Many of us have been in situations where our favorite game or movie vanished from a digital store merely because the licensing agreement between the producer and the digital store ran out. Such cases lift the illusion that we are buying digital media — in most cases, we consumers do not get any ownership over the content. While we are unlikely to get ownership over these digital goods anytime soon, at least one US state wants to ensure that digital stores don’t mislead you into thinking you do.

California has signed a Consumer Protection bill into law that specifically targets such false advertising for digital goods. The law prohibits sellers of digital goods from using terms like “buy,” “purchase,” and other such terms if they give the illusion of unrestricted ownership when, in fact, the consumer would not own the digital good in any way. If the digital store wants to use such terms, it will need to make it clear to the buyer before each transaction that they are merely getting a license to enjoy the digital media and not getting ownership rights over it. The new law won’t apply to digital stores that offer “permanent offline” downloads.

The law comes as a direct response to companies shutting down servers for purchased online-only games, leaving consumers who “bought” the games stranded without recourse.

Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who tabled the Consumer Protection bill before the California State Legislature, said in a statement:

As retailers continue to pivot away from selling physical media, the need for consumer protections on the purchase of digital media has become increasingly more important. AB 2426 will ensure the false and deceptive advertising from sellers of digital media incorrectly telling consumers they own their purchases becomes a thing of the past.

So, if you are a consumer who lost access to your digital media purchases through no fault of your own and live in California, you can look forward to this law coming into force on January 1, 2025.