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Senator Al Franken Takes On Oculus Over VR Data Mining (engadget.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Oculus says in its privacy policy it will track information about your location, physical movements, and how you're using the Oculus Rift headset. Senator Al Franken, a consumer advocate who has made a point of pushing back against invasive privacy policies like Uber's, wrote a letter to Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe, pushing for more information about how, exactly, Oculus is using all of the data it collects. "I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy," Franken wrote. "And that right includes an individual's access to information about what data are being collected about them, how the data are being treated, and with whom the data are being shared." Oculus has not yet commented on the letter. As a result from Franken's letter, Oculus may offer a more detailed privacy policy, like what HTC has done for its Vive headset. Though, it's worth mentioning Oculus isn't collecting much more information than most technology companies. The biggest concern stems around what kind of information Facebook is collecting when the headset is not being used -- there's no off button, so it's always sitting in a semi-ready state.

2 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. yeah right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    That's rich, this is the same Al Franken that voted to extend the Patriot Act, and is on record defending the NSA's Stazi practices. This is also the same guy that worships groups like the RIAA and MPAA and has supported SOPA/PIPA legislation.

    Franken is a hack, I don't believe for a second he gives a shit about privacy rights, so there must be another reason he's going after the Rift/Facebook

  2. It's open ended by evanh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Mr Franken's question will need to be repeated every month. And that still doesn't necessarily stop the bad behaviour.

    The point of the policy is it's a disclaimer of "You give us permission to take anything we see fit". That means the data gathered and uses of and distribution of change with time.

    I think Mr Zuckerberg is intentionally trying to trigger new laws that set defined limits.