EA’s Origin EULA Proves Even More Sinister

entr0 said:
Any lawyers that can explain how the EA Privacy Policy might supersede the origin tos/eula?
|'ve been reading the discussion on RPS/Escapist. But it's hard to follow with all the sensationalism
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In what context?

In short the privacy policy "protects" personal USER information. It does not protect the information of the COMPUTER (which includes IP and MAC addresses.) So basically they can make public all the specs, applications, ip addresses, etc about any given computer. As long as they do not link that computer to a user.
 
What... you don't amend the EULAs as you read them, then send your amendments to the licencor to be summarily ignored rendering the original EULA null and void? Shame on you people.
 
Just some insight to what EA is doing with your info if you're using Origin already:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=30383641&postcount=409

77kL2.png
 
Misread the thread, this is Amazon's cloud service, not amazon directly.... (SORRY!)
 
gaspah said:
god bless all those hardworking people who surgically remove all this crap and allow me to download all this software for free :) thankyou :)

Even the games i've bought have been hax0rd.. because i aint fucking putting up with all this DRM crap on my computer... wanting discs, serial number, windows live, their own appliation, internet connection, pound of flesh, 2L of blood etc etc..
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So you steal it instead of just, you know, not play it at all. Yeah that makes you better than them. :rolleyes:
 
Azhar said:
So you steal it instead of just, you know, not play it at all. Yeah that makes you better than them. :rolleyes:
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oops let me take that back. I could have sworn I read it as you pirate them. I see you buy them and find the crack for them. My bad!
 
lol my friend told me this, i was like no way cause blizzard isn't even allowed to see what other apps you're running, or read memory
 
I uninstalled Steam many years ago, and I only installed it once more in order to play Left for Dead. Thank you pirate community for making it possible to uninstall Steam once again but retain the ability to play. I bought the games and I'll play them as I see fit. I know tracking is whats to come, so I guess I'm breaking out the mountain bikes, footballs and tennis rackets. EA, Valve and others... you've lost my revenue.
 
Blizzard does the same crap now with SC2 and BNET2.0. They used to ask permission; now they just take the data. Where is the outcry?
 
TwistedAegis said:
Origin could set my keyboard on fire each time it loaded, and I would still install it to play BF3. 'Nuff said.
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Pure hyperbole...

plunger said:
Doing this will send a message. Vote with your wallet.

finishedwj.jpg
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Already did so a week back before even this came out. I had started to ride it out and see if EA backed down, but the more I thought on it, the more irritating it became. Walked into Gamestop, cancelled order and informed them exactly why. Transferred my Pre-order money to another game that I want as well.

I wanted BF3, but at the end of the day it is just another game and there are plenty to choose from that aren't forcing me to install malware. The reality some of the fanboys needs to understand is that there will be another better game sooner or later. Giving up your right to privacy is just raw stupidity.
 
ferrisnox said:
I'm not sure its safe to assume "evil use" unless we are talking about the government.
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bahahaha, and I now assume because of this every for profit entity is squeaky clean, and innocent.

you know....'cause only da gubmint is evil.
 
Plague_Injected said:
If this is the future of PC gaming where every gamer has to have his/her life as an open book so companies can sell the details to research and marketing firms, then PC gaming can fuck off and die.
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Do you really think this will only be the PC, you will see this happening on console soon enough.
 
Unless you're using OpenBSD or something similar and do all your browsing through TOR, just about everything you do on your computer is available to people who want that kind of info.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I wanted BF3, but at the end of the day it is just another game and there are plenty to choose from that aren't forcing me to install malware. The reality some of the fanboys needs to understand is that there will be another better game sooner or later. Giving up your right to privacy is just raw stupidity.
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I think you will find that most people who choose to still play BF3 are actually more reasonable and understand that data mining is apart of our lives in society today. The fan boy reaction is much more stronger in how some are choosing to delude themselves into believing other products/services they use somehow do not partake in this activity and willing to give exemptions to products/services they are less willing to give up.
 
Shotglass01 said:
As in your not buying the game? I'm getting the disc, but it'll still require Origin.

I'm not real happy about Origin (or Steam) either. But, I shut them down when not playing games (or using anything else) that don't require them. And my game drive is just that. A game drive. They'll never know what else I actually use since those other programs aren't even on the same platters or spinning at the same time.
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So,Origin looking through your registry when you load it doesnt concern you? doesn't matter if you shut it down after the fact, the damage is done.
 
Shotglass01 said:
You really are not getting this. I'm aware they'll pick up what is on my game drive. The production drive which hosts resume, e-mail, online bills, etc. is on another whole drive SHUT OFF with it's own OS without Origin or Steam or anything else installed like that. I promise you no WMI calls are going to pick it up.
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my bad, i didn't see that part. that would work, just a bit more trouble than i want to put up with
 
Now that I think about it, I think EA is actually breaking the law in several countries with this, I believe Australia and Germany have laws against gathering information off of peoples computers. Someone should follow up on this, would be fun if we could throw a serious wrench into EA's work. I don't have anything against EA personally, but I think they have been doing a lot of low ball things against Steam/Valve and Activision.
 
Fail said:
if you have to go to those kind of lengths to keep your machine ready for gaming, then something is seriously wrong.

And that wrong is identified as Origin, and the people who stand in line for it and buy it on release day are nothing more than sheeple.
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Well, I do agree that going to those lengths to try to minimize exposure is wrong. But, having a dedicated game drive has had other benefits. For example, PunkBuster services are also never installed on the production drive hence they never run there. But, I'm playing BF3 even though it means Origin.

motomonkey said:
my bad, i didn't see that part. that would work, just a bit more trouble than i want to put up with
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Yea, I started dedicated gaming drives a few years ago when other forms of DRM, mainly SecureRom, showed up. I'm very used to it now. I prefer it so much that I don't build a PC without it.

The reality is that these companies aren't going back to a LAN option. They're going to force us into these ridiculous schemes just so we can have fun as time goes on. But, I'm in full support of Dice on this because they're building this one specifically with the PC in mind. And, the "Alpha" was fun to me.
 
Lol and all I want to do is kill some time playing a PC game... When is the people going to take back America?....:confused:
 
limitedaccess said:
I think you will find that most people who choose to still play BF3 are actually more reasonable and understand that data mining is apart of our lives in society today. The fan boy reaction is much more stronger in how some are choosing to delude themselves into believing other products/services they use somehow do not partake in this activity and willing to give exemptions to products/services they are less willing to give up.
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I haven't found that thus far. The overwhelming majority are just in complete denial as to how serious of a privacy breach this is. Which is the exact same thing as you said on deluding themselves into believing that they are somehow exempt.
 
the main thing that angers me over this is i have a handful of games i do enjoy that i purchased a while ago via EA downloader... with a less ridiculous EULA and after it authenticates i can shut it off.

now all those games have been moved to origin with no recourse for the ea downloader. I may see if the keys will activate in steam.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I haven't found that thus far. The overwhelming majority are just in complete denial as to how serious of a privacy breach this is. Which is the exact same thing as you said on deluding themselves into believing that they are somehow exempt.
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This type of language is in almost every EULA/TOS/etc. Unless you want to delude yourself into believe that somehow Microsoft, Valve, Google, Yahoo, Visa, your local supermarket chain or whomever is somehow less likely to fully exploit the scope of the legal language present, then are you planning on boycotting almost every single product/service?

How many people having a problem with EA's legal wording for example run their own e-mail server? Do not use credit cards or pay pal type services? Do not use Steam? And the list can really go on.

Do people really believe they are exempt from EA? The only people I see arguing this believe they have sufficient protection in place to protect against data mining in general. I haven't see anyone argue that EA is somehow more benevolent then other companies in this area. Although you can see people somehow trying to convince themselves that other products/services they are less willing to give up or cannot give up is somehow.
 
So no one has bothered to mention that the EULA has been updated (yesterday, in fact) to reflect this controversy?
 
limitedaccess said:
This type of language is in almost every EULA/TOS/etc. Unless you want to delude yourself into believe that somehow Microsoft, Valve, Google, Yahoo, Visa, your local supermarket chain or whomever is somehow less likely to fully exploit the scope of the legal language present, then are you planning on boycotting almost every single product/service?

How many people having a problem with EA's legal wording for example run their own e-mail server? Do not use credit cards or pay pal type services? Do not use Steam? And the list can really go on.

Do people really believe they are exempt from EA? The only people I see arguing this believe they have sufficient protection in place to protect against data mining in general. I haven't see anyone argue that EA is somehow more benevolent then other companies in this area. Although you can see people somehow trying to convince themselves that other products/services they are less willing to give up or cannot give up is somehow.
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Honestly this is a strawman argument, but I will respond anyhow.

1) All the other mentioned means, even IF they were doing this level of data mining, have methods of turning off that mining. They all either have an opt out, or can outright be blocked from doing it.

The primary problem is two fold.
1) A Game Developer never needs this type of access.
2) There is no means to opt out.

Simple fact of the matter is a Video game developer does not need this level of access. However even if they are going to request it, to essentially force any customer to use it with no means stopping it is anti-consumer. If they wanted to do this for the digital version of BF3, you wouldn't hear me bitching. However there is no justifiable reason why origin must be forced on those buying the retail copy who clearly are NOT interested in the digital crap and all the strings attached. They are essentially saying "If you want to play BF3, you are going to pay $60 AND give us full access to any thing we damn well please on your computer. We are then going to at minimum sell your personal information and make even more money off you. This is just flatly unacceptable on any level. I fail to see how anyone who is rational could even consider this ok for a second.

For the record, I do not use steam for the exact same reasons.

TwistedAegis said:
Could you post it? Work firewall and all that.
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They changed it but origin hasn't been changed and is still required so frankly it doesn't matter.
 
Launch EULA:

2. Consent to Collection and Use of Data.

You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical and
related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol
Address), operating system, Application usage (including but not limited to
successful installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral
hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software
updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you,
including online services. EA may also use this information combined with
personal information for marketing purposes and to improve our products and
services. We may also share that data with our third party service providers in a
form that does not personally identify you. IF YOU DO NOT WANT EA TO
COLLECT, USE, STORE, TRANSMIT OR DISPLAY THE DATA DESCRIBED IN
THIS SECTION, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE APPLICATION.
This and all other data provided to EA and/or collected by EA in connection with
your installation and use of this Application is collected, used, stored and
transmitted in accordance with EA’s Privacy Policy located at www.ea.com. To
the extent that anything in this section conflicts with the terms of EA’s Privacy
Policy, the terms of the Privacy Policy shall control.





Updated EULA as of 8/24

2. Consent to Collection and Use of Data.

EA knows that you care how information about you is collected, used and
shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly.
Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and EA
would never sell your personally identifiable information to anyone, nor would it
ever use spyware or install spyware on users’ machines. We and agents acting
on our behalf do not share information that personally identifies you without your
consent, except in rare instances where disclosure is required by law or to
enforce EA’s legal rights.

In addition to information that you give EA directly, EA collects non-
personally identifiable (or anonymous) information for purposes of improving our
products and services, providing services to you, facilitating the provision of
software updates, dynamically served content and product support as well as
communicating with you. The non-personally identifiable information that EA
collects includes technical and related information that identifies your computer
(including the Internet Protocol Address) and operating system, as well as
information about your Application usage (including but not limited to successful
installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware.
As noted above, this information is gathered periodically for purposes such as
improving our products and services, troubleshooting bugs, and otherwise
enhancing your user experience.

This and all other data provided to EA and/or collected by EA in
connection with your installation and use of this Application is collected, used,
stored and transmitted in accordance with EA’s Privacy Policy located at
www.ea.com. To the extent that anything in this section conflicts or is
inconsistent with the terms of EA’s Privacy Policy, the terms of the Privacy Policy
shall control.
 
Ha, so they added some touchy-feely legalese at the top, removed the opt-out language, and called it a day, huh? I still don't really care, but I don't even see why they bothered, there is absolutely no material change in the terms.
 
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