No secret NSA Xbox One Kinect conspiracy, Xbox exec claims

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After caught supplying sensitive info to governments and agencies, Microsoft exec claims Kinect user's facial data won't leave the console

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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Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/432443/no-secret-nsa-kinect-conspiracy-xbox-exec-claims/

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"No secret NSA Xbox One Kinect conspiracy, Xbox exec claims" :: Login/Create an Account :: 127 comments

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-DeanoPosted:

Am I the only one that seems to think - If you aren't using the Xbox (and Kinect), just unplug the damn thing from the socket and it can't do anything?

Everyone seems so hyped up about this whole "sends your data to nsa etc".. If you don't have anything to hide, what's the big deal? I mean, who would seriously need data of you sat playing Xbox; even something like watching TV.

BlooddrunkPosted:

barkley800 maybe someone could work around it like take apart the kinect. Find and disable the mic and tape over the camera lens.


Or you could just unplug it lol

AxePosted:

This doesn't really bother me anyways, because I got nothing to hide anyhow.

YinPosted:

ODST
Yin
RIAA
Yin
Seem most people are worried cause they do illegal stuff hahahah


I worry. I do nothing that is illegal, and I still worry. If they can get cameras like the Kinect in your home so willingly, then they can get them in through other things eventually, like TV's. That is a huge problem. The government can and most likely will study us with that information. They could eventually know almost everything about you and know your next move before you do (since we are creatures of habit after all.) Every home could eventually have one as a surveillance camera for the government. That could easily give government enough eyes and ears for a true police state. This itself isn't that bad, but it can lead into something that is horrific if it goes the wrong way (which is the only way I see it going.) It's a huge privacy concern. It could very well turn into a freedom concern (may be distant future, but the change into it has to start somewhere.)


Yin This itself isn't that bad, but it can lead into something that is horrific if it goes the wrong way


It only takes the next government to turn it into a full scale nightmare, how long did it take Hitler to turn Germany into a nazi state?

I also have to question what your thoughts are on webcams built in to laptops these days.


If you are questioning me personally, I have to say that I hate them. If they were sold as an accessory, I would have no problem with them. Since they are now usually built-in, they can easily be manipulated and used by anyone who knows how to tap into them (which government agencies, I am sure, know how to do.) With all of these cameras and audio recorders in home and even in public, it is an easy setup to take control of most of the population if placed in the wrong hands. I don't trust the NSA or CIA. Maybe they do protect us here and there, but there is no need to be spying on American citizens.


I'm not gonna lie, I'm paranoid after reading 1984. Big Brother, the thought police, you name it. Requiring a camera in the same room as your xbone is just asking for trouble. As for the laptop comment, I'm not really sure how those could be accessed by outside sources unless connected to the internet.


When I wrote that, I was just speaking on those that are connected to the internet. Even if they aren't connected, I am sure there is a way, or will be a way later, to access it by forcing a Wi-Fi connection to the laptop (if the computer has Wi-Fi.) I am no computer guy though, so I am not sure if that is possible or not.

-Mark_JrPosted:

I wonder if the kinect will call your local ploic if you are having a smoking a bowl in front of it LOL

ODSTPosted:

Yin
RIAA
Yin
Seem most people are worried cause they do illegal stuff hahahah


I worry. I do nothing that is illegal, and I still worry. If they can get cameras like the Kinect in your home so willingly, then they can get them in through other things eventually, like TV's. That is a huge problem. The government can and most likely will study us with that information. They could eventually know almost everything about you and know your next move before you do (since we are creatures of habit after all.) Every home could eventually have one as a surveillance camera for the government. That could easily give government enough eyes and ears for a true police state. This itself isn't that bad, but it can lead into something that is horrific if it goes the wrong way (which is the only way I see it going.) It's a huge privacy concern. It could very well turn into a freedom concern (may be distant future, but the change into it has to start somewhere.)


Yin This itself isn't that bad, but it can lead into something that is horrific if it goes the wrong way


It only takes the next government to turn it into a full scale nightmare, how long did it take Hitler to turn Germany into a nazi state?

I also have to question what your thoughts are on webcams built in to laptops these days.


If you are questioning me personally, I have to say that I hate them. If they were sold as an accessory, I would have no problem with them. Since they are now usually built-in, they can easily be manipulated and used by anyone who knows how to tap into them (which government agencies, I am sure, know how to do.) With all of these cameras and audio recorders in home and even in public, it is an easy setup to take control of most of the population if placed in the wrong hands. I don't trust the NSA or CIA. Maybe they do protect us here and there, but there is no need to be spying on American citizens.


I'm not gonna lie, I'm paranoid after reading 1984. Big Brother, the thought police, you name it. Requiring a camera in the same room as your xbone is just asking for trouble. As for the laptop comment, I'm not really sure how those could be accessed by outside sources unless connected to the internet.

HUSSIEN323Posted:

and we believe Microsoft.
how many times have they screwed other companies over.
smh

UrfPosted:

GibbityTree
Urf I really don't care what they say, I know it's a **** lie. They're just protecting their ass.


Can't trust anyone nowadays, can we?


Considering the NSA has been spying on us for years, and we are NOW just finding out about it, nope. Our corrupt **** government can go **** itself.

GibbityTreePosted:

Urf I really don't care what they say, I know it's a **** lie. They're just protecting their ass.


Can't trust anyone nowadays, can we?

UrfPosted:

I really don't care what they say, I know it's a **** lie. They're just protecting their ass.


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