Concerns over Kinect's more surreptitious possibilities were raised as far back as May when the device was revealed. Days after the next-gen console was showcased for the first time, Peter Schaar, Germany's federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, claimed:
"The Xbox continuously records all sorts of personal information about me. Reaction rates, my learning or emotional states. These are then processed on an external server, and possibly even passed on to third parties. Whether they will ever [be] deleted, the person can not influence".
The controversy coincided with a major scandal sparked by former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed that data from the world's biggest software companies (Apple, Google, Microsoft et al) were provided to state officials, in many cases in a manner that has no legal protection.
Since those revelations, Microsoft has come under significant scrutiny regarding its privacy policies. In July it was discovered that Microsoft supplied email and Skype details to the NSA. The corporation said it was legally bound to not discuss the matter openly.
Doubts and suspicions over Microsoft's handling of personal data has not abated. Late in September, a former Microsoft privacy adviser said he no longer trusts the company after reading about the NSA mass-surveillance operation.
Days later it was revealed that Microsoft handed over the personal information of more than a thousand customers to Australian government agents in the first half of 2013.
The assumed fear is that Microsoft will use, or be forced to use, Kinect as part of the state's mass surveillance operations. But on Thursday a marketing executive, Albert Penello, made some assurances about customers' control over Xbox.
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Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/432443/no-secret-nsa-kinect-conspiracy-xbox-exec-claims/
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