In the wake of revelations that no one has any privacy on the Internet a new documentary was released called “Terms And Conditions May Apply,” which should be a wakeup call for folks to start reading Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies. Time reported that the documentary was released on July 12, 2013 and the:
…film that takes a look at just what we’re agreeing to when we click through without reading the small print.
Even though few people bother read them, ToS and Privacy Policies affect all users of the Internet, including millions of people who are active in virtual worlds including Second Life and online video games.
Second Life celebrated its 10th anniversary in June. Some readers may think Second Life is nothing but a game, but Second Life claims that there are more than "50 million user hours a month and over (US)$500 million user transactions each year." In the first 10 years of Second Life, "36 million accounts were created, $3.6 billion (that is real money!) was spent on virtual assets and the … total time users spent on SL is 217,266 years," according to Wikipedia.
To learn more about the Law in Second Life please read my eCommerce Times column entitled “Laying Down the Virtual Law in Second Life.”