USA: Access Now raises concerns about risks to digital rights from augmented reality games & headsets
In September 2020, the computer games companies Nintendo and Velan Studio announced the release of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, a new game employing augmented reality (AR). AR refers to technology that allows users to view their environment with an overlaid digital layer. Its usage in Pokémon Go was criticised by privacy advocates for collecting huge amounts of data about players. In the same month, Facebook announced the launch of Project Aria, tasked to develop its own augmented reality glasses.
In an article Access Now examines how the incorporation of AR in games, headsets, and glasses presents serious concerns for our digital rights, particularly privacy, and in open letters to Nintendo and Velan Studios ask how the companies will safeguard user rights.