Oculus answers Sen. Franken's questions about privacy

Steven Loeb · May 20, 2016 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/458e

The company explains why it collects data, and how it shares it with third parties

In April, Senator Al Franken from Minnesota sent to a letter to Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus, asking him to clarify how the company is going to use the data it collects. Specifically he wanted to know of Oculus shares user information with any third parties, how long it keeps the data it collects, and how the company os going to make sure that that data is not exposed in a security breach.

It took over a month, but on Thursday Franken revealed that Oculus has finally responded, answering all of his questions and assuring him that everything is fine.

"At Oculus, we believe that maintaining people's trust is critical to the long term growth of not just our company, but the entire VR community. It's why privacy and security are core to our product and company principals. Our approach to protecting people's information permeates every aspect of our organization," Jordan McCollum, Oculus General Counsel, wrote in a letter dated May 13.

"The day new employees arrive, they participate in privacy and security training, and it's a key part of the product lifecycle, where Oculus conducts ongoing privacy risk assets and security testing. We also explain how we collect, use, and share information in our privacy policy, which we'll continue to update as we build and improve our products and services."

In its  privacy policy Oculus says that it collects name, email address, phone number, and date of birth when a user registers to use its service. In addition, if a person buys something on or through the company, Oculus will collect information about the transaction, which can include payment information,purchase activity, and shipping and contact details.

In his original letter, Franken seemed to take the biggest issue with the location information that Oculus collects from the device's IP address. If the user is on a mobile device, Oculus says it "may collect information about the device's precise location, which is derived from sources such as the device's GPS signal and information about nearby WiFi networks and cell towers."

McCollum addressed the issue, noting that, "This location information is necessary for Oculus to provide services to people around the globe."

There are some apps, and some contect, that are only available in certain areas and countries, for example. It also allows Oculus to serve them with the correct language, price products with the right currency and not disturb them at the wrong time of day.

He also said that Oculus does not share that location information with any third parties.

Franken had also asked why the company collected user's physical movements, to which McCollum said that it was "necessary tool to deliver "a safe, comfortable and seamless VR experience."

If someone is playing ping pong, for example, "Oculus needs to understand the direction, speed, and angle of a person's hand motion to determine if the ping pong ball will reach the person on screen or careen wildly off the virtual table."

The company also answered questions regarding why it stores communication between users, and who it shares data with.

"Our goal is simple - to build the best VR products and experiences for people. To achieve this goal, we share data as necessary to provide our services and enhance the availability of relevant VR products for people," wrote McCollum. However, all of the data is aggregated, and not personal.

He also assured Franken that Oculus is securing user data.

All of this seems to have placated Franken, at least for now.

"I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes the ability to control who is getting your personal information, how it's being used, and who it's being shared with." Senator Franken said in a statement. 

 "Oculus' new virtual reality system—the Rift—is an exciting development that will have a big effect on the future of technology, which is why I want to make sure that the company is doing everything it can to protect the very sensitive, private data of its users. I appreciate that Oculus provided me with a detailed response, and I will continue working with the company to ensure Oculus users have greater clarity about the company's current practices and are provided necessary updates about any future uses of their personal information."

(Image source: youtube.com)

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