly Committee on Privacy & Consumer Protection: Analysis of AB 2426 (Irwin) |url=https://apcp.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2024-03/ab-2426-irwin-apcp-analysis.pdf |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=California State Assembly}}</ref> | In '''California''', the '''Digital Property Rights Transparency Law''' (AB 2426) amended the state’s False Advertising Law by adding '''Business & Professions Code § 17500.6'''. Effective '''January 1, 2025''', sellers may not use terms a reasonable consumer associates with '''unrestricted ownership''' (e.g., “buy,” “purchase”) for digital goods '''unless''' they provide a clear pre-transaction disclosure that the consumer is receiving a license (with a link to the full terms), or obtain the consumer’s affirmative acknowledgment of license restrictions at the time of purchase.<ref>{{cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=AB 2426 (Irwin) – Chapter 513, Statutes of 2024 |url=https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2426/id/2927156 |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=LegiScan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2024-04-02 |title=Assembly Committee on Privacy & Consumer Protection: Analysis of AB 2426 (Irwin) |url=https://apcp.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2024-03/ab-2426-irwin-apcp-analysis.pdf |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=California State Assembly}}</ref> | ||