Q: Why did Blizzard Entertainment make changes to the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement?
A: The Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement had not undergone any significant revisions in many years. Due to certain inappropriate actions that have taken place over time on the part of certain members of our user community, we felt that changes were necessary to more effectively manage the Battle.net experience.

We have always made a strenuous effort to keep the barriers to entry for Battle.net very low. The result of this policy is that we are often times unable to effectively deal with players that intentionally attempt to degrade the user experience for the Battle.net community. While we still do not intend on requiring users to go through a lengthy registration process in order to play on Battle.net, we do need to be empowered to deal with individual players that do not follow the rules and negatively impact the Battle.net community.

Q: Does Blizzard have any ulterior motives for updating the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement?
A: No. Blizzard values its loyal customers and would never intentionally do anything to breach the trust that it has built and nurtured with them.

Q: Who will be affected by this change?
A: The only people who should have any concern with the changes to the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement are those that intentionally and maliciously attempt to (i) degrade the Battle.net experience for the Battle.net user community; (ii) cause harm to other members of the Battle.net user community; or (iii) cause harm to Blizzard or Battle.net.

Q: Is Blizzard or Battle.net recording, storing or using any information about me or my computer?
A: Except for the transmission of the CD key, user name, and password, Blizzard does not record, store or use any information about you or your computer.

Q: Does Blizzard intend on selling its user information to a third party?
A: No. Blizzard does not, and has no plans to, gather user information for the purpose of selling it to or sharing it with a third-party.

Q: According to the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement, under what circumstances would Blizzard gather information about me or my computer?
A: (1) Section 4(A) of the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement clearly states those things that users may not do on Battle.net. Section 4(B) and 4(C) explain what the possible repercussions are for breaking the rules in Section 4(A). In order for Sections 4(B) and 4(C) to be enforceable, we must reserve the right to gather certain information so as to be able to identify the infringing user, if permitted by local law. Therefore, Section 8(iii) reserves the right for Blizzard, where allowed by law, to obtain certain information from your computer system. As stated, this may be necessary in the event that Blizzard is required to take disciplinary action against an individual Battle.net user who is in violation of Section 4(A). Additionally, Section 9(iv) of the Terms of Use Agreement allow Blizzard to obtain certain "non-personal" data from your Internet browsing software in order to make certain demographic assumptions regarding the users of Battle.net, if permitted by local law. The purpose of being able to gather this "non-personal" information is to be able to more effectively align Blizzard's product system specifications with our customer's system specifications and also to be able to better tailor the Battle.net experience to our customer's preferences.

Q: Is this policy in effect worldwide, even in countries that forbid the collection of personal data?
A: Most countries worldwide allow for the collection of personal information under the circumstances set forth in the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement. In the event that a user were to violate the Battle.net Terms of Use in a country that forbids such data collection, local laws would take precedent and we would work with local law enforcement to effectively remedy the situation.

Q: Can Blizzard change the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement after I purchased the Blizzard published game?
A: Yes. The Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement has always provided Blizzard with right to change the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement at any time.

Q: How can I be sure that my information is being used or not used like you say?
A: Blizzard has created and now maintains one of the game industry's most stringent privacy policies. Blizzard has made great efforts to ensure that its customer's information is protected. This commitment is evidenced by the fact that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has certified that Blizzard's privacy policy meets all of their stringent guidelines. Blizzard's privacy policy and the ESRB "Privacy Online Certification" can be found at http://www.battle.net/privacy.shtml.

Q: What if a portion of the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement conflicts with local law?
A: Local law always supersedes the Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement. Blizzard will always comply with local laws and regulations.