Sony's New Terms of Service Prevents Users from Suing the Corporation

Sony's new Terms of Service user agreement, which PlayStation Network users need to sign to access the online service, has seen a pretty big change made, which now prevents users from suing the Japanese company.

Sony's had some pretty major legal trouble after its PlayStation Network online service was hacked and sensitive user data may have fallen into the hands of evildoers, as quite a lot of users grouped together and sued the company for letting this happen to their personal information.

Now, it seems that Sony is trying to protect itself from such actions in the future, as Kotaku has uncovered a major change done to its Terms of Service, now dictating that those who have a dispute against Sony can no longer engage in a lawsuit, instead just settling it through a neutral arbitrator.

"Other than those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause (small claims), you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this Section 15, and not litigate any Dispute in court. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury," the new Terms of Service read.

What's more, the terms of service also prevent users from grouping up together against Sony, as all disputes need to be settled one-on-one with the Japanese company.

In case people want to opt out of these new terms of service, and still access the PlayStation Network service, they need to write to Sony within 30 days of signing the agreement in order to "retain their rights to litigation."

Sony did release a statement about these new terms of service, but it's pretty much what you'd expect from a large corporation.

"This language in our TOS is common and similar to that of many other service related Terms of Service Agreements. It is designed to benefit both the consumer and the company by ensuring that there is adequate time and procedures to resolve disputes," said the company's senior vice president in charge of communications, Patrick Seybold.

What do you think about these changed terms? Are you still going to use the PlayStation Network even if it means you won't be able to take Sony to court?