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FAQ - European player data transfer to Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. US

Why are you transferring my data to the US?
The transfer is in order to centralize player data for our new global customer management tool. This tool will enhance the communication between you and Blizzard. Note that the transfer only concerns the existing processing related to such communication, and will not affect your access to World of Warcraft or Blizzard Europe support.

What effect will this have on my personal data and its privacy?
Your data will continue to be kept in the safest possible environment. Neither the transfer of your data or its storage in the US will decrease the security we treat it with, and we will continue to comply with European data protection laws.

Will my data be transferred to any third party?
No. Your data will only be transferred internally and will not be passed on to any third-parties.

What effect will this have on my World of Warcraft account?
Your World of Warcraft account will be unaffected in any way. You will be able to access the game and your account management page in the same way as before.

How will my data be managed after the transfer?
Blizzard Entertainment Europe will continue to provide you with the World of Warcraft Insider, newsletter and exclusive information in the same way as we do today. Blizzard Entertainment Inc. in the United States will handle the processing of your data, while Blizzard Entertainment Europe will remain the data controller.

What are the specifics of the data Blizzard is transferring to the US?
The transfer will concern only some specific personal information, required for our new global customer management tool to function, such as identification information provided at the time of registration to the newsletter, or creation of a game account. Additionally, as is explained in our privacy policy, some other information collected during the provision of the service may also be concerned by the transfer: game and account related data, consumer options data, and language data. Please note that no banking details will be transferred.

What about my banking details? Will they remain with Blizzard Europe?
Yes. Your credit card, bank account, or other payment details, will not be transferred to the US. We will continue to treat them with the utmost security and confidentiality.

What processes are currently performed with my personal data?
The purpose of our current personal data processing is to provide you with online services and support related to World of Warcraft. Billing, account management and technical support requires some of the personal information you supply with your account to be collected and processed. In addition, your data can be used to inform you of new features, contests and other information related to Blizzard products. Your data may also be used for statistical purposes.

Can I still exercise my rights to access, modify and delete my personal data?
Yes, you will still be able to exercise the rights attached to your data. For more information on those rights and how you can use them, see our Privacy Policy at http://www.blizzard.co.uk/privacy.shtml. Please note that the right of modification is only an authorization to delete or correct erroneous information, not to change your data. In order to ensure the safety and confidentiality of your data, it can be necessary to provide us with additional identification details when you request to modify your data.

Where should I address questions regarding my World of Warcraft account?
You can continue to address any questions to Blizzard using the same tools as before, such as web forms, e-mail and in-game tickets. Blizzard Europe’s customer support teams will continue to deal with these enquiries, and the management of your personal data will still be performed locally.

What if I don’t want my data to be transferred?
You can contact us and let us know that you do not want your data to be transferred. As this transfer is part of a process to ensure better communication between you and Blizzard, this will affect your ability to receive any exclusive information or content from us. However, you will still be able to access the game, support services and forums. You can also unsubscribe from promotional e-mails by sending an e-mail to stopmail-eu@blizzard.com.

Will this new messaging tool result in Blizzard sending me more e-mails than at present?
No. The global messaging tool is not intended to increase the amount of messaging to our players, but to send the messages that we do more effectively.