Oct 05, 2026
Spotify sold the Car Thing, then remotely bricked it and turned it into e-waste.
Spotify sold the Car Thing for less than two years before shutting it down remotely and leaving every unit as e-waste.
Hall of Shame: Documented Anti-Consumer Practices
What Nintendo, Sony, HP, Bambu Lab, Roku, Whoop, and Samsung still control after you have paid.
The entries
Sep 28, 2026
Funimation's shutdown wiped away paid digital copies with no refund and no replacement.
Funimation's shutdown wiped away paid digital copies with no refund and no replacement.
Sep 21, 2026
You buy the tractor, but John Deere keeps the keys: software locks have long barred farmers from making their own repairs.
You buy the tractor, but John Deere keeps the keys: software locks have long barred farmers from making their own repairs.
Sep 14, 2026
Echelon shipped a firmware update that pushes a subscription and bricks your bike unless you stay online.
Echelon shipped a firmware update that pushes a subscription and bricks your bike unless you stay online.
Sep 07, 2026
Your GM car tracked how you drive and sold it to your insurance company, who then used it to raise your rates.
Your GM car tracked how you drive and sold it to your insurance company, who then used it to raise your rates.
Aug 31, 2026
Google remotely stripped the smart features off the thermostat still on your wall.
Google remotely stripped the smart features off the thermostat still on your wall.
Aug 24, 2026
Ubisoft killed a game you bought, even though the PHYSICAL COPY promised access until 2099.
Ubisoft killed a game you bought, even though the PHYSICAL COPY promised access until 2099.
Aug 18, 2026
Amazon took away your ability to own books on your Kindle.
Amazon took away your ability to own books on your Kindle.
Aug 10, 2026
Weber's killing your June oven's app and still selling subscriptions for it.
Weber's killing your June oven's app and still selling subscriptions for it.
Aug 03, 2026
Adobe shut down its servers and quietly shifted away from software ownership.
Adobe shut down its servers and quietly shifted away from software ownership.
Jul 27, 2026
Nintendo reserved the right to kill your Switch 2.
The Switch 2 User Agreement lets Nintendo render the console permanently unusable.
Jul 20, 2026
Sony: your purchased movies are actually a long-term rental.
Sony deletes movies people paid for from PlayStation libraries, and its terms of service say a purchase transfers no ownership.
Jul 13, 2026
HP: your printer rejects ink it doesn't approve of.
HP printers run firmware called Dynamic Security that blocks cheaper third-party ink and toner and ties each cartridge to the first printer it's installed in.
Jul 06, 2026
Bambu Lab: a firmware update locked owners out of their own 3D printers.
A Bambu Lab printer now needs the company's permission to print.
Jun 29, 2026
Roku: a TV that tracks what you watch, then sells you ads.
Roku's TVs collect what you watch for targeted ads, and Roku tested video ads that play before you can reach the home screen.
Jun 22, 2026
Whoop: a fitness wristband that stops delivering your data if you stop paying.
Whoop's fitness wristband won't sync your data without an active paid membership, and there's no button to remove a stored payment method.
Jun 15, 2026
Samsung: ads pushed onto Family Hub refrigerator screens after purchase.
Samsung began showing ads on Family Hub refrigerator screens through a September 2025 software update, months after saying it had no plans for them.
Why this is a law problem
Most of these entries involve a digital lock guarding copyrighted software, and a lock like that sits under Section 1201 of the DMCA, 17 U.S.C. 1201. Subsection 1201(a)(1) makes it unlawful to bypass a lock that controls access to a copyrighted work, even when no copyright is infringed. Subsections 1201(a)(2) and 1201(b)(1) separately ban making or distributing the tools that do the bypassing.
Every three years the Librarian of Congress can exempt narrow classes of uses from the first ban. An exemption expires after three years and has to be re-argued, and the rulemaking has no authority over the tool bans, so a granted exemption still leaves no lawful supplier for the means to use it. FULU exists to reform or revoke this statute.
Every entry lands on the same argument: you paid for it, and the seller still decides what you get to do with it. Most of the locks in these entries guard copyrighted software, and 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1) makes bypassing such a lock unlawful even when no copyright is infringed. FULU's mission is to reform or revoke that statute, and its campaigns are where that work happens. These entries show what the law protects in practice.
If you want this law changed, donations fund the work. FULU is a 501(c)(4). Donations to FULU are not tax-deductible, which is the tradeoff for being able to lobby without a limit.
Nothing on these pages says any company named here violated Section 1201. FULU is not a law firm, and this is not legal advice.
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