Privacy Screening of Online Game Platforms: A Case Study of “Gamecell”

Year 2020, Issue: 69, 181 - 225, 31.12.2020

Leyla Keser Berber Ayça Atabey

Abstract

Online games and the usage of the Internet are now ubiquitous in the lives of children. From widespread engagement with the Internet through ever changing technologies, children and parents are now faced with a plethora of risks for which they need protection. Despite strong legal instruments in most countries on data protection and privacy, there is still a need to see child privacy on the ground. To that extent, this paper looks into Gamecell - a popular online game platform - by addressing “accountability” of the platforms based on their data protection and privacy obligations under the relevant laws and draw attention to the company’s current practices, aiming to show the gaps existing between theory and practice. By urging all the stakeholders of the online gaming ecosystem to take the necessary steps for accountability reasons, and to truly understand the rules set out in the applicable legal framework, we argue that users’ rights and freedoms are non-negotiable. Finally, we emphasize that stakeholders of the online gaming ecosystem should acquire a true understanding of the importance of “fairness” and online gaming companies should remember that it should be central to all your processing of children’s personal data.

Keywords

Online gaming, privacy, children’s rights, data protection, accountability

Supporting Institution

The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.

Çevrim içi Oyun Platformlarının Gizlilik Taraması: “Gamecell” Analizi

Abstract

Çevrim içi oyunlar çocukların hayatında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Çocuklar, yaygın internet kullanımı ve sürekli değişen teknolojilerin yarattığı riskler nedeniyle korunmaya ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Birçok ülkede mahremetiyet ve veri koruması ile ilgili güçlü yasalar olmasına rağmen, çocuk mahremiyeti konusunda yeterli hasassiyet gösterilmemektedir. Bu makale, bilinen bir çevrim içi oyun platformu olan Gamecell'in uygulamalarını ilgili yasalar ile düzenlenen “hesap verilebilirlik” ilkesi kapsamında incelemekte ve uygulamadaki aksaklıklara dikkat çekmektedir. Bu makale, aynı zamanda, çevrim içi oyun ekosisteminin tüm paydaşlarının hesap verebilirlik ilkesini özümsemeye teşvik etmeyi ve kullanıcılara karşı yükümlülüklerini hatırlatmayı amaçlamaktadır. Son olarak, çevrim içi oyun ekosisteminde yer alan tüm paydaşların veri işleme faaliyetleri kapsamında dürüstlük ilkesini içselleştirmeleri gerektiği savunulmaktadır.

Keywords

Çevrim içi oyunlar, mahremiyet, çocuk hakları, kişisel verilerin korunması, hesap verilebilirlik

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