Sony Hits a Sour Note

A public relations debacle involving Sony BMG Music Entertainment has sparked the ire of librarians around the country and refocused attention on the issue of copyright protection versus privacy rights.

A software program installed on Sony music CDs last year loaded an undetectable program, called a “rootkit,” on users’ computers that was meant to prevent them from making multiple copies of a song. Soon thereafter, word flashed across the Web that the software made computers vulnerable to hackers, angering consumers, who were also furious that the rootkits had been loaded onto their computers without their consent. Sony removed the CDs from retail outlets, offered consumers replacements, and provided downloads for those who wanted to remove the rootkits.

“We share the concerns of consumers, and we’re dedicated to making the situation right,” says Sony BMG spokesman John McKay.

Yet the controversy remains. On LM_Net, an online discussion group for librarians, some voiced concerns about what many referred to as “spyware,” even while they supported Sony’s right to protect its copyrighted materials.

“Sony is choosing to go against the law-abiding by going after the people who are actually buying the disc,” says Mark Williams, a retired librarian who spent 35 years working at Colton (CA) High School. “They are right. When people copy music it is piracy. But this is my computer, and I don’t want someone putting software on there regardless of the intent without my consent.”

Williams, who helped network his school’s media center with 25 computers and now works as an educational consultant, worries that students may have installed the software unknowingly on a library or classroom PC. “In most districts there are safeguards set up,” he says. “But I’m not sure, and I don’t like that level of uncertainty. Libraries are now dependent on reliable computer systems. And the wrong program could render that vulnerable.”