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The Trouble with Gerrold: The Software User Bill of Rights


By David Gerrold


 David Gerrold
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September 1, 2012 —  (Page 2 of 4)
Now, what does any of this have to do with software?

Have you ever read a EULA—an End User License Agreement? Most people don’t. They just click on the “I have read the license and agree to the terms” box. (Me too.)

The EULA is one more way that companies absolve themselves of responsibility. Roughly translated: “We do not promise that this product will do anything useful. Install it at your own risk. If it screws up your computer, you agree you have no right to sue us. We’re not responsible for any mistakes this product makes. By clicking this button, you agree to all of this, plus you give us permission to poke around inside your computer and do whatever we want as long as you don’t find out about it.”

The key clause in the above is that you give up your right to sue. In fact, the latest corporate trick in many industries is a license agreement in which you give up your right to sue. I’m not a lawyer, I don’t even play one on TV, but something about “you give up your right to sue” strikes me as flat out wrong.

Supposedly, the American system of justice guarantees everyone equal protection under the law. Supposedly, the system guarantees a level playing field. Supposedly, the system provides access to a legal avenue for redress of grievances. Prenuptial agreements might be fine for weddings, but not for the purchase of products where the user is entitled to the services he’s paying for, including some guarantee of responsibility on the part of the provider.

Just as some airline passengers have sued the airlines for things like being stranded on the tarmac for nine hours, shouldn’t software customers have some legal recourse as well? Shouldn’t there be a Software User Bill of Rights?

Last time around, I wrote about rude software and used as an example a program that promised to reimage damaged parts of the operating system, but also added ad-based toolbars to my browser and changed my home page and search engine—all without permission.



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