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Information Privacy:
Information privacy is nearly nonexistent in Free Guy through the fact that seemingly all player actions are recorded, the main character’s very self is able to be observed as a file and decision tree, and that the plot revolves uncovering information that can be considered private to the game developer in order to find evidence of a crime.
Throughout the movie, in game clips and recordings are repeatedly shown as a plot point. They detail the feats of players and the main character, illustrating growth and change in the world. These recordings are not just visual, but also general information about players such as skins and their locations in game. The problem this causes with information privacy is that Guy had no idea he was being recorded, and the game company easily got his location in order to harass him at first for his “skin” being that of an NPC (which he was), and later in order to attempt to prevent him from reaching beyond the bounds of the game. As Guy can be considered a fully sentient AI, the company knowing his location at all times violates his privacy, as he never consented to such a thing. In addition to his location being easily accessed, at multiple points in the movie the totality of Guy’s person is represented by a decision tree, specifically his pre-awareness self and post awareness self to highlight the differences. This information was easily accessed by a company employee, and every single bit of the person known as “Guy” was shown on the screen. Humans have the privacy and sanctity of their own mind, with nothing being able to breach and read it, but Guy’s private mind and thoughts were violated and displayed without his consent, throwing privacy to the wind. Guy’s privacy is not the only one violated in the movie, the company that made his home game also has their privacy violated. The goal of Guy and his partner in crime Millie as the story progresses is to prove that the game company utilized Millie’s sold assets without paying royalties. They do this by “going out of bounds” within the game to find the proof they need. They go to areas within the game that can be considered private to find information that the company does not want publicly known, violating information privacy. Monitoring, Guy’s inherent nature, and the overarching goal of the characters combine to show a disregard for information privacy within the digital world in Free Guy.