Zrevnur: It can be a bug and it can be DRM at the same time.
timppu: I don't know what your definition for DRM is, apparently any feature that could be considered annoying in some way?
I agree with this test to say whether a digital game has DRM in the practical sense:
If you have the game installer and any official updates on an external hard drive, can you install and play it on your PC which is without an internet connection, without having to use any unofficial cracks or workarounds? If you can, then it isn't DRM. If you can't, then it is DRM. In the case of Ethan Carter, you can, so no DRM. Also, I have no problem calling those Steam games which can be freely moved to another PC and played there even without Steam installed DRM-free. They also pass that DRM litmus test.
I know different people seem to have different definitions, e.g. if a single-player game even tries to go online for any reason (but doesn't require to go online for using the game), then it is DRM. I disagree with that. Like some others, I've noticed that quite many GOG games actually trigger the Windows firewall to ask whether you allow the game to go online. I have no idea why it does that, but since declining it does not make the game inoperable, I don't consider it as DRM. It doesn't manage at all what I do with the game. Lol
Also, copy protection on physical retail games: is it DRM or not? In a way yes, but that doesn't really matter for GOG games. If you are a console gamer, then it matters to you.
Call it what you want. Any software which attempts to contact an internet server without the users knowledge or agreement is unacceptable. This is equivalent to a Trojan. I couldn't give a monkeys if it is only checking home to get the latest news or something, it is an uncontrolled and unauthorised use of the computer. Why is is that as soon as you raise valid security or privacy concerns on here now that everyone jumps up and down about it being fine and ok, when in fact most people haven't got a clue what it is doing. Perhaps I can send you complainers a small file, it just pings the network to see if there is any Gog news, oh and posts your ip to every major advertiser, checks to see if there are any bank detail on your machines, and links it up to a bot network, so really quite safe.