The São Paulo Court of Justice apparently ordered Sony to “unlock” PlayStation 5 consoles that were banned for violating their terms of service.
According to a Metropolis report (translation via ResetEra), consoles that were used to violate Sony’s ToS were basically blocked. Instead of simply banning accounts, Sony made sure that the consoles didn’t work anymore. It is not clear whether this applies only to the PS5 Digital Edition or not. The Metropolis report does not specify whether the two versions of the PS5 were affected in any way, but said that “the device stops working and cannot be used for any purpose” after the punishment.
“It is as if you were accused of violating the terms of use of a streaming service – like Netflix, for example – and were punished for permanently turning off the television, without being able to turn it on to watch open TV,” the legal expert said Metropolis.
In his decision, Judge Anderson Antonucci noted that there was “a danger of irreparable damage or difficult repair” when it comes to removing Sony’s “lock” on consoles. Metrópolis claimed that the decision is “unprecedented” in Brazil, where the PS5 costs about R $ 5,000.
In late November, reports emerged that Sony was actively banning accounts caught exploiting a loophole that allowed users to unlock the PlayStation Plus Collection for potential buyers for a fee. The Metropolis report does not mention whether these consoles were involved in exploiting the breach or were banned for other reasons.
Sony has not yet responded to the decision. We will update our readers when we have more information.
[Source: Metropolis via ResetEra]