Perhaps “laughing stock” is too strong a term here, but after Sony’s strong-arm tactics concerning jailbroken PlayStation 3s — tactics that were upheld via a misguided ruling — the fact that they tweeted the jailbreak code in question, accidentally or no, perhaps it fits.
That’s right. Sony’s official spokesperson, Kevin Butler — the guy in all the PS3 commercials — retweeted what was mistakenly perceived as a Battleship attack coordinates. Instead, the actual tweet contained the necessary code to jailbreak Sony’s flagship console.
Isn’t it ironic? Don’tcha think?
After the ringer George Hotz was put through, courtesy of Sony and its favorable ruling, one can only shake their head in disbelief after discovering Sony’s Twitter gaffe. Naturally, the offending tweet was removed, but again, good luck on getting that genie back in the bottle.
After the tweet was removed, Butler’s account resumed its silly narrative, completely ignoring the jailbreak tweet goof.
Considering the terms of the Hotz’ ruling, shouldn’t Sony have to turn all their computers and literature concerning PS3 jailbreaks over to the proper authorities? Hotz had to turn his over to Sony, so maybe now, Sony should have to follow suit by giving up some more trade secrets — or at least they should have to return Hotz’ materials.
It’s funny how a person like Hotz is vilified by Sony and anti-piracy types for documenting the steps necessary to jailbreak a PS3, but when Sony erroneously follows suit, the intial ruling is not commuted. Granted, it wasn’t Hotz that violated the jailbreak dissemination restraining order, but the fact that Sony publicized the very information it was trying to block should render Hotz’s punishment null and void.
If Kevin Butler operated in the world of college athletics, he would have their Twitter privileges removed for making such an amazing mistake. Considering the disdain his offending tweet showed the Hotz restraining order, perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.
In a just world, one where the rights of the citizens and entertainment industry are equal, that would likely be the result of Sony’s/Kevin Butler’s ignorance. What’s good for the goose (Hotz), is certainly good for the gander (in this case, Sony).