We want to say a few words about the Age Appropriate Design Code. These are some recent legal changes in the UK which govern how companies handle children's data.
The Age Appropriate Design Code only applies to players based in the United Kingdom, but we have applied the principles to all player accounts regardless of location. The law defines a child as someone under 18 years of age. Jagex was already largely compliant with the new rules, but some changes were required to ensure full compliance.
What's Changed?
We have updated our End User License Agreement (EULA), Terms & Conditions, support articles and our Privacy Policy to make them clearer and easier to understand for younger players.
We've also simplified the Rules of RuneScape, making our expectations clearer, and provided additional information for many rules.
Alterations include:
- Regarding Inappropriate Language, we've made the unacceptable behaviours clearer and we've added some clarification about swearing/cussing, as well as bullying and harassment. We've also added a small list of topics which we do not want discussed in our games.
- We've added some context our Real World Trading rule and the associated risks.
- We've expanded the Games of Chance rule to clarify the use of 'bots' and websites/services.
- We have listed some of the most common scams for awareness, and offered some clarification around player-run 'swapping services'.
- We have expanded the Staff Impersonation rule, focusing on attempted phishing.
- We've clarified exactly what information is classed as 'personal details'.
- Our bug abuse rule has also been tweaked, particularly for players who accidentally discover a bug and might be worried about being banned.
- We've also added a short FAQ that covers what you should do if you have been muted or banned, how to submit an abuse report, an outline of how handle abuse reports, and what you should do if you are worried about another player.
Players without a date of birth on record will be prompted to supply us with one in the near future. This ensures that you are old enough to play our games and helps us process your data in line with the Age Appropriate Design Code.
In addition, we will not send marketing emails to players under 18 years of age, regardless of whether they have opted in to receive them.
We've also opened a new service allowing parents of players to contact us directly if they are concerned about their child's account use.
Finally, we have revised our internal processes regarding the storing and processing of children's data, in accordance with the law.
That's it! Like we said, you shouldn't notice any differences.