Sony: What's good for the goose...

I've read several stories about the incident with Sony basically cracking people's computers in order to protect their intelectual property. For those of you who are not familiar with the story here it is in a nutshell: Sony is concerned that people are illegally copying their music. In order to combat this they have hidden software on some of their music CDs which copies software onto a Windows computer without your permission. This software runs in the background, using resources and slowing your computer. It introduces vulnerabilities which opens your computer to viruses and crackers. Sony claims that they are right to do this in order to protect their rights. You can read more about techie details at CNet News.

I use the Linux operating system for what I do. So I was immune to this issue. People who run MacIntosh or other non-Windows systems are also immune to this. (That may not always be the case, however.)

What I find interesting about this entire situation is that Sony is engaging in the precise behavior and attitude they claim have made them victims. I completely agree that people should not distribute illegal copies of music. But I also appreciate the desire to use music privately in a variety of ways. I may want to mix some of my favorite songs to listen to on a road trip. I may want to have music on my MP3 player. These have nothing to do with stealing music. But Sony argues that the technologies could be used to steal music, and that fact means they should be able to limit my access to them. I claim that I'm using this for legal and appropriate purpose to exercise my rights. They say "tough cookies!" Their rights outweigh mine.

So, what to they do to help enforce their position? They install software without permission onto your computer. The techniques they use are the same ones used to break into computers, send SPAM, steal information and other clearly illegal activities. They're response? "That's not what we are using them for. We are using them for legitimate business purposes to exercise our rights!" But they could be used for illegal purposes. Sure enough, someone has successfully used this back door for an illegal computer virus.

Now, Sony has figured out that they did wrong. They have apologized and begun a series of actions to undo the damage. They are also facing lawsuits for people who feel their rights were damaged by Sony's actions. It will be interesting to see how Sony handles this. If we view their actions throught he same lense that they view their customers, then they shouldn't fight these actions very hard. In fact I would expect them to settle them

I also hope that Sony sees the delicate lines between legitimate use and abuse of technology. They weren't trying to do harm with the technologies they used, but they did. I think a case could be made that what they did was worse than the problem they were trying to solve. I hope that they use this incident as a way to begin finding new ways to work with their customers and new ways to provide their products.

I also hope that artists will look at these actions and consider the cost of their association with organizations like Sony. A large publisher brings a lot of benefit to an artist. But if they are going to engage in this sort of behavior are they doing mor harm than good? Many technologies exist for books, music and other forms of artistic expression to be purchased on-demand. Maybe it's time for artists to have a closer connection to their consumers.