"Your call may be monitored or recorded for quality purposes." If that sounds familiar to those who call their banks, cable or internet provider, and other companies, the scenario might be soon be similar for PlayStation users. Sony has released an updated Software Usage Terms indicating that the company has the option to monitor and record user activities, including text and voice messages, on the PlayStation Network (PSN).
The updated document went live on the European PSN website Monday, a few days before the U.S. release of the PS4 on November 15 . The terms apply to usage of all versions of Sony PlayStation and all editions of the PSP. It is not clear yet whether this will also be applied to the Terms of Service for the North American market.
The tech world points to specific sections of the Software Usage Terms. The "Are We Monitoring PSN?" section has created some buzz around the gaming world.
"Yes but we can't monitor all PSN activity and we make no commitment to do so. However, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to monitor and record any or all of your PSN activity and to remove any of your UGM at our sole discretion, without further notice to you. Your use of PSN and our community features may be recorded and collected by us or sent to us by other users...," stated section 14.1 of the updated document.
"Any information collected in this way, for example, your UGM, the content of your voice and text communications, video of your gameplay, the time and location of your activities, and your name, your PSN Online ID and IP address, may be used by us or our affiliated companies to enforce these Terms and the SEN Terms of Service, to comply with the law, to protect our rights and those of our licensors and users, and to protect the personal safety of our employees and users. This information may be passed to the police or other appropriate authorities," the same section stated.
Another part of the document puts emphasis on software resale:
"You must not resell either Disc-based Software or Software Downloads, unless expressly authorised by us and, if the publisher is another company, additionally by the publisher."
The PlayStation manufacturer confirmed back in June that gamers will not deal with restrictions for used video games and that the secondhand market for the PS4 will just have the same setup as the PS3.
Shuhei Yoshida, chief of Sony Worldwide Studios, clarified through his Twitter account that Sony PS4 gamers should not worry.
"If you are concerned about our new European TOS, we confirm that you are able to sell or share your disc PS4 products, including in EU," Yoshida tweeted.
