November 20th, 2005
RIAA President: Sony Has Acted Very Responsibly
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
I think Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Cary Sherman must have his head buried in the sand, as he seems to feel the actions of Sony BMG in the (what can only be termed) XCP fiasco have been “very responsible”. He made this statement in a university press round table discussion.
“The problem with the SonyBMG situation is that the technology they used contained a security vulnerability of which they were unaware. They have apologized for their mistake, ceased manufacture of CDs with that technology,and pulled CDs with that technology from store shelves. Seems very responsible to me. How many times that software applications created the same problem? Lots. I wonder whether they’ve taken as aggressive steps as SonyBMG has when those vulnerabilities were discovered, or did they just post a patch on the Internet?” Source: CP NewsLink Transcript: Cary Sherman of the RIAA
We Say: Let’s look at some of Sony’s actions in this story. First, they didn’t mention the XCP technology in their EULA. On November 2nd, the day after the story broke, Sony BMG offered a way to remove the rootkit features from their software. In the statement, Sony BMG said “This component is not malicious and does not compromise security.” Note that this line is now missing from the webpage (it should also be noted, though, that they have since released an updated patch so the site has been updated for that as well).
Let’s not forget the statement made by Sony BMG’s Global Digital Business President Thomas Hesse: “Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?” And of course, there is also the security vulnerability created when using Sony’s uninstaller.
Finally, two days ago Sony BMG revealed that the details of exchange program for XCP protected CDs, in which consumers would receive unprotected CDs and MP3 files in return. This was, as I indicated, the first news from Sony that actually made me feel they had made a decent attempt.
To determine if Sony BMG behaved responsibly, let’s look up the definition of irresponsible. From WordWeb Online, it is “showing lack of care for consequences.” Looking back, I don’t believe anything they did was intentional (short of the actual DRM itself). On the other hand, I still have yet to see a public statement of apology from Sony. If you look at the website devoted to this issue you can search for the words “apology”, “sorry”, “apologize” and “inconvenience” … and not find them. This issue has reached beyond the consumer and into businesses where employees have played the CDs, thus installing the rootkit, as well as uninstalling the software, leaving the systems vulnerable. I think Sony needs to show some remorse, somewhere.
SomeDumbGuy says:
Head in the sand? That’s one possible placement.
November 20th, 2005 at 6:14 pm
John Corliss says:
Rectal-cranial inversion by any other name….
November 21st, 2005 at 4:58 am
Bill M says:
Sony must:
Renounce DRM ‘protection’ (HINT — IT CAN’T WORK. If I can play it, I can copy it.)
Fire, publicly, and with prejudice, the executives responsible for selecting the XCP software
-and-
File a suit against First4Internet and run them completely out of business.
Then I will consider whether I will ever purchase another Sony product of any type. The exchange program is another marketing trap.
November 21st, 2005 at 5:11 am
Chip says:
Quote: “How many times that software applications created the same problem?”
Yep, definite cranial-rectal inversion. It’s [supposed to be] a music cd, not software.
First4Internet are based in the UK. The UK has VERY strong laws against misuse of computers. I think they need investigated, now.
November 21st, 2005 at 8:58 am
Bart says:
is there a email or regular mail address we can send our thoughts to?
November 21st, 2005 at 9:17 am
Mr. Bush says:
“Bownie, You’re doin’ a heckuva job!”
November 21st, 2005 at 9:29 am
1746 says:
And, the “patches” open more holes. The XCP forced installed CD player is apparently liberally “borrowed” open source code without proper licensing…
Props to Michael!
November 21st, 2005 at 9:41 am
lolife says:
RIAA is Wrong Again
The RIAA is defending Sony’s “rootkit” that I mentioned previously. They are wrong, of course, and here is why: this software is installed when you insert an audio CD. If one explicitly installs software, you could defend something like this being i…
November 21st, 2005 at 9:58 am
Peter says:
Basically, RIAA President is saying “Bravo, Sony, for fighting any attempt at removing anything that makes music harder to copy to the very end — so what if the DRM is broken? It’s an early version — I’m sure it’ll be fixed eventually.”
Not exactly consumer friendly, but RIAA is 100% pro music industry.
November 21st, 2005 at 10:23 am
Eric's Blog says:
Different responses to the Sony XCP situation
The first comes from RIAA president Cary Sherman said that sony “acted very responsibly” to the rootkit/xcp situation (As seen here):
“The problem with the SonyBMG situation is that the technology they used contained a security vulnerabi…
November 21st, 2005 at 10:31 am
Anthony says:
It used to be you had to worry about spyware and hacks from installing illegal or cracked software. Now the *legal* software causes as much, if not more, damage than anything else I could possibly run. It’s a shame.
November 21st, 2005 at 10:34 am
tomisblogging.com says:
Sony Rootkit update
I think Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Cary Sherman must have his head buried in the sand, as he seems to feel the actions of Sony BMG in the (what can only be termed) XCP fiasco have been “very responsible”. He made t…
November 21st, 2005 at 10:57 am
Gilbert Baron says:
There is only one response that would gain respect. That is a patch and a remover that will repair this ugly action taken by Sony.
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:30 am
Wizard Prang says:
Sneaky? Yes.
Evasive? Certainly.
Opportunistic? Maybe.
Shameful? Definitely.
It’s hard to see how Sony’s behavior could be considered “Responsible”, since they followed the standard corporate playbook:
1) Deny that the problem exists.
2) Try to discredit those who spotted it.
3) Try to minimize the damage.
4) Offer a “solution” that does not solve the problem.
5) Spin like crazy.
6) Try to turn the solution into a marketing opportunity.
7) Try to settle lawsuits “without admitting guilt or liability” (What’s up with that?)
Responsible? Nope.
November 22nd, 2005 at 6:15 am
martinelli says:
I want some of what he’s smoking. I need to create a public relations disaster for my company of such massive proportions that I can get fired so I can get a vacation.
November 22nd, 2005 at 7:34 am
Ben Oddo says:
What did you expect the irresponsibly greedy executives at the RIAA to say? One lies and the other swears to it. This attempt by Sony to protect its “digital rights” was nothing more than an attempt to crush our rights as consumers to “fair use” by rendering our own equipment unusable.
The individual consumer is not the perpetrator of piracy, sharing is not piracy. Sharing has been in existence ever since the first magnetic tape recorder became a consumer item. Piracy is alive and well in back rooms or wherever hackers break code and counterfeiters make thousands of illegal copies and sell them for profit. They are the ones the RIAA, MPAA and BSA (Business Software Alliance - headed by non other than Micro$oft) should be targeting as pirates.
We need to take up the fight against the RIAA, and the MPAA to preserve our rights “fair use.” In the battle against piracy and to preserve our rights, we as consumers must use the best weapon at our disposal: our discretionary income. We must not support pirates by purchasing illegal copies of music CD’s, DVD’s, and software. Boycott the RIAA and MPAA and those artists who support them in their malicious attacks against consumers.
In a free consumer society such as ours, we as ordinary people have a right more powerful than our right to vote. This right knows no age limit, gender, ethnicity, race, or religion. This is the right to spend our money as we deem fit. To chose who gets our hard earned cash. We must be less impulsive in our purchases and reward those who provide us with the products and services that do not only ourselves the most good but society as a whole.
November 22nd, 2005 at 9:27 am
Joseph says:
Your article stated the following:
I think Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Cary Sherman must have his head buried in the sand, as he seems to feel the actions of Sony BMG in the (what can only be termed) XCP fiasco have been “very responsible.”
My only comment is that the sand you are referring to must be very hard on Mr. Sherman’s hemmroids.
November 22nd, 2005 at 8:19 pm
Jeff Hammerbacher says:
For those of you who are upset by the actions of Sony and haven’t seen this yet, check out this site: http://www.pledgebank.com/boycottdrm. Signing the pledge will make visible your decision as a consumer to only purchase non-DRMed music. Tell your friends!
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