Some Websites claiming to offer low-price legal music downloads but sell software available free elsewhere have outraged the Center for Democracy and Technology—and the civil liberties group wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate those sites.
“We want to see the marketplace for content flourish online,” said CDT president Jerry Berman, announcing the request, which centers around Mp3DownloadCity.com and My MusicInc.com. “In order to sustain businesses offering legal downloads, protect the free flow of information online, and avoid broader anti-piracy measures that could harm the Internet itself, we have to go after bad behavior like these deceptive offers.”
The CDT said in a March 8 announcement that those two sites claim to offer legal downloads of music and videos in exchange for a subscription fee, but actually point users to free file-swap software and instructions on their use to download unlicensed music and other works.
The CDT said to the FTC that those offers are clearly deceptive and violate federal law.
The group complained about a third site, Mp3DownloadHQ.com, which agreed to remove claims that it was “100 percent legal” after the group complained to them directly.
“Buyers beware: many so-called “100% legal” download services are anything but completely legal,” said CDT associate director Alan Davidson. “If used as directed, these services are neither licensed nor lawful and could lead to serious legal liability.
"Many consumers cannot reasonably distinguish between a monthly subscription to Napster.com, where they can download top songs legally, and one of these sites, which give every appearance of being licensed until you get to the fine print,” Davidson continued. “The sites we targeted today prey on honest consumers trying to navigate the confusing new market for legal digital downloads. Their promotions are clearly deceptive, and we hope the FTC takes strong action.”
