Google Deletes Lord of the Rings, Proves "Digital Ownership" Is an Oxymoron

Remember when buying a movie meant owning a movie?

You handed over your money at the brick and mortar store, brought the disc home, and watched it at leisure. Nobody at New Line could barge in four years later and decide your copy was no longer under license.

Now, Google has done the digital equivalent.

A Google customer recently discovered that the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions he purchased in 2022 had disappeared from his digital library.

According to Google support, the films were no longer available in the company’s catalog. The customer was reportedly offered neither a refund nor compensation because the purchase fell outside Google’s 120-day refund window.

Let’s think about what happened.

Read the full post on Substack.

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