No it isn't, not the way in whch the comparison was made.
Previously, ransomware (and some games/media) were tge only software products that asked for a higher price tag to not install extra code the user did not want on their machine.
It is a fundamentally predatory practice, because the developers completely misunderstand consent. Just because I have some or a version of your software running, doesn't mean I want to invite you the hypothetical software developer to live on my system, auto updating things from under me.
It's a pattern that has fought harder and harder amongst softdev people to ignore the sanctity of other people's computer for the user's own good that needs to die.
Not comparing it to ransomware is absurd, frankly. The more it's normalized, the more people will reach for it as a business model.
Previously, ransomware (and some games/media) were tge only software products that asked for a higher price tag to not install extra code the user did not want on their machine.
It is a fundamentally predatory practice, because the developers completely misunderstand consent. Just because I have some or a version of your software running, doesn't mean I want to invite you the hypothetical software developer to live on my system, auto updating things from under me.
It's a pattern that has fought harder and harder amongst softdev people to ignore the sanctity of other people's computer for the user's own good that needs to die.
Not comparing it to ransomware is absurd, frankly. The more it's normalized, the more people will reach for it as a business model.