Sony Apparently Issuing Takedowns To Facebook For News Articles About PS4 Slim Leak

from the why? dept

Recently, Sony had let it be known that it would soon be announcing some new offerings for its PlayStation 4 console. While most of the media coverage had focused on what is suspected to be a new, more powerful version of the console, a leak this week instead revealed a different console offering, consisting of a newly slimmed down form factor PlayStation 4 with a slightly redesigned controller. As an owner of a PS4, I can join others' interest in this design, with the original console being somewhat bulky. I can also join others in having only a mild bit of surprise as a reaction, given that Microsoft had already announced a slimmed down version of its Xbox product, and given that Sony has done this with previous versions of the console as well.

But I was slightly surprised to learn that Sony has apparently been setting its lawyers on spooking gaming media sites and taking down news articles from social media accounts about the leak. Reports of the latter have just started coming in.

Now, Forbes has an annoying restriction on access to its site if you are sensibly using an ad-blocker, so I won't include the link for which the takedown was reportedly issued. That said, the post references the work Eurogamer did in visiting the leaker of the image to confirm the console is for real (it is), as well as generating its own image and even video of the console working for its story on the leak. But if you go today to the Eurogamer post about the leak, the video has been replaced by the following update.

UPDATE, 7.30pm: Upon taking legal advice, we have removed the video previously referenced in this article.

Left unsaid is whether or not any contact had been made by Sony with Eurogamer, thus prompting this "legal advice," but one can imagine that being the case, particularly given Sony's threats to social media users sharing images and reporting of Sony leaks and, more to the point, threats against any media that might report on those leaks. One can understand why a gaming website might blanch in the face of Sony's legal hounds, but it's still disappointing to see the tactic work.

Which brings us to this very moment. I imagine that the entire point behind these legal threats was to keep the news of a slimmed down PS4 from spreading prior to its official announcement. But, thanks to the Streisand Effect, here we are talking about it anyway, while simultaneously discussing the attempted coverup and questionable threats to fans and media that Sony has undertaken. So...mission accomplished?

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Filed Under: journalism, playstation, ps4, takedowns
Companies: sony


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  1. identicon
    Anonmylous, 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:04am

    This just in....

    Breaking News: Japanese electronics manufacturer makes smaller, lighter version of existing electronic device. Film at 11.

    In other news, water is still wet and the sky on a clear day is still blue.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Roger Strong (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:08am

    Sony: Where the Osborne Effect meets the Streisand Effect.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    DannyB (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:20am

    Is the DMCA being used for this?

    That seems a bit unclear, perhaps because it was simply expected to be understood to be the weapon of choice for censorship.

    From that tweet: "Sony issued a takedown . . ."

    So I will assume it is DMCA.

    Can Sony identify what copyright is being infringed?

    This is once again why the DMCA must either be abolished, or significant penalties need to be added to it for misuse.

    You would think that a company that owns so much IP that is under Copyright would understand both Copyright and the DMCA.

    But I guess they do understand it in a way. Copyright and the DMCA are about censorship. First and foremost.

    And SOPA is the proof of that.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    TheResidentSkeptic (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:21am

    And Sony gives us

    one more reason to buy a steam machine.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    Roger Strong (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:33am

    Re: Is the DMCA being used for this?

    Even if the DMCA were the proper suppression tool within the US, it wouldn't apply to the Eurogamer article.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    TechDescartes (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 11:37am

    Mission Accomplished

    But, thanks to the Streisand Effect, here we are talking about it anyway, while simultaneously discussing the attempted coverup and questionable threats to fans and media that Sony has undertaken. So...mission accomplished?
    Absolutely: "here we are talking about it anyway". Otherwise, the news cycle would have moved on from "slim PS4" to something else. Instead, it's moved on to "slim PS4 coverup?", sure to be followed by "slim PS4 coverup confirmed". Three news cycles for the price of one, so yes, mission accomplished.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Aug 2016 @ 2:12pm

    Re: Mission Accomplished

    Three news cycles for the price of one, so yes, mission accomplished.
    Once upon an era… cutting-edgy network-savvy guerrilla marketeers sailed the fibrous wavelengths, hyper-leveraging the Streisand effect into monetization.

    But now, lately, trolling the base has lost all its cachet. It's just old.   Sad!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    Padpaw (profile), 23 Aug 2016 @ 3:27pm

    A bully by any other name

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Norahc, 23 Aug 2016 @ 3:48pm

    Marketing techniques

    Maybe one day people and companies will learn that the Streisand Effect is NOT a good marketing plan.

    But until then popcorn futures seems like a good investment.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Aug 2016 @ 7:49pm

    Re: Mission Accomplished

    Just as I was thinking. This could very well be a publicity stunt. Sony marking thought ... gee, how could we utilize the Streisand Effect to our advantage. They figure they could issue a bunch of false legal threats and it would spread news of their new product out further and faster. and it worked ... even Techdirt played right into it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Aug 2016 @ 10:03pm

    Sony?

    This is the same Sony that said back on '05, "Most people don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

    Who's still stupid enough to give these fucking criminals money for software or gear or listen to ANYTHING they have to say?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Michael, 24 Aug 2016 @ 5:36am

    Re: Re: Mission Accomplished

    If Sony really had people that slick in their marketing group, they should put them in charge of product development. Instead of slimmer consoles they might just make a better one.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2016 @ 6:40am

    Re: Sony?

    PS3 was such a disaster that they actually made the PS4 into something halfway not-terrible.
    Then Microsoft decided that rather than build on all the goodwill they'd built up for the XBox 360, they would instead detonate that, and set the remains on fire.
    So at the moment in the world of consoles an awful lot of people have swung Sony's way.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2016 @ 7:59am

    Re: Re: Re: Mission Accomplished

    It wouldn't surprise me if Sony was the one that released the leak with the intent of sending legal threats to those that discussed it so that the Streisand Effect can spread news of their product even more.

    "This product is so popular that we can't get people to stop talking about it. Even with legal threats. If you want to know what all the fuss is about buy it when it gets released and you won't be the one left out when everyone else has it."

    Clever marketing

    link to this | view in thread ]


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