Disabling online features in retaliation

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Disabling online features in retaliation is a practice in which businesses deny access to online functionality because the user of a product did not adhere to terms / policies unrelated to the online service. Making the product less useful and less valuable.

How it works

Business may use this practice in a situation where the product has online features that most customers would find valuable, the customer cannot chose the provider for this online service (usually by the same manufacturer as the device) and the business has an anti-competitive reason to enforce restrictions on the product that are technologically difficult to enforce directly.

The product will use some kind of detection mechanism to determine if the customer breaks one of the manufacturers terms and in retaliation disables the online features the customer cared about. As a result the product has decreased utility and (resale) value, harming the customer.

Why it is a problem

Manufacturer directly inflicts harm

The manufacturer has the ability to inflict immediate and direct harm by reducing the utility and value of the product whenever the manufacturer sees fit, based on terms that the manufacturer imposed. Even if the customer has any recourse available, the manufacturer can decide to keep online features disabled during the dispute.

Chilling effect

Customers may refrain from using their product in otherwise legal ways, due to fear of the manufacturer retaliating.

Anti-competitive

Business may use this tactic to force the consumer to buy only first party accessories / replacement parts. Regardless of whether the third party products can be legally put on the market, the manufacturer can still threaten the customer with an online ban. This stifles competition in the product's after-market.

Lack of recourse

Because the online services can't be easily replaced with an alternative provider. Customers don't have a good option to contest a decision or compel the manufacturer to provide them online services, besides taking them to court. The manufacturer may also claim there are no product defects, so warranty claims or refunds for the product may be denied. Especially when combined with forced arbitration clauses, this can make it infeasible for an individual customer to fix or recover the harm inflicted on them.

Perverse incentive to add online features

Manufacturers may design their products with an unnecessary reliance on online features to use it as an enforcement mechanism, rather than adding value to the product.

A screenshot from a video by Scattered Brain, displaying his Switch 2 console being bricked

Examples

Some examples of disabling online features in retaliation include:

• Nintendo Switch 2 consoles disabling Nintendo Switch Online functionality when MIG Switch cartridges are detected.
• Molekule Air Purifiers disabling Molekule Services (required for using the Molekule app) when 3rd party replacement filters are detected.