Sony has added an arbitration clause to its newest Terms of Service (ToS) documentation, which prevents any future class-action lawsuits and the move leaves many gamers with little choice, forcing them to accept their loss of rights or leave the PlayStation Network (PSN). Customers who want to give notice of a dispute are told to do so in writing, offering Sony the chance to resolve the matter through informal negotiations and customers can opt out of forced arbitration, if they submit the exemption in writing to Sony within 30 days of accepting the revised terms………………
Sony is preparing to ban gamers from the PlayStation Network (PSN) unless they waive the right to collectively sue it over future security breaches and has amended PSN‘s terms and conditions and also users have to agree to them next time they log in. The move comes months after a string of hacking attacks compromised over 100 million accounts of the PlayStation Network subscribers and it is possible to opt out of the agreement within the next 30 days. Gamers will now have to try to resolve any legal issues with an arbitrator picked by Sony, before being able to file a lawsuit. The new clauses, dubbed Binding Individual Arbitration, state that, any Dispute Resolution Proceedings, whether in arbitration or court will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class or representative action or as a named or unnamed member in a class, consolidated, representative or private attorney general action. he re-written terms and conditions are being presented to gamers when they log in, but some have questioned who will notice the changes. Those that want to opt out will have to send a letter to Sony’s Los Angeles headquarters in the US. The subscribers will be able to keep their right to file a class action lawsuit without any need for arbitration. But before subscribers have a chance to opt out, they will still be required to agree to the new terms the next time they log into their accounts. Otherwise they will not be able to use the online services.
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