Electronic Arts 2015 Annual Report Download - page 85

Annual Report
illegitimate generation and sale of virtual items in black markets. Our online services have been impacted by in-
game exploits and the use of automated processes to generate virtual currency illegitimately in the past, which
were traded in black markets. These kinds of activities and the steps that we take to address these issues may
result in a loss of anticipated revenue, interfere with players’ enjoyment of a balanced game environment and
cause reputational harm.
We may experience outages and disruptions of our online services that may harm our business.
We are investing and expect to continue to invest in technology, hardware and software to support our portfolio
of online products and services. Launching and operating online games and services, developing related
technologies and implementing online business initiatives is expensive and complex. Execution of these
initiatives could result in operational failures and other issues impacting the technical stability of our products
and services. In addition, having the necessary infrastructure to support our online products and services is vital
to our growth and success. Our products and services could be adversely impacted by outages, disruptions and
failures in our network and related infrastructure, as well as in the online platforms of key business partners who
offer or support our online products and services.
Our business could be adversely affected if our consumer protection, data privacy and security practices
are not adequate, or perceived as being inadequate, to prevent data breaches, or by the application of
consumer protection and data privacy and security laws generally.
In the course of our business, we collect, process, store and use consumer information, including personal
information, passwords and credit card information. Although we take measures to protect consumer information
from unauthorized access, acquisition, disclosure and misuse, our security controls, policies and practices may
not be able to prevent the improper or unauthorized access, acquisition or disclosure of such consumer
information. In addition, third party vendors and business partners which in the course of our business receive
access to consumer information that we collect also may not prevent data security breaches with respect to the
consumer information we provide them or fully enforce our policies, contractual obligations and disclosures
regarding the collection, use, storage, transfer and retention of personal data. The unauthorized access,
acquisition or disclosure of consumer information could significantly harm our reputation, compel us to comply
with disparate breach notification laws and otherwise subject us to proceedings by governmental entities or
others and substantial legal liability. A perception that we do not adequately secure consumer information could
result in a loss of current or potential consumers and business partners, as well as a loss of anticipated revenues.
Our key business partners also face these same risks with respect to consumer information they collect and data
security breaches with respect to such information could cause reputational harm to them and negatively impact
our ability to offer our products and services through their platforms.
We are also subject to payment card association rules and obligations pursuant to contracts with payment card
processors. Under these rules and obligations, if information is compromised, we could be liable to payment card
issuers for the cost of associated expenses and penalties. In addition, if we fail to follow payment card industry
security standards, even if no customer information is compromised, we could incur significant fines or
experience a significant increase in payment card transaction costs.
In addition, the rate of data privacy, security and consumer-protection law-making is accelerating globally, and
the interpretation and application of consumer protection and data privacy and security laws in the United States,
Europe and elsewhere are often uncertain, contradictory and in flux. It is possible that these laws may be
interpreted or applied in a manner that is adverse to us or otherwise inconsistent with our practices, which could
result in litigation, regulatory investigations and potential legal liability or require us to change our practices in a
manner adverse to our business. As a result, our reputation may be harmed, we could incur substantial costs, and
we could lose both customers and revenue.
Any failure by EA, or our agents to comply with our privacy policy or with other federal, state or international
privacy-related or data protection laws and regulations could result in proceedings against EA by governmental
entities or others as well as resulting liability.
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