Earlier today, Sony released PlayStation 4 update 8.00, which was meant to make improvements to the party chat system among a number of other quality-of-life changes. Unfortunately, it appears as though PS4 system update 8.00 is causing a slew of issues, with players reporting difficulty using the party chat system at all, as well as connecting to online multiplayer games. However, one issue fans have with PS4 update 8.00 is actually something that Sony intentionally added.

Fans noticed that upon downloading PS4 update 8.00, they were greeted by a message telling them that voice chats can now be recorded by other users and subject to moderation. Not only that, but anyone that uses the PS4 party chat system has to agree to their voice being recorded. Sony did not make any mention of this in its blog post that detailed PS4 update 8.00, which has further upset fans. However, it should be noted that Sony has made mention of monitoring and recording PS4 voice chat features in the terms of service since the PS4 launched; it's unclear if this has always been happening in party chats or not, but Sony's pop-up message telling users about it is certainly new.

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Clearly, the intention of this is so Sony can try to better crack down on online toxicity. This way, Sony will be able to hold players accountable for not just what they type to other players, but what they physically speak as well. However, some fans think that this is taking things too far, especially since PS4 players now have to agree to their voices being recorded to use voice chat features, even if they just plan on using the party chat feature with friends.

Sony's lack of transparency when it comes to implementing this new party chat moderation tool seems to be the main sticking point for fans who are upset about it. But regardless of how fans feel about it, if they want to play PS4 games online, they will need to agree to have their voice chat recorded, and potentially be subject to moderation. Of course, if fans simply don't engage in inappropriate behavior, they shouldn't have to worry about any consequences, though there is always potential for abuse with systems like this.

Sony adding this to the PS4 with system update 8.00 is a good indication that the PlayStation 5 will utilize the same thing for its party chat, or something similar. Sony actually has yet to reveal the PS5 UI in any major capacity, though, so it's possible that it will have a completely different set-up. Fans can only speculate until Sony decides to share more information, but with the PS5 release date less than a month away, more information should come sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, here's hoping Sony is able to fix the PS4 update 8.00 issues that are currently plaguing the console.

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