In a move that could be considered as a major PR blow to music copyright protection, Sony-BMG has decided to halt production of their XCP-encoded (or Extended Copy Protection) CDs, recall existing ones from store shelves and will exchange any crippled CD with a CD free of copy protection technology at no charge due to a hidden Spyware applet that sends user data to Sony. For those who want to know the specifics while not getting too technical, here is an explanation of the XCP issue (provided by Slyck.com):

The rootkit cloaks the XCP copy protection scheme created by First4Internet. This discovery causes an outrage for several reasons; namely Sony-BMG did not disclose the existence of the product, the clandestine nature of the product, and the damage caused if one attempted to remove the rootkit. In addition, it was revealed the Sony-BMG media player “phones home” with information. Although the information appears harmless, it is not mentioned in the End User Licensing Agreement.

Further information from Sony can be obtained here.

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