Kinect 2's visual DRM may threaten user choice

User privacy may be invaded as Microsoft patent suggests 'snooping tech' in motion sensor

Kinect 2 will be able to employ certain DRM measures depending on what it observes in the living room.
That’s the conclusion suggested by a patent filed by Microsoft, and corroborated by sources talking to MCV in the weeks leading up to this week’s Xbox One reveal.

ExtremeTech reports that Microsoft has filed for a patent that allows Kinect to monitor the number of viewers in the room. It then cross-checks this with the maximum number of viewers permitted by the licence that a user agrees to when purchasing or renting content.
If it is deemed that too many people are present, the user will be prompted to pay an additional fee to upgrade the licence.
Says the filing: “The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...en-user-choice