Apex Legends Violates GDPR Out of the Box

From GameWatcher: "Apex Legends is apparently in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) right out of the box, as players have already found an appropriate option in the game's menus. At least it's not hidden, we suppose."

[XxINFERNUSxX]

EA the shit bags of the gaming community. Data collecting huh? Well I been game collecting from them, in the way of torrents. haha I shall torrent until the day I die, and take 2x as many games from EA as well. I will not support EA, haven't for years but I damn sure took from them lol

[PaleMoonDeath]

When the world finally succumbs, we are at each others throats, eating each other and fighting for basic survival, I will remember this proud warrior, keep up the good fight.

[PaleMoonDeath]

@ButtAnihilator, Oh my.. seems humour is lost on ya! wish I'd thought of that name first, of Prince of Darkness :P

[Spenok]

Yes, because thievery is the answer...

[jaycptza]

Divine can you please fuck off.

[BenRC01]

EA thinks so

[AdmGenAladeen]

It is when it has to do with anything EA related.

[VerminSC]

Steal from greedy thiefs with thievery..sound logic dumbass

[badz149]

Robin Hood was called as a hero for it though

[Activemessiah]

What badz149 said.

[Astros1]

You know Robin Hood gave to the poor.

[Femto]

Wow you showed them!!!! What a thief

[Cobra951]

Your post would be so much better without the boast about piracy. That just makes you look like the bad guy instead of them.

[frostypants]

EA being dbags doesn't make your theft cool, edgelord. You'd be doing it anyway.

[ryuuzakibjorn]

So hurt the developers that work tirelessly over their projects because you can't be assed to pay and want some self-righteous excuse so you don't feel shame?

[Weeblordbad]

This isn't even the first time he's made this boast. He's an idiot.

[DaCajun]

Pirating is wrong and anyone who does it no matter what the justification is still wrong.

I do have a problem with people who make comments saying what about the devs? Yes what about them? I couldn't care less about someone who works for an evil corporation well known to screw over consumers. F them, they chose to work for EA knowing how EA treats it's consumers which is widely and publicly known. There are plenty of other publishers out there or they could have gone with the self publishing route like others have. They chose a greedy corporation to team up with so that tells me they don't care about you either.

So yeah go ahead with your poor devs crap they chose who they got in bed with so they deserve what they get.

[GamerFrank85]

You"re mother is extremely proud of you

[MrCrimson]

This guy here is part of the problem. Not the solution. I really hope you don't pirate indie games, because if so you are the scum of the earth.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

Ahh..those good ol torrent days. I remember them well as I was very much a part of that community. I had two 360's that ended up getting banned and that was enuff for me.

[carcarias]

To be fair to the guy, seeing as though so many people are calling them a thief, I think it's only right to point out that it's actually copyright infringement.

Remember when people recorded stuff they weren't supposed to keep on VHS? When they had their own copies of movies taken from TV? That was, in many circumstances, copyright infringement. No one in their right mind though, back in the day, would have gone into the home of those people and said, 'Wtf? You have all of Schwarzeneggers' movies on tape? And is that a collection of Dallas I see there? You disgusting thief!'. You'd have been laughed out the room.

It's kinda like the difference between stealing an actual hard copy of a game from Gamestop (that they had to pay for to get in stock) or somehow magically making your own copy of the item by scanning it with your phone.

Those warning letters that get sent out from your ISP? They never accuse you of theft, only copyright infringement.

You can argue the morality of it but I feel it's an important distinction to remember. Lots of people happily torrent but wouldn't dream of walking into a corner shop and stealing a chocolate bar, even if they thought they could get away with it.

[chris235]

why is free to play a thing on a gaming site. f2p is a cashgrab aimed at casuals. has got not much to do with serious gaming.

[OMGitzThatGuy]

Because the game is fully playable without buying skins.

[PhantomS42]

It may be free to play, it may be garbage and a cash grab but it is still a video game so it there is no reason for it not to be on the site.

[frostypants]

ALL games are "cash grabs". I actually have no problem with F2P games if they aren't pay to win. Done right it's not a bad model (at least for multiplayer games), unless you're an OCD completionist who insists on owning every little item released and you wind up spending more than you would have on a traditional release, in which case you're kind of missing the point.

I played Apex last night for a few hours and had a blast. $0 spent, AAA production values and polished gameplay. And if they avoid making it pay-to-win, I will happily stick around shell out a little cash for, say, additional characters to use. Though I admit I'll wait and see.

[DaCajun]

All games are cash grabs like Frosty except I'm done giving money to EA. . I'll try APEX out but EA will never get another dime from me after BFV. Supported there game at launch then less than 2 weeks in the game was being sold for half price and still is being sold half price. EA rewards loyal fans by screwing them over.

[DaCajun]

This is a gamers website, why are you on here? You're obviously not a gamer because you don't like all games.

See I can make stupid illogical comments just like you.

[rainslacker]

I know why companies what to collect data.

But at the same time, what user in their right mind would actually just want to freely give access to a 3rd party, unspecified and broadly defined data from their personal system.

I don't even think such things should be optional under any law, but outright prohibited. IMO, the laws should do more to protect the consumer, by requiring it to be expressly defined what will be collected, how it can be used, and the user should be notified when that data is shared with yet another 3rd party, and for what purpose that 3rd party may use it, at which time, said user can expressly request the next party, or the first to delete that data from their system. These companies should have to work more for the benefit of the consumer if they want personal information, and the consumer should retain control of their data through every step of the way. As things are now, if you share data once, whether willingly or without knowledge, it can be passed around the world hundreds of times within a few years, and you have no idea where or who has access to it, or if you've been compromised.

There shouldn't be any of this vague terminology about it might be used for something up to and including all these random things, which in the way they're phrased don't sound to bad, but mostly amounts to a company trying to sell you something.

There is no reason to collect personal data other than to direct advertising, unless one is doing it for nefarious purposes to try and steal one's identity. There is no reason one should want to share their personal data with a company, unless they want targeted ads. Statistical data can be derived without it collecting personal data, and shipping it off to the 3rd party with identifiable information, and while some of this data is used for statistical purposes, usually related to advertising in a broader market, the reconciliation of that data is done where the data is collected, and stored on another server, outside the users control. Basically, people are entrusting a 3rd party company to keep their information safe.

Sorry for the rant, but I have been the victim of identity theft, and having been in IT security, I know how dangerous data can become, and how shitty companies are at handling people's personal data.

[Gardenia]

Before you can even start the game there are the terms you have to accept. Now I myself like everyone else didn't read what was in there, but I assume it says something about them collecting your data. And you can simply turn it off in game if you want to

[rainslacker]

Yeah, but I question why anyone would want to agree to such a thing. Also, the issue here is that it can't be turned on by default, even if one agrees to the tos. Apparently it's some EU law

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Why does PS4 stop recording when in 'terms of agreement' page?

[franwex]

I understand privacy and all. But wouldn’t it makes sense to collect data about how people play the game to improve performance on an online game? As long as they don’t have your personal information you should be ok. So they know what part of the world you play and on which system.
Doesn’t seem like a big deal. The EU kinda overbearing.

[Bladesfist]

They can collect anonymous operational data, according to this that would then no longer fall under the scope of GDPR https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal... but I am not a lawyer so I don't know.

[boing1]

Exactly. Ubisoft is collecting A LOT of behavioral data from their games with AC leading the pack. They know exactly what most of their gamers like. That's why most of their sequels are almost always better than previous entries.

[quent]

They do, but not to improve the game, only the spending habits

[boing1]

They obviously do that too but I've seen the data and all the heat maps. Crazy amount of it is just for tweaking and correcting gameplay with each iteration.

[LandoCalrissiano]

Of course it's overbearing, that's socialism for you.

[philm87]

as long as it's not personal data then it's okay

[lucian229]

all of your data including your behaviors are personal, but hey everything records us now a day. Be careful what you think, you just may get an ad on facebook for it :P

[frostypants]

@lucian229, yes and no. If I own a store and you walk into it, is your behavior within my business "your personal data"? Do I not have a right to watch you, see which aisles you seem to spend more time in, etc.? The same logic should apply to my property whether that property is a brick-and-mortar structure or it's a server I own. When you're playing a game online or visiting a website, you're digging around in someone else's server/property. But I definitely think site/server owners should be required to alert people to the data collection. BUUUUT I also think server owners should have the right to turn away consumers who refuse. It's their server...their private property. As a consumer I'd of course pressure such a business to not do so by refusing them my business.

[philm87]

Yeah but the data they take won't be linked to you personally, it'll just be numbers.

[TravieTrav]

Was wondering why this game had a process running in task manager after I closed it...

[BenRC01]

Paranoid much? Or just delusional that you actually matter to anyone other than your mom.
Data makes better games, no cares that you wack off to trannies.

[Atomicjuicer]

Those who steal citizen data deserve jail time.

Those who were careless with their own as well as the data of others deserve fines.

[Atomicjuicer]

You’re selling out the human race. It’s about mass surveillance. It’s not just about a single individual.

[Kryptix]

There's alternative means like surveys and feedback forums such as Reddit.

I think you're projecting, trying to tell everyone it's ok what you do.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

LOL 😂😂😂

[TheOtherMoon]

People are going to down vote (w/e volatile community); What are they collecting and why is it a concern for gamers? I do not want to make assumptions and wouldn't they only be tracking hours played, characters used, in-gameplay data -- data-points that companies are already tracking? Again, a real question I would like to know more about.

[FPS_D3TH]

Paranoia much? Do people not understand that heat maps and player data leads to better map design and balance. It’s not personal information. Another overreaction from the gaming community 🙄

[XxINFERNUSxX]

While everyone complains I will be the one with the free games, I just sit back relax, and give the finger to EA and most other shit bag companies. I don't get mad I look at the article laugh and torrent XD

[AizenSosuke]

Hey Bethesda, EA is right on your trail for scummiest company

[bujasem_89]

I once read the terms, and I'll have to say I was freaked out. Didn't know if I was going to be entertained for half an hour or sell my soul without a return policy. And if you don't accept, no entertainment.

I swear I've been camping way more since then.