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Podcasts Take Two
Online games being monitored by US and British spy agencies
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Dec 9, 2013
Listen 6:50
Online games being monitored by US and British spy agencies
When you play a game like World of Warcraft, you're not only playing with dwarf paladins and goblin mages, but human spies, too. The New York Times and ProPublica report on how spy agencies have been monitoring communications on MMORPGs.
A screenshot of World of Warcraft gameplay
A screenshot of World of Warcraft gameplay
(
Blizzard Entertainment
)

When you play a game like World of Warcraft, you're not only playing with dwarf paladins and goblin mages, but human spies, too. The New York Times and ProPublica report on how spy agencies have been monitoring communications on MMORPGs.

Fire up a online game, like "World of Warcraft," and you're transported to a fantastical land where you can take on quests while playing as a character you create, like a dwarf hunter or an orc mage.

But it turns out that in this world, there are also human spies lurking about. A new report by ProPublica and the New York Times details how, for years, American and British spy agencies have been monitoring the communications in massive multiplayer games like, "World of Warcraft," and, "Second-Life."

ProPublica reporter Justin Elliott joins Take Two to explain why they were being monitored and what, if anything, was found.