VitalSource "Lifetime" false advertising: Difference between revisions
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|Description=Five-year textbook licenses are misleadingly advertised as "lifetime" licenses. | |Description=Five-year textbook licenses are misleadingly advertised as "lifetime" licenses. | ||
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[[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</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"]] | ||
[[File:Vitalsource calculus textbook CA disclosure.png|alt=Screenshot of vitalsource' "details" page [1] that is clickable from the bottom of the product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18|thumb|Screenshot of vitalsource' "details" page <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20250126183825/https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page</ref> that is clickable from the bottom of the product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18 - In the middle of the page it mentions two important points.]] | [[File:Vitalsource calculus textbook CA disclosure.png|alt=Screenshot of vitalsource' "details" page [1] that is clickable from the bottom of the product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18|thumb|Screenshot of vitalsource' "details" page <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20250126183825/https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260128182259/https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page Archived])</ref> that is clickable from the bottom of the product page for a calculus book as of 2025-02-18 - In the middle of the page it mentions two important points.]] | ||
'''VitalSource "Lifetime" Access Controversy''' is in reference to a practice by VitalSource, a large digital textbook & course material provider for college educational markets in the United States, whereby they market some digital products as having ''"lifetime"'' access; while defining this term as a '''limited 5-year period'''.<ref>https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page</ref> | '''VitalSource "Lifetime" Access Controversy''' is in reference to a practice by VitalSource, a large digital textbook & course material provider for college educational markets in the United States, whereby they market some digital products as having ''"lifetime"'' access; while defining this term as a '''limited 5-year period'''.<ref>https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260128182259/https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/articles/28012656781847-CA-Disclosure-Support-Page Archived])</ref> | ||
In addition to VitalSource, eCampus, another company that provides similar services, defines "lifetime" similarly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital Goods Disclosure and Licensing Policy |url=https://www.ecampus.com/digital-goods-disclosure-policy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=eCampus.com}}</ref> | In addition to VitalSource, eCampus, another company that provides similar services, defines "lifetime" similarly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital Goods Disclosure and Licensing Policy |url=https://www.ecampus.com/digital-goods-disclosure-policy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=eCampus.com |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251210083327/https://www.ecampus.com/digital-goods-disclosure-policy |archive-date=10 Dec 2025}}</ref> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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==Regulatory Response== | ==Regulatory Response== | ||
California's AB 2426<ref>https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2426</ref>, effective January 1, 2025, addresses this type of false advertising by requiring companies to:<ref name="ab2426" /> | California's AB 2426<ref>https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2426 ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251129062603/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2426 Archived])</ref>, effective January 1, 2025, addresses this type of false advertising by requiring companies to:<ref name="ab2426" /> | ||
*Explicitly disclose when digital goods are licensed rather than owned | *Explicitly disclose when digital goods are licensed rather than owned | ||
*Clearly and conspicuously<ref>Bill definition: (1) “Clear and conspicuous” means in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language, such as in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks.</ref> communicate access limitations & conditions | *Clearly and conspicuously<ref>Bill definition: (1) “Clear and conspicuous” means in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language, such as in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks.</ref> communicate access limitations & conditions | ||