"The agreements themselves are long and complicated, written in a mix of legalese and hyperbole, with sentences like: 'We exclusively own all now-known or hereafter existing rights to Submissions of every kind and nature throughout the universe until the end of time, and are entitled to unlimited use of your Submissions for any purpose we can think of.' If it's difficult for a layperson to make sense of TOS contracts, you can imagine how impossible it is for a kid - assuming he reads the thing in the first place (which, let's be honest, hardly anyone does)."

Sara Grimes uncovers the truth of data mining in children's games.

Mining the Game

Update: California assemblywoman Lori Saldana did indeed go ahead and introduce a bill last month (introduced on the 23rd, and first read on the 26th of February 2007) aimed at strengthening existing online privacy laws, which would potentially include new rules about the use of spyware in online games. Assembly Bill 1392 is scheduled to be heard in committee on March 27th. As it stands, the bill is exceedingly vague, but it will be interesting to see what develops during the committee hearing next week. You can read the bill (and keep up on its progress) here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_1392&sess=CUR&house=B&author=saldana