Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott added new allegations Wednesday to his spyware lawsuit against SONY BMG Music Entertainment. Abbott sued the company in November under the state’s new spyware law, alleging that illegal spyware was imbedded in certain CDs. In the new allegations Wednesday, Abbott invoked the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging the company’s MediaMax technology for copy protection violates Texas’ spyware and deceptive trade practices law. Click Here To Read The Amended Lawsuit Abbott says consumers who use the CDs are offered a license agreement, but files are secretly installed on their computers even if they reject the agreement. “We keep discovering additional methods SONY used to deceive Texas consumers who thought they were simply buying music,” Abbott said. “Thousands of Texans are now potential victims of this deceptive game SONY played with consumers for its own purposes.” In a letter sent Wednesday, Abbott urged retailers who continue to carry 52 tainted CD titles to remove the CDs from their shelves. Click Here To Read The Letter “These CDs open the door for malicious hackers to target consumers’ computers. Hackers may be using the SONY files to install viruses, malware or even commit identity theft,” Abbott said. “Retailers that continue to sell these CDs may be just as liable under the law as SONY,” he said. Texas’ original suit alleges the company illegally installed spyware on millions of music CDs that Abbott says can make computers “vulnerable to computer viruses and other forms of attack.” Abbott said the spyware installs files onto the computers on which the CDs are played. "Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers," Abbott said. "Consumers who purchased a Sony CD thought they were buying music. Instead, they received spyware that can damage a computer, subject it to viruses and expose the consumer to possible identity crime,” he said. Click Here To Read The Original Lawsuit Sony said on its Web site that it had recalled all the affected CDs, but Abbott said investigators were able to buy a number of titles at retail stores in Austin in November. Click Here For SONY BMG Web Site Abbott says the CDs contain embedded copy protection files or XCP technology, which prompts consumers to enter into a user agreement to install a Sony audio player. Consumers who agree to the terms, however, aren’t aware that files are secretly installed, Abbott said. Sony says it has instituted an exchange program for consumers who purchased the affected CDs and says the issue involving the CDs arises only when the discs are played on computers. On Nov. 18, SONY announced it had initiated the mail-in program to allow consumers to exchange CDs containing XCP software for replacements without XCP. “We share the concerns of consumers regarding these discs, and we are instituting a mail-in program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection and receive MP3 files of the same title,” the company said. “We also have asked our retail partners to remove all unsold CDs with XCP software from their store shelves and inventory.” Click Here For Exchange Program Details Click Here For Software Update From Sony The Attorney General, meanwhile, has posted a complaint form online for consumers who have purchased the CDs. Click Here For Online Complaint Form | 
