EA Germany Tweaks Origin ToS, Issues Statement Denying Spyware Claims

Electronic Arts is denying claims from German gamers and the press that its download service Origin spies on users' computer activity and potentially breaks Germany's Privacy laws.

Yesterday German Origin users - who were forced to use the service in order to play Battlefield 3 - reacted in anger after images and video surfaced online appearing to show the service accessing external programs and data synced from mobile phones on computers. The German newspaper Spiegel also printed a list of items from Origin's license agreement that it said could violate German privacy laws.

In response to the very public outcry we detailed yesterday, EA Germany has updated Origin's terms of service and issued a statement denying its software was "spyware."

"We have updated the End User License Agreement of Origin, in the interests of our players to create more clarity," EA Germany announced in a statement yesterday. "Origin is not spyware. Neither do we use nor install spyware on the PCs of users."

"We do not have access to information such as pictures, documents or personal data, which have nothing to do with the execution of the Origin program on the system of the player, neither will they be collected by us," the statement continued. "EA takes the privacy of its users very seriously. We have taken every precaution to protect the personal and anonymous user data collected."

EA closed by saying that Origin's license agreement matches "industry-standard privacy policies" and that it would "work together with the relevant Government agencies to ensure that our policies are and remain legally compliant."

Source: Eurogamer