Virtual Legality #36 Red-Handed! How Epic's Privacy Policy Gave It Permission to Snoop (Hoeg Law)
45Epic Games has been caught with its hands in the proverbial digital cookie jar, as intrepid Reddit users discover that the Epic Game Store Launcher copies a user's Steam configuration file for Epic's own ends.
What reason did Epic give for using the file?
Is copying a local file "collecting" data in the contractual or legal sense?
What does Epic's privacy policy have to say about what data they can collect and what they can do with it?
And why might both Epic and Steam want to change what they're doing, regardless of what the contracts might say?
#Epic #Steam #VirtualLegality
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Discussed in this episode:
"EPIC Promises to Fix Game Launcher after Privacy Concerns"
March 15, 2019
(https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/epic-promises-to-fix-game-launcher-after-privacy-concerns/)
"EPIC GAMES GLOBAL PRIVACY POLICY"
Update - December 19, 2019
(https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/privacypolicy)
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"Virtual Legality" is a continuing series discussing the law, video games, software, and everything digital, hosted by Richard Hoeg, of the Hoeg Law Business Law Firm (Hoeg Law).
Rick has practiced for more than a decade at some of the country's largest law firms, representing IT, software, video game, and other technology companies, as well as the individuals and institutions which fund them.
DISCUSSION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN THE LEGAL TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN COUNSEL.
Any and all feedback is appreciated. Let us know what you think!
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