Internet Explodes Over Origin's Invasion of Privacy

[Arafiro]

Honestly, who gives a sh*t? If you don't want to get Origin either;
a) Get the console version of BF3
b) Don't buy BF3
c) Pirate a version with a work around
If none of those options appeal to you, then f*ck off you idiot.

But you're missing the point - option C shouldn't be the superior choice. It shouldn't even be a necessary choice to make.
Publishers do nothing but encourage piracy with this kind of thing.

 

[Shycte]

I'm not normally sensitive on these things, but I actully uninstalled Origin on my computer now. I only had it for the Battlefield 3 Alpha.

Anyway, if I ever get BF3, it will be on my Xbox, so I guess I'm safe?... I don't know but EA certainly lost some respect in my eyes.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

That has nothing to do with it. They can do it because it's not illegal.

That's the problem that you're missing.

It's not illegal. It's not legal. It's not POSSIBLE.

They're asking you to sign a contract that you cannot legally commit to - so you breach it before you sign it.

Yes it's immoral, and contains amazing amounts of douchbaggery from EAs part, but they can. Does not a ToS and TaC agreement state, quite clearly, at the end, "I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions" then you require to tick a box and a continue button to accept it. They both are and aren't trying to tick you. If they decide to shut down the servers, if you agreed to it, then you have no comeback because you agreed to it. Otherwise those people who kept playing Halo 2 when the servers were shut down could have sued someone.

And that's the second problem. It's protected. They do have full legal rights to do that.

EA are basically saying "By reading this document, you're agreeing to it. Do you agree? If you don't agree, you must delete it all."

Which you can't.

That's where the whole problem comes from. You're not only guilty until proven innocent, you can't prove your innocence.

 

[Gitty101]

That's creepy, on so many levels. I'd understand hardware data, as it would allow them to monitor their games on a wide variety of machines, but the ability to send data about absolutely anything sounds like an invasion of privacy. Glad I haven't downloaded Origin. Less likely too in the future...

 

[6unn3r]

It's EA, did anyone really expect any less?

 

[Harlief]

Fucking EA! Hard. Copies. Come on people! I don't want to be the guy who's telling everyone to "Go back to horses, motors are just a fad!" but seriously!

The hard copy will likely only be playable through Origin.

 

[TimeLord]

That has nothing to do with it. They can do it because it's not illegal.

That's the problem that you're missing.

It's not illegal. It's not legal. It's not POSSIBLE.

They're asking you to sign a contract that you cannot legally commit to - so you breach it before you sign it.

Yes it's immoral, and contains amazing amounts of douchbaggery from EAs part, but they can. Does not a ToS and TaC agreement state, quite clearly, at the end, "I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions" then you require to tick a box and a continue button to accept it. They both are and aren't trying to tick you. If they decide to shut down the servers, if you agreed to it, then you have no comeback because you agreed to it. Otherwise those people who kept playing Halo 2 when the servers were shut down could have sued someone.

And that's the second problem. It's protected. They do have full legal rights to do that.

EA are basically saying "By reading this document, you're agreeing to it. Do you agree? If you don't agree, you must delete it all."

Which you can't.

That's where the whole problem comes from. You're not only guilty until proven innocent, you can't prove your innocence.

You can say no though. Say no, Origin doesn't continue with the install, take the game back to where you bought it and swap it for PS3 or 360. Problem solved. It's not ideal, granted.

 

[hellflame]

Could be just me, but doing these thing doesn't seem to help EAs plan for bf3 to be the cod killer.

that being said I can't belive it's acctauly legal to put that in a ToS. guess I won't be playing bf3 until the change that. vote with your wallet!

 

[Pandaman1911]

...

Gee, I don't think I want Battlefield 3 that bad after all.

 

[TimeLord]

Fucking EA! Hard. Copies. Come on people! I don't want to be the guy who's telling everyone to "Go back to horses, motors are just a fad!" but seriously!

Most hard copies still require Steam. The last 2 Dawn of War games I bought said nothing more than "Requires and Internet connection to activate". And yet when I tried to install it, it forced a download of the entire game through Steam without any alternate options. Which I didn't mind because I like Steam, but it kinda defeats the point of hard copies in the end.

 

[teebeeohh]

the real problem is that you can't avoid origin with B3, i already canceled my preorder but if the game tanks/does not do as well upper management is gonna blame dice, not stupid origin.
i just origin is not mandatory for ME3, because while i could play B3 on my PS3 i really want to use my saves from ME2.

 

[Whateveralot]

I wasn't planning on getting Origin anyway. If a game forces me to install it; bad luck for me then. I'm not playing it. Not that I'm that keen on my privacy, I just hate having to install third-party software for games. Steam included.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

You can say no though. Say no, Origin doesn't continue with the install, take the game back to where you bought it and swap it for PS3 or 360. Problem solved. It's not ideal, granted.

Uh-uh

I wish it was that simple.

By registering for an EA Account (also known as an Origin Account), using this site and/or any of EA?s online or mobile products and services, you agree to EA?s Privacy Policy and that we may transfer and store your account information in the USA. By registering, you agree that EA may process your data in accordance with the following privacy policy and that you will abide by EA?s Terms of Service.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY EA SITE, ONLINE OR MOBILE PRODUCT OR SERVICE.

So, by copy/pasting that, I'm "officially" agreeing to their Privacy Policy and allowing my details to go to the USA.

Regardless of what I feel, what I've agreed to, or that I've never bought/downloaded an EA product.

Simply by reading that EULA, I'm bound by it.

By using EA Services, you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age (or have reached the age of majority if that is not 18 years of age where you live) or that you have reviewed this Agreement with your parent or guardian and he or she assents to these Terms of Service on your behalf and takes full responsibility for your compliance with them. You agree that you and/or your parent or guardian are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, representations and responsibilities set forth in these Terms of Service, and to abide and comply with these Terms of Service.

You agree to check terms.ea.com periodically for new information and terms that govern your use of EA Services. EA may modify the Terms of Service at any time. Revisions to terms affecting existing EA Services shall be effective thirty (30) days after posting at terms.ea.com. Terms for new EA Services are effective immediately upon posting at terms.ea.com.

TL;DR: Your parent is fully liable for any charges without their needed agreement and you must look at our stuff because we can change it at any time.

That may not be illegal per se, but that's bending the customer/proprietor relationship to breaking point. And a child who signs up without their parent knowing still puts their parent at legal risk without their knowledge. And that IS illegal.


Even if you say no, you're breaching the contract, because you've already said yes by reading it.

 

[The Grim Ace]

I hated being forced to install Origin to play ME2. I love the game but I'm seriously considering uninstalling the whole thing since this is beyond ridiculous.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

Honestly, who gives a sh*t? If you don't want to get Origin either;
a) Get the console version of BF3
b) Don't buy BF3
c) Pirate a version with a work around
If none of those options appeal to you, then f*ck off you idiot.

But you're missing the point - option C shouldn't be the superior choice. It shouldn't even be a necessary choice to make.
Publishers do nothing but encourage piracy with this kind of thing.

That probably didn't come across very well, I wasn't defending them, it was just that people have already decided whether they want Origin or not. The not party (which I'd include myself in) keeps whining about what to do, or just flat out saying "EA, don't do this", neither of which accomplish anything. You can only decide your actions, not those of others, and those are pretty much you're three options if you don't want Origin, I mainly highlighted them as a (bad in retrospect) way of telling people to choose one and stop moaning.

 

[tzimize]

Uff. But EA! I really want Battlefield! Fuck!

Ah well. There will be more games. :|

 

[TimeLord]

You can say no though. Say no, Origin doesn't continue with the install, take the game back to where you bought it and swap it for PS3 or 360. Problem solved. It's not ideal, granted.

Uh-uh

I wish it was that simple.

By registering for an EA Account (also known as an Origin Account), using this site and/or any of EA?s online or mobile products and services, you agree to EA?s Privacy Policy and that we may transfer and store your account information in the USA. By registering, you agree that EA may process your data in accordance with the following privacy policy and that you will abide by EA?s Terms of Service.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY EA SITE, ONLINE OR MOBILE PRODUCT OR SERVICE.

So, by copy/pasting that, I'm "officially" agreeing to their Privacy Policy and allowing my details to go to the USA.

Regardless of what I feel, what I've agreed to, or that I've never bought/downloaded an EA product.

Simply by reading that EULA, I'm bound by it.

By using EA Services, you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age (or have reached the age of majority if that is not 18 years of age where you live) or that you have reviewed this Agreement with your parent or guardian and he or she assents to these Terms of Service on your behalf and takes full responsibility for your compliance with them. You agree that you and/or your parent or guardian are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, representations and responsibilities set forth in these Terms of Service, and to abide and comply with these Terms of Service.

You agree to check terms.ea.com periodically for new information and terms that govern your use of EA Services. EA may modify the Terms of Service at any time. Revisions to terms affecting existing EA Services shall be effective thirty (30) days after posting at terms.ea.com. Terms for new EA Services are effective immediately upon posting at terms.ea.com.

TL;DR: Your parent is fully liable for any charges without their needed agreement and you must look at our stuff because we can change it at any time.

That may not be illegal per se, but that's bending the customer/proprietor relationship to breaking point. And a child who signs up without their parent knowing still puts their parent at legal risk without their knowledge. And that IS illegal.


Even if you say no, you're breaching the contract, because you've already said yes by reading it.

But that's only your account info that you decided to enter in. I would assume that entering details into account would automatically equal sharing it with said company. Not your personal computer data with private family photos and whatever else that you don't want to share.

I don't think this back and forth really matters to be honest. We both agree that it's shit and should not be allowed.

 

[mateushac]

Boys will be boys... EA will be EA.
GABEN must be laughing SO loud right now while he plows through that 5000cal pink cookie of his!

 

[ewhac]

Begging everyone's pardon, but... [em]Dur-hey.[/em] Which is to say, I knew about this over a year ago back when it was misleadingly named, "EA Download Manager."

The way I found out about this unconscionable power grab was when I had the good fortune to win one of the Escapist's contests. The prize was a copy of Dragon Age: Origins plus various downloadable content. I received a set of download codes and a URL pointing me at EA.

When I visited the URL, firstly I was confronted with a web page written by kindergarteners which demanded about two dozen cookies and that JavaScript be turned on in every conceivable way. After finding a combo that worked, I was informed that I would need to download and install EA Download Manager before I could redeem the codes. EA Download Manager confronted me with a ponderous tome calling itself a license "agreement." Normally, I ignore such idiocy, as EULAs are an invalid form of contract. But here I was about to install a piece of software from a company that has shown itself to be oblivious to even the most rudimentary forms of socially redeeming behavior, so I started glossing it.

There was plenty to be offended by, and my conscience was duly shocked. I did some poking around EA's site to see if the game could be downloaded from the "store" rather than through EADM -- or, as I started calling it, stEAm. I even got an online chat droid to tell me that no, the codes were only valid through stEAm.

As interested as I was in the game, there was no way I was going to infect my machine with spy/mal-ware, no matter how shiny the user interface was.

The message you should take away from this is that Origin nee stEAm has [em]negative commercial value[/em]. It actually [em]subtracts[/em] value from the things around and connected to it. All copy protection systems in fact do this, but stEAm takes it to a whole new level. I got what was probably $100 worth of game and add-ons [em]for free[/em] which I would have been happy to have. But then stEAm came tagging along, making its unconscionable demands, and all the value of everything else was drained away. Even when it was offered for free.

Voicing my concerns, I returned the prize codes to The Escapist unused, and said, "Please award these to another user."