Consumer Privacy is an everchanging and risk-filled part of the gaming industry.

Video games are very closely linked to consumers as the regulatory landscapes keep changing and becoming more complex it is very difficult for a game studio to keep up with the regulations and still produce fantastic video games.

PII Data regulations and controls

Personal Identifiable Information in a game is a common issue as it is virtually impossible to run a game without collecting email addresses and acquiring and using email addresses and other types of PII data is perfectly legal, as long as you follow all the guidelines about how it is collected, used and compliant to regulatory consumers access requirements such as Right to be Forgotten and Data Subject Access Requests.

The scope of Privacy goes beyond just games themselves, it includes websites, marketing, and analytics including clear and auditable user consent with controls to ensure that the consumer data is only being used for what they agreed to.

With our years of Privacy and Compliance work in the gaming industry, we can help companies get compliant with consumer data.

COPPA, AADC and CARU

We can reduce the impact and risk profiles of studios as well as individual games. How under the age of consent consumers enter into your systems and understanding what can and cannot be done with their data is key to keeping out of lawsuits.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA):

Imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.

The Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC)

More commonly known as the Children’s Code – has been heralded as the world’s first code to protect children online. Compliance with the AADC became mandatory for in-scope businesses in the UK on 2 September 2021, so we have had just over a year to observe its effects.

Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU)

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), the nation’s first Safe Harbor Program under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), helps companies comply with laws and guidelines that protect children under age 13 from deceptive or inappropriate advertising and ensure that, in an online environment, children’s data is collected and handled responsibly. When advertising or data collection practices are misleading, inappropriate, or inconsistent with laws and guidelines, CARU seeks change through the voluntary cooperation of companies and where relevant, enforcement action.