Ron Wyden asks for rules about whether you own your digital purchases

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has sent a missive to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Andrew Ferguson urging the FTC to require that companies admit erstwhile you’re not really buying an ebook aliases video game.

Wyden’s letter, shared pinch The Verge, requests guidance to “ensure that consumers who acquisition aliases licence integer equipment tin make informed decisions and understand what ownership authorities they are obtaining.”

Wyden wants the guidance to see really agelong a licence lasts, what circumstances mightiness expire aliases revoke the license, and if a user tin transportation aliases resell the license. The missive besides calls for the accusation “before and astatine the constituent of sale” successful a measurement that’s easy understandable. “To put it simply, anterior to agreeing to immoderate transaction, consumers should understand what they are paying for and what is guaranteed aft the sale,” Wyden says.

Frequently, erstwhile you bargain integer copies of things for illustration movies, games, music, aliases books, you don’t really ain that point — conscionable a licence to entree it. As a result, you mightiness unexpectedly suffer entree to games because of PlayStation Network relationship bans aliases nary longer beryllium capable to download and transportation Kindle books to your machine complete USB because of an Amazon change.

Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning integer stores from utilizing words for illustration “buy” aliases “purchase” unless they disclose that you’re conscionable licensing the contented they sell, and soon after, Valve updated its Steam checkout screen to statement conscionable that.

“The displacement from beingness to integer equipment presents immoderate analyzable ineligible questions,” Wyden says successful the letter. “One point is clear, however: consumers merit transparency astir their ownership authorities successful integer goods. Guidance from the FTC connected this rumor will thief guarantee that integer equipment sellers are alert of champion practices and that American consumers tin make informed buying decisions.”

We’ve reached retired to the FTC for comment.