I am addicted to Tetris. Ever since coming to college, anytime I’m bored I just pull up Tetris online and start playing. Like every other website, I quickly click through all the popups and warnings beforehand so I can go straight to playing. I’m guilty of doing this on almost any website and always forget to read the Privacy Policy that pulls up. After taking a deep dive into Privacy Policy, I realize just how important it is to read Privacy Policies.
Tetris, unlike many other websites, does not display their Privacy Policy as soon as you enter the website but forces you to scroll and look for it if you want to see what’s inside of it. Tetris’ Privacy Policy opens with a description of what a Privacy Policy is. Tetris describes what they use their privacy policy for, “This Privacy Policy describes how we collect and use your information and gives you choices as to how we use it. We welcome you to review this Privacy Policy periodically as we may update it from time to time.” Tetris then provides an address, email, and phone number for people to reach them if they have any data concerns. The website also goes on to define specific terms for later use to make sure that everyone reading the Privacy Policy can understand some terms that might be foreign to them. Now for the typical person, the quote, definitions, and contact information might suffice, but I wanted to explore more about the Privacy Policy. Tetris then provides an address, email, and phone number for people to reach them if they have any data concerns. The website also goes on to define specific terms for later use in order to make sure that everyone reading the Privacy Policy can understand some terms that might be foreign to them.
Later, in the Privacy Policy, data collection starts to popup. Tetris in one paragraph sums up what data is being collected and how it is being used. Tetris states what it collects very plainly, “ISP (Internet Service Provider) address, the referring URL and, information on the pages you access on our sites. We may also collect personally identifiable information, such as names, addresses and e-mail addresses that you provide when you make a purchase or contact us.” Tetris then lists out how the data that is collected is being used:
- “To generally improve the content and layout of our website
- To improve the content and layout of our website for individual visitors
- To notify you about updates to our website
- To respond to questions or comments
- To contact you for marketing purposes
- For internal review”
This seems like the typical areas that data would be going to, but they also discuss how third parties can get access to this information. The policy talks about how third parties who provide service to the website can receive information such as a credit card processing site and other such sites that provide a function or service to Tetris. The collection of general data and cookies also takes place as discussed later in the Policy. Things such as operating systems and what type of browser is being used, are sent to Tetris as a result of using their services. Also, by sending cookies, the policy mentions, “The information and offers on our website can be optimized with the user in mind.” This begs the question of how much information is needed in order to optimize my experience?
Most of the Privacy Policy spoke regarding the GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR allows EU citizens to contact the company and remove all their data from the website or even allow them to see what kind of information is being collected on them. Now I find this interesting because as Americans, GDPR does not affect us because it was passed by the EU. This might confuse many as they may assume that GDPR also affects them as a US citizen. This also causes the Privacy Policy to add more paragraphs to make sure they cover all their bases when it comes to complying with the GDPR. This is seen in the latter half of the policy which mainly focuses on this issue.
Finally, towards the end of the policy, Tetris talks about the use of Google AdSense and Analytics on their website. AdSense is how personalized ads are displayed on the side of the website to earn revenue as someone plays Tetris, and Analytics is how the company gathers its information and analyzes it. After talking about data usage for much of the policy, it goes on to talk about the use of the website by children and the deletion of any child information that may be collected as a result of being an open website.
I was shocked to see how much information was being collected on me. Just a simple website where I play Tetris to pass the time collects so much data on me from the five minutes that I sit on the website. I think that it is important to take time to read at least some Privacy policies as they help people to understand what sort of information is being collected and how it is being used by the company in control of the website. This reminds me of an article that was read in class and a discussion that took place afterward in DCI: 180 about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Although the Tetris website is not doing anything near as extreme as the data mining that took place on Facebook, it is still collecting invaluable data on its users and using it to benefit themselves. Often, we disregard how truly public our information is, and do not realize that every website is constantly tracking every single click that is made in the interest of making more money.
I interviewed my friend, Elle, on the topic to see the perspective of someone who is not currently taking a course that covers subjects such as Privacy Policy. The audio recording is linked below.
Elle’s interview showed me how little is known about what our data is being used for. I didn’t even know what Tetris data would be used for until after I read the privacy policy.
In the end, I appreciate that I took the time to read a Privacy Policy and see how my data is being used on a website that I use daily. This opened my eyes to seeing what goes on the background of my simple Tetris game and what information I’m allowing companies to collect.
Citations:
https://tetris.com/privacy-policy
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mg9vvn/how-our-likes-helped-trump-win
