Should the FCC be allowed to shut off cellphone and Internet service in cases of public safety? Recently there was an instance in San Francisco where the Bay Area Rapid Transit disrupted cellphone service in order to stop planned protests. Now the FCC evaluating itself to see if it has the authority to take actions in matters that might require communications networks to be turned off. If the FCC is indeed allowed to pull the plug on cellphones and Internet services, it will mark a landmark decision in government jurisdiction over the services of private companies.
An interesting trend on the rise in the world of videogames is the notion that a videogame can be a service. Considering a game as more than a good invokes issues of copyright law and software ownership, which means users may have to accept license agreements similar to those found on computer software before they can enjoy a game. It also means they don’t actually own the game, since they are only licensing it. But how many gamers will think about games in this manner? If you spend your hard-earned money on a video game, it is natural to think that you own it, and that you don’t have to abide by an end-user licensing agreement. I expect some new legislation to be developed in the near future related to video games as services.
The last liability issue I want to look at is when problems arise in the IT field. A study shows that more often than not it is the vendor that takes the blame for faulty IT. Even if internal staff at a facility is the actual cause for the problem, the blame still gets back to the vendor. I think this presents a major problem for manufacturers, as there is no way to account for all the possible misuses of a product once it’s implemented, possible sabotage, or problems that arise from shared materials. It would be in a manufacturer’s best interest to include clauses in a vendor contract that would exempt them from liability in situations not related to the actual functionality of the product.
An interesting trend on the rise in the world of videogames is the notion that a videogame can be a service. Considering a game as more than a good invokes issues of copyright law and software ownership, which means users may have to accept license agreements similar to those found on computer software before they can enjoy a game. It also means they don’t actually own the game, since they are only licensing it. But how many gamers will think about games in this manner? If you spend your hard-earned money on a video game, it is natural to think that you own it, and that you don’t have to abide by an end-user licensing agreement. I expect some new legislation to be developed in the near future related to video games as services.
The last liability issue I want to look at is when problems arise in the IT field. A study shows that more often than not it is the vendor that takes the blame for faulty IT. Even if internal staff at a facility is the actual cause for the problem, the blame still gets back to the vendor. I think this presents a major problem for manufacturers, as there is no way to account for all the possible misuses of a product once it’s implemented, possible sabotage, or problems that arise from shared materials. It would be in a manufacturer’s best interest to include clauses in a vendor contract that would exempt them from liability in situations not related to the actual functionality of the product.
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