If you have ever installed a piece of software or an app on your computer, the term EULA and Terms and Conditions may have come up. The term EULA is short for the End-User License Agreement which is a legally binding contract dictating how the software is used. Now if you are like me, you just scroll past the walls of text that seemingly has no meaning and consequences. Fortunately for us, our usage of the apps we use is normal, so it often does not break the agreement. Many EULA’s are often agreements promising that we do not modify, redistribute or even reverse-engineer their products.
iTunes License Agreement about development of weapons
This has led to a lot of amusing and ridiculous conditions found in the EULA that no normal user would ever breach. For example, the iTunes EULA has a specific section which states that the user is not allowed to use apple products and services to develop weapons unless given permission by the U.S. government. Another example comes from the game Baldur’s Gate 3 which prohibits the user to creating deals with demons, fey and Eldritch Beings. Amazon has a section in their EULA regarding acceptable use and restrictions of lumberyard material in a zombie apocalypse.
Service goes both ways
What many are familiar hearing about is often Terms and Conditions of the apps we use. Unlike the EULA, Terms and Conditions often dictates what the services will do for us. It is not uncommon to find news about how social media platforms will use user data to sell information. Many social media platforms are notorious for selling user data for advertising and marketing purposes. Back in 2018, The company Facebook, now known as Meta, involved itself with the distribution of user data for political advertising. This brought up the question of the integrity of our private data that we send through social media. YouTube also acts similarly where they will continue to keep deleted content with user permission as well as viewing the user’s browsing history.
Ownership of our Apps
Online games have come into discussion on the internet regarding the ownership of online games. Online games are often accessed through the usage of digital distribution services like Steam, GOG and Origin. Accessing games through the use of distribution services gives more control to the distributor. Steam’s Terms and Conditions allows the distributor to delete a user’s account and their access to their already bought games without refunding their money. This is mainly due to Terms and Conditions Steam has that specifies that customers do not specifically buy games, but instead gain the right to play their games. While other distribution services like GOG specifies that their users own their games without much interference.
Music Streaming services, if one reads the terms and conditions, often specifies that the content that is allowed on their services can also be deleted without reason. This includes services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Our future?
While much of this information may feel familiar to you, we have been using the same model since Netflix and the dominance of music streaming services. I use many of the products that use the EULA and the terms and conditions, and I have come to rely on them to work. With the many discussions surrounding ownership of software versus the license to use the software, it begs the question of who truly owns anything these days.
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