VitalSource "Lifetime" false advertising: Difference between revisions
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Add "See also" with "Fake lifetime license" |
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|Type=Broken Promise, Deception, Ownership | |Type=Broken Promise, Deception, Ownership | ||
|Description=Five-year textbook licenses are misleadingly advertised as "lifetime" licenses. | |Description=Five-year textbook licenses are misleadingly advertised as "lifetime" licenses. | ||
|Website=https://vitalsource.com/ | |||
}} | }} | ||
[[File:Vitalsource calculus textbook.png|alt=Screenshot of vitalsource' product page for a calculus book|thumb|Screenshot of vitalsource' product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18 <ref>https://www.vitalsource.com/products/calculus-james-stewart-daniel-k-v9798214339221 ([http://web.archive.org/web/20250708171459/https://www.vitalsource.com/products/calculus-james-stewart-daniel-k-v9798214339221 Archived])</ref> - Notice that there is no place that a user can go to read that the license is not a lifetime license. The only item that links to a disclosure page is a "details" link next to "This is a digital license"]] | [[File:Vitalsource calculus textbook.png|alt=Screenshot of vitalsource' product page for a calculus book|thumb|Screenshot of vitalsource' product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18 <ref>https://www.vitalsource.com/products/calculus-james-stewart-daniel-k-v9798214339221 ([http://web.archive.org/web/20250708171459/https://www.vitalsource.com/products/calculus-james-stewart-daniel-k-v9798214339221 Archived])</ref> - Notice that there is no place that a user can go to read that the license is not a lifetime license. The only item that links to a disclosure page is a "details" link next to "This is a digital license"]] | ||
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As of January 2025, VitalSource has updated their disclosure documentation '''but continues to use the term "lifetime" in their marketing, with the 5-year definition disclosed in their terms of service and support documentation'''.<ref name="vitalsource" /> Even though they claim to have complied with the regulation, consumers still must dig further to learn that what is marketed as "lifetime" is anything but. When "180 days" and "1 year" options are chosen, the site clearly and conspicuously displays an ''Expires on: <date, e.g. Jul 5, 2026>'' message on the main webshop page, pushing shoppers to the higher priced "Lifetime" option. When "Lifetime" is selected, that is not replaced with another date (e.g. 5 seconds or 5 years out); instead it is hidden, which is deceptive, the opposite of clear and conspicuous. The "eTextbook License" text is not larger or contrasting, and is marked with only a single ℹ︎ symbol. | As of January 2025, VitalSource has updated their disclosure documentation '''but continues to use the term "lifetime" in their marketing, with the 5-year definition disclosed in their terms of service and support documentation'''.<ref name="vitalsource" /> Even though they claim to have complied with the regulation, consumers still must dig further to learn that what is marketed as "lifetime" is anything but. When "180 days" and "1 year" options are chosen, the site clearly and conspicuously displays an ''Expires on: <date, e.g. Jul 5, 2026>'' message on the main webshop page, pushing shoppers to the higher priced "Lifetime" option. When "Lifetime" is selected, that is not replaced with another date (e.g. 5 seconds or 5 years out); instead it is hidden, which is deceptive, the opposite of clear and conspicuous. The "eTextbook License" text is not larger or contrasting, and is marked with only a single ℹ︎ symbol. | ||
== See also == | |||
* [[Fake lifetime license]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||