Sony: Difference between revisions

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Sony was established in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260204161638/https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ |archive-date=4 Feb 2026|access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Sony]]}}</ref> The young company distinguished itself in the consumer electronics market with transistor radios, home video tape recorders, portable audio players called the Walkman, and compact disk players.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony History |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251014201041/https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/ |archive-date=14 Oct 2025 |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Sony]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 1988, Sony acquired CBS Records.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Corporate History |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/company/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260108000436/https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/company/ |archive-date=8 Jan 2026|access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[Sony]]}}</ref> Later, in 1989 it acquired Columbia Pictures.<ref name=":1" /> The company also introduced the home video game console [[PlayStation]] in 1994.<ref name=":1" />

Sony has found itself involved in many controversies in the past, most commonly consumer rights and management of digital content issues. They have included instances such as Sony BMG rootkit in 2005, where copy protection software tracked users in secret and added security holes, which were the target of lawsuits and recalls. Sony has also had run-ins with digital content access, like trying to close down the PlayStation Store on older systems and removing "forever" licenses on Funimation content, which was met with pushback and reversal.

==Incidents==

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

{{Main|Texas Attorney General sues multiple TV makers over ACR user data collection}}

On 15 December 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Sony,<ref name="petition-sony">{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2025 |title=State of Texas v. Sony Electronics Inc., Original Petition |url=https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Sony%20TV%20Petition%20Filed.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260120093757/https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Sony%20TV%20Petition%20Filed.pdf |archive-date=20 Jan 2026 |access-date=January 21, 2026 |publisher=Office of the Texas Attorney General |format=PDF}}</ref> alleging that the manufacturer failed to adequately disclose the data collection capabilities of {{Wplink|automatic content recognition}} (ACR) technology in their smart televisions<ref name="arstechnica">{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2025 |title=Texas sues biggest TV makers, alleging smart TVs spy on users without consent |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/texas-sues-biggest-tv-makers-alleging-smart-tvs-spy-on-users-without-consent/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251228170241/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/texas-sues-biggest-tv-makers-alleging-smart-tvs-spy-on-users-without-consent/ |archive-date=28 Dec 2025|access-date=January 21, 2026 |publisher=Ars Technica}}</ref>. The lawsuit, filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, allege that ACR technology captures screenshots of television displays at frequent intervals and that the resulting viewing data is sold to advertisers and data brokers without meaningful consumer consent.<ref name="txag-main">{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2025 |title=Attorney General Paxton Sues Five Major TV Companies, Including Some with Ties to CCP, for Spying on Texans |url=https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-paxton-sues-five-major-tv-companies-including-some-ties-ccp-spying-texans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260123003535/https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-paxton-sues-five-major-tv-companies-including-some-ties-ccp-spying-texans |archive-date=23 Jan 2026 |access-date=January 21, 2026 |publisher=Office of the Texas Attorney General}}</ref>

|Sony BMG distributed about 20 million discs preloaded with copy protection software that tracks the users listening habits (even if the user did not agree to the [[EULA]]), hides itself, and introduces exploitable bugs. As such it has been classified as a rootkit.

Furthermore, they released an uninstaller tool later that merely un-hides their original rootkit and installs more un-removable software, all while extracting more personal information (e-mail addresses) from users.

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|2024

|After merging Funimation with {{wplink|Crunchyroll, LLC|Crunchyroll}}, Sony revoked all licenses to digital content that had been advertised as "forever" licenses without providing a refund or reimbursement.

|[[Funimation "Forever" Content License Revocation]]

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|PlayStation 3 Removal of OtherOS with System Update 3.21

|2010

|Class action lawsuit, with a $3.75 million settlement in 2018, with people receiving up to $10.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sony sending $10 settlement checks for PS3 “Other OS” lawsuit |url=https://www.gearnuke.com/sony-sending-10-settlement-checks-for-ps3-other-os-lawsuit/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114062814/https://www.gearnuke.com/sony-sending-10-settlement-checks-for-ps3-other-os-lawsuit/ |archive-date=November 14, 2018 |access-date=2025-08-16}}</ref>

|[[PlayStation 3 Removal of OtherOS with System Update 3.21]]

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|2024

|[[PlayStation Network Account Requirement for PC Games]]

|<ref group="Video References">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2VA0eum6w4 ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=I2VA0eum6w4 Archived])</ref>

|2021

|Sony intended to shut down the PlayStation Store on its {{wplink|PlayStation 3|PS3}}, {{wplink|PlayStation Vita|PS Vita}}, and {{wplink|PlayStation Portable|PSP}} consoles, despite many of the content offerings not being available on newer consoles.

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|2023

|Sony intended to remove customers' access to "purchased" Discovery Channel content at the end of their licensing agreements.

==Products==

*[[Sony's WF-1000XM4 earbuds|Sony WF-1000XM4]]

*Sony WH-1000XM5

*[[Sony x900h television|Sony X900H]]

*Playstation

*Playstation 2

==References==

{{Reflist}}

===Video references===

<references group="Video References" />

[[Category:Sony]]