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Police: Best Buy Let Porn-Poster On Its Network. No Hacking Involved
As a practical and a legal matter, there are issues with the associate-approval method. Given that the smartTVs are designed to receive direct wireless transmissions from consumer-grade mobile devices (smartphones, tables, laptops, etc.), restricting access may be futile. From a legal standpoint, though, at least Best Buy wouldn’t have been making it ultra-easy. Best Buy’s facilitation of this impromptu bachelor party entertainment is what may cause legal headaches.
There’s an even more frustrating legal problem with the associate-approval concept: It might have the opposite of the intended impact. What if a Best Buy employee saw these inappropriate images and decided to approve the display anyway? At least a customer self-serve porno portal leaves the Best Buy attorney wiggle room to argue that the chain had no idea someone would do this. If an associate approved it, Best Buy would be in an even weaker legal position.
It’s similar to the legal problems of people who host parties where alcohol is served. In a series of so-called host liability decisions, the question of whether hiring a professional bartender puts the homeowner host in a better or weaker legal position was argued. Paying for a pro bartender makes the host look more responsible and more caring. That drink-mixer could watch for signs of guests who have had enough and cut them off, while also alerting the host to confiscate car keys of some guests.
But if an accident happened, the bartender’s hiring could make a jury hold that homeowner to a higher standard. That professional should have known that the guest was drunk and stopped him or her. A party where the alcohol was all self-serve might endanger guests more, but it could better enable the homeowner to plead ignorance. If he didn’t know about it, he couldn’t be expected to have done anything about it.
Some of those issues also exist for retailers trying to sell smartTVs. There’s also the ultimately simple resolution: Do as TV displays have done for years and simply show the identical ultra-high-quality video on all of the sets and let customers compare that way. It may not be as impressive, but it’s a lot safer. Then again, the whole point of the program is to boost sales. The idea of seeing your personal videos on this TV—to better judge how it will look in your living room with your content—is a compelling reason to drive down to your local Best Buy.
The legal debate is not entirely different than the debate over reader reviews and whether retailers should approve them before publishing.
Cards issued by European banks when used online cross border don't usually support AVS checks. So, when a European card is used with a billing address that's in the US, an ecom merchant wouldn't necessarily know that the shipping zip code doesn't match the billing code.
-Marc
