this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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Maybe just in terms of their electronics, such as updates and extended services.
I do wonder if things like heated seat subscription in EV's and ICE car's will keep functioning after the company disappears.
Seems like that is ripe for a class action. If a piece of hardware ceases to function if you don't pay a fee but then the ability to pay is denied or removed the hardware should default to functioning. Come on EU, this is right up your alley, let's get some laws made over there so us lowly Americans can benefit!
It's not even a difficult law to pass, "if a cloud service goes out of business, its software becomes public domain. If the company is acquired, the sale must include a promise to keep the services operational for the full lifetime of the product unless the software is public domained"
The difficulty is in explaining what any of that means to the people who make the laws.
The difficulty would be enforcing this when the entity legally no longer exists
Go after the owners of the company, stop letting people hide behind these companies they can start with $100 and 20 minutes online when they commit crimes
I think it’s kind of the opposite direction. Picture a company that exists and is profitable, say a gas station. Eventually they realize how much groundwater they’ve contaminated and that they can’t pay it, so go out of business. They no longer exist. Certainly any bond posted for cleanup will be seized but that’s never enough. Then there’s nothing of value left to seize, nor are their affairs held long enough to determine the scope of the problem. Then by the basic rules of corporations, there’s no one left to sue, to recover from
Sure, if it were a sham company you may be able to legally go around that, but the point is that many legit companies will go out of business, leaving a mess for taxpayers
Probably not. But that's what happens when you buy Things as a Service.