Software vendors DeSpArAtE for your data

Opinion

 

When Adobe announced this week that it would access user content via “automated and manual methods” to improve its software, Twitter went nutso. Specifically about section 2.2 [source] of the new license:

"Our automated systems may analyze your Content... using techniques such as machine learning in order to improve our Services and Software and the user experience."

The new ToS [terms of service] were lobbed at users, who, of course, have no choice but to accept the one-sided licensing:

"By closing this window [announcing the new ToS], you’ll be unable to continue using Adobe apps and services."

Well, users do have choice. There are alternatives to PhotoShop, InDesign, Premier Pro, and the others -- even freeware ones -- such as Blender, Gimp, Krita, and Inkscape. In all my work over 33 years, my clients have only ever cared about the output -- PDF, MP4, DOCX, DWG -- and not the software I used to produce it.

So do what I do: use old software that's perfectly good but does not need permission from (and payments to) Big Tech every waking minute in order to keep operating.

The Twitter Resistance

@samsantala: So am I reading this right? I can't use Photoshop unless I'm okay with you having full access to anything I create with it, INCLUDING NDA [non-disclosure agreement] work?

@samsantala: Realising I also need to agree to the terms if I want to sign in and cancel my subscription.

@stretchedwiener: Here it is. If you are a professional, if you are under NDA with your clients, if you are a creative, a lawyer, a doctor or anyone who works with proprietary files -- it is time to cancel Adobe, delete all the apps and programs. Adobe can not be trusted.

@webdevlaw: I say this as half a joke, half not: at some point you'll be better off using a 15-year-old laptop with 15-year-old software, not connected to the internet, not updated, and not snitching on you to 1,200 adtech partners via 'legitimate interest' while scanning your content with AI.

@grummz: Summary of rights is asserting over YOUR work:
- They can review it for content moderation
- They can manually review it (humans)
- They can publish or give it away for free
- They can sell it to 3rd parties (sublicense)
- They can and will use it to train their AI.

@grummz: The Adobe controversy gets even worse. Adobe says they OWN WHAT YOU MAKE. It's not just privacy issue. If you use Adobe software to create works, Adobe claims to have a license to everything you make to use as they see fit. They can even sell it to someone else if they wish (sublicense).

 

@TrevyLimited: They are not valid ToS, though. That's important to remember. Adobe is NOT any © owner and thus has no standing to enforce any ©. So Adobe cannot enforce any "non-exclusive" license. If a © owner sues Adobe, then there's *no defense* because the ToS aren't valid!

@MPECSInc: We keep our content on-premises within our collaborative environment when it comes to Adobe apps and others. So, if they're going to do this, then they're sending content _out_ of our systems.

@robdjuk: Jasc Paint Shop Pro used to be great software back in the day.

- - -

Adobe, so far, seems to be trying to say, Hey, it's no big deal:

@scottbelsky [Adobe Chief Strategy Officer and EVP, Design & Emerging Products]: Welcome to my Thursday morning. Ironically, these are the standard ToS of any major company in the cloud these days, and the changes made were largely immaterial compared to the set launched 11 years ago when it comes to license required and content review (ability to screen for child exploitation on servers, etc).

@scottbelsky: Social media teaches you to avoid people too emboldened by bias and anger. At some point, anger marginalizes reasoning and makes people increasingly indiscriminate about who and what they are angry at.

@scottbelsky: [...] As a company that stores cloud documents and assets for customers, there are probably circumstances (like indexing to help you search your documents, updating components used from CC libraries across your documents, among others) where the company’s terms of service allow for some degree of access.

@Rahll: The word "probably" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, Scott. Being high up at Adobe, you shouldn't be responding to concerns with "probably," you should have definitive answers.

Source: techmeme.com/240606/p36#a240606p36

The CAD Mimicry

CAD vendors watched how Adobe "forced" subscription payments onto its customers, and followed suit. One CAD vendor has already suggested it might change its T&C [terms and conditions] to force customers to give up their private data. 

CAD vendors, like Autodesk and Dassault, have stated they plan to trawl customer files uploaded to their clouds for use in their AI systems. Autodesk boasts it stores 40 petabytes of CAD and other data from customers.

So, it is important to watch what Adobe is doing in this regard, and how it reacts to the user backlash. CAD vendors will mimic it.

 

Comments

[RobiNZ]

In the case of CAD companies, they might just find out what a mess the 'data' their products create is!