LittleWyvern.com

Browsing through my library of daily bookmarks today I came across something interesting inside an article covering a Q&A between an EA rep and “the web” on Bioware’s Social Network. The main point of the article dealt with the soon-to-be-released Mass Effect 3 being only available on Origin (and not Steam). The Origin/Steam debate is only marginally interesting to me, but my favorite Q and corresponding A was this:

5) Is there an opt in or opt out clause for data collection?
Users will be allowed to opt-out of Mass Effect 3 data collection from inside the game.

For those who are not familiar, the Mass Effect games are role playing action adventures where the story changes and unfolds based on the various choices the player makes along the way. The data collection being referred to here involves the player’s PC/console sending anonymous statistics back to EA (the publisher) and Bioware (the developer). I find it a little bizarre – although not un-expected – that there are people who complained about this enough that the newest game now has the option to turn it off. Apparently people are complaining so much so that in a list of only eight “commonly asked questions” this one makes the list.

Why?

Seriously… why?

These aren’t the tinfoil hat crowd of videogame conspiracy theorists, but rather most of them are generally thinking people who I assume to have a generally reasonable view of the world. If I give them the raw benefit of the doubt I hope that their argument is more existential than paranoid. I hope their concern is, “If we let you report statistics about how we play your game, it’s a slippery slope to letting companies collect more personal information about our non-gaming lives.” I hope their concern is, “You say you are only reporting anonymous gameplay statistics, but how can we be sure that’s true?” The concern of having your personal computer secretly logging and sending information about you to some corporate datastore is valid… but only to a point. I mean, if you are paranoid enough to not believe Bioware’s claims about the data they are collecting then why would you believe that changing the in-game option to “off” would actually turn anything off?

I find it regularly hilarious how delusional most people seem to be about their current level of privacy. I posted a link on Facebook a short while back (that I can’t find right now) about people complaining that software on their new iPhones kept a log of their text messages and phone usage, which could then be ostensibly reported back to their carriers. Of course I found this hilarious. Do people actually, honestly believe that their cell phone carriers don’t already have access to that information? Do you think that your cell phone company doesn’t have the ability to read every one of your text messages or listen in on every one of your phone calls? It’s like being shocked that your mailman has the ability to read all of your mail. He (probably) doesn’t read your mail, and neither does your cell phone company, but of course they could.

Spoiler alert! – you probably have a GPS system inside your cell phone that allows them to track you to within one meter.

Spoiler alert! – even without GPS your cell phone’s location can be triangulated using nearby cell towers to within about 50 meters.

Aside from criminals on the run, who honestly cares?

The technology that allows Big Brother to find you with your cell phone is the same technology that lets you find the nearest Starbucks (or in my case, allows me to find my phone when it gets lost). The technology that lets Verizon listen to your calls is the same one that lets YOU listen to your calls. The satellite uplink in your car that allows Ford (theoretically) to track where and how frequently you drive is the same system that allows them to send you an ambulance when you get in a car crash.

This is the world you live in. Deal with it.

Data collection exists everywhere all the time in everything you do, and this data aggregation will always have a fringe case where someone can reasonably ask “what if the terrorists/Big Brother/illuminati use that data for evil?!”

My response is usually, “yeah, i guess… whatever.”

• Google knows the history of what I have searched for.
• My bank knows how much money I have.
• My credit card company knows how often I go to Taco Bell.

I just don’t really care. I don’t consider that an invasion of my privacy. I realize that some people do. These are the people who run their internet connections through proxy DNS routers, keep their cash under their mattress, and wouldn’t ever dream of having a credit card in their real name. I wish those people nothing but happiness, but I am content to live in the normal world. The normal world allows for endless convenience and entertainment, but it also requires that you accept certain realities.

When I go to the grocery store I always use my store membership card. I would argue that it’s stupid not to, and I think most people would agree with me. Have you ever stopped to wonder why stores are willing to give such widespread discounts to people who sign up for and use those membership/savings cards? I could be wildly wrong – having never studied grocery store marketing – but I see two obvious answers that make sense.

1. Presumed customer loyalty.
2. Data aggregation.

Number one is obvious. If you bother to get a card you are theoretically much more likely to shop at that particular store again instead of using their competitor across the street. However, because the practice is now universal to all major stores – and access to these cards is free, fast, and easy – I expect this reason to be decreasingly worthwhile. If anything, NOT offering a savings card is more likely to cause people to NOT shop at your store, rather than the original intent of the opposite.

Number two strikes me as the real value to the store. Hopefully this isn’t news to any of you, but when you use your savings card the store logs the quantity and cost of every item that you purchase. Over time the stores will have the ability to build a very accurate model of everything that you buy, how much you spend, and when. The store can know how much you are willing to pay for something. The store can identify your preferred brands. The store can accurately measure whether a particular sale or promotion has an effect on your shopping habits.

If you think that data set isn’t worth the fifty cents you just saved on butter, well, I’ve got bad news for you: you’re delusional.

And still I say, “so what?” I recognize that my local Vons store has the ability to look up how much cat food I buy (a lot), but I also don’t care if they have that information. It isn’t an invasion of my privacy for them to know that my cats like their Fancy Feast grilled instead of sliced. It actually makes me happy, because I am directly helping ensure that Vons keeps selling the grilled cans.

I am happy to report usage statistics to Verizon because it shows them where they need to increase their coverage or add more bandwidth. I don’t mind reporting my driving habits to Ford because it helps them build safer, more reliable, and more efficient cars. I don’t mind my bank knowing when and where I am withdrawing money because it tells them where they need to put (or keep) ATMs.

And as for this manufactured Mass Effect 3 controversy, I don’t mind Bioware collecting data about the choices I make in their game. I know for demonstrable fact that they use that data to make better games. There is a ton of crazy shit you can learn from their Mass Effect 2 data. I can understand the fear about secret software running on your computer, but we all need to at least start the conversation from a different place. We can’t start from zero. We have to accept that data aggregation and tracking has become an intrinsic part of the common first world experience.

Privacy is a very real issue with very serious implications. Bioware and EA/Origin is almost laughably silly to be considered a serious part of that conversation.