Sony deletes more movies from the accounts of people who 'bought' them

Sony is removing hundreds of movies and television shows from the PlayStation Store libraries of customers in Germany and Austria due to a licensing agreement fallout with distributor StudioCanal, according to a notification posted online this week. The notification, shared by an X user identified as somatyk and reproduced on the PlayStation website, states the purchased content will be deleted from accounts on September 1. A list of 551 affected films and TV series accompanies the warning. The message concludes with a link to the full list of titles and a thank you. The source said this marks the third such incident involving Sony digital purchases. In 2022, German and Austrian users lost access to hundreds of movies following evolving licensing agreements with StudioCanal. In 2023, U.S. customers lost hundreds of TV show episodes after Sony ended its licensing agreement with Discovery following the Warner Bros. merger. The source noted that no refunds or recompense were offered in previous instances. The source argued the practice highlights a systemic issue where consumers believe they are buying permanent ownership but are actually acquiring revocable licenses obscured by terms of service agreements. The source suggested government consumer protection agencies have been weakened and predicted the issue will likely recur without regulatory action or mandated transparency at the point of sale.