Fighting Back: Privacy issues arising from the ban

[webhond]

The law is the law and Blizzard isn't above it. At least in the EU they have to.

im in the eu and every point u made is invalid. i wonder why u keep trying to prove otherwise.

 

[icu]

Wow, you're stille wasting your time on this shit?

Jesus christ.

Yeah well, suppose I get my account back... would it have been such a waste of time then?

 

[icu]

im in the eu and every point u made is invalid. i wonder why u keep trying to prove otherwise.

Okay, calling you out son... PM me your legal credentials.

 

[icu]

I doubt any court in any country would make a company give up information that would be considered a trade secret. ie: the method they used to detect or conclud that we were using a bot program.

Doubt all you like, doesn't change the reality that in the EU organisations must divulge any and all logic involved in any automated decisions made about you or your account when requested. Google it.

 

[gamerhead]

Doubt all you like, doesn't change the reality that in the EU organisations must divulge any and all logic involved in any automated decisions made about you or your account when requested. Google it.

That's assuming these bans were automated.

 

[icu]

The cost to push a lawsuit big enough to get the information out of blizzard would greatly outweigh the reward of it.

No lawsuit required, if they don't supply the information you can report them to your country's authority for enforcing data protection. In fact, because Blizzard is such a big company, they become a target because they can afford to be slapped with a big fine.

 

[tomh2011]

Soo... it appears EU privacy information laws DO override the TOS.. Got a message back from blizz (took them well over 24hours to reply) after asking them in a formal letter to disclose certain personal information (which would certainly spell out how they caught & banned me - as in, if they have this info, that's how they caught me) & they replied:

Greetings,

In accordance with European Data Protection, we can only supply this information if requested via post, and can only be returned via post as well. Please mail our legal department at the following address, who will be happy to assist you in this matter:

Blizzard Entertainment Europe
Account Support
145, rue Yves Le Coz
78000 Versailles
France

Regards,

Blizzard Entertainment

So.. think i'll be writing the same letter to them (& sending it via post) & wait for the response - I'd call that a breakthrough

I think it's more about HOW you ask them and WHAT you ask them for (asking them how did you detect me isn't going to work)

 

[icu]

That's assuming these bans were automated.

The point is, you don't know... no one does at this point. In order to determine if it was then information needs to be requested.

 

[monkeyjoe]

I doubt any court in any country would make a company give up information that would be considered a trade secret. ie: the method they used to detect or conclud that we were using a bot program.

In the UK even the Police have to show you everything they have if requested (current investigations are excluded). In simple terms the Data Protection Act requires any information (about you) stored electronically to be shared on demand. Data Protection Act 1998 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The EU version is basically the same Data Protection Directive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[icu]

In the states thats the case....i believe in EU they actually can be required to divulge such information, but I believe you'd need to file a suit or get a lawyer to bring a class-action up...and does Bosslandgmbh really need that publicity when they just won a case? Did you really care about your botting accounts that much? I for one lost 1 account but my main is still here, and have botted on my main since glider...just manage to take breaks at the right time on that account I guess, but I can say right now I care none about an account being banned...I care more about being able to bot in the future, I would definitely not continue to play wow without a bot, and currently I have yet to come across a bot that was as functional as glider, pirox or hb, so I can't use them to their full potential. PQR was nice but not afk so I didn't like it nearly as much.

You are wrong about the whole of the USA... at least in California an EULA does not give an organisation the right to spy on you. I've read the law in relation to this but as I'm not a resident in California I cannot pursue this further.

 

[Thecamel]

Great post +1 Rep

I have no legal background, but its nice to see this kind of stuff,

However I would like to clarify why I like this post !

1. I know blizzard can cancel my account at any time for any reason ! - if I was to go down a legal path- it would NOT to be get my account back - hell they can ban my account because they don't like my hair style.

2. With the above said, I would like blizzard to know- That "IF" they have broken the law in my country (Australia) in regards to obtaining data they will need to justify there actions in front of a judge. And right now there is a legal firm in Australia that has opened a case regarding blizzards actions. The actions of this firm have "NOTHING" to do with any users wold of Warcraft accounts, but in concern how blizzard obtained this information on a PC owned and maintained by the Australia taxation office..

Quote " Our concerns are not regarding any gaming matter, We simply wish to ensure no personal information was obtained with software used to detect software used against blizzards TOS".

They have not taken any legal action at this time, They have simply accepted this inquiry.

 

[icu]

Great post +1 Rep

I have no legal background, but its nice to see this kind of stuff,

However I would like to clarify why I like this post !

1. I know blizzard can cancel my account at any time for any reason ! - if I was to go down a legal path- it would NOT to be get my account back - hell they can ban my account because they don't like my hair style.

2. With the above said, I would like blizzard to know- That "IF" they have broken the law in my country (Australia) in regards to obtaining data they will need to justify there actions in front of a judge. And right now there is a legal firm in Australia that has opened a case regarding blizzards actions. The actions of this firm have "NOTHING" to do with any users wold of Warcraft accounts, but in concern how blizzard obtained this information on a PC owned and maintained by the Australia taxation office..

Quote " Our concerns are not regarding any gaming matter, We simply wish to ensure no personal information was obtained with software used to detect software used against blizzards TOS".

They have not taken any legal action at this time, They have simply accepted this inquiry.

Interesting, can you please link a source?

 

[killajosh]

You are wrong about the whole of the USA... at least in California an EULA does not give an organisation the right to spy on you. I've read the law in relation to this but as I'm not a resident in California I cannot pursue this further.

Technically, no company has the right to "spy" on you. That's illegal. However, you enter into a binding agreement when you accept Blizz's ToS and that agreement allows them to scan certain areas within your computer. Unfortunately without proof that Blizz is searching your PC outside of the areas they are allowed legally, there is just no way to really fight the suspensions...

 

[Thecamel]

Technically, no company has the right to "spy" on you. That's illegal. However, you enter into a binding agreement when you accept Blizz's ToS and that agreement allows them to scan certain areas within your computer. Unfortunately without proof that Blizz is searching your PC outside of the areas they are allowed legally, there is just no way to really fight the suspensions...

There is no way to fight a suspension not a legal terms anyhow- They can ban your account for any reason they feel like it. However it is possible to prevent blizzard from being so cocky in the future. We have stick laws in Australia regarding snooping- If blizzard was found to be snooping beyond there own software- They may be forced to stop the sale of there software with in Australia.

Now we have no clue on how bizzard did what they did, Perhaps they did stay with in the legal bounds of all countries- but I think its fair to ask blizzard to prove that they DID.

 

[Girainha]

The Key point is how to prove what they did.
Im really sure i can beat them in my countrys courts, the problem is how to force them to comply with our jurisdiction.
The law here is in my favor, the burden of proof is all on the company side, they have to prove that my claims are false. And any EULA clause that is against our law is considered invalid.
And our Constitution forbit any kind of data interception without an order from a Judge.



In a practical point of view im having some doubts if i should persue this or not.
The thing is, after that i'll become a target, even a single piece of gold from an suspect source will be a reason for another Ban.


Im my case, they banned my main account and let my farm accounts unharmed. That is the strange part of the ban wave.

 

[gamerhead]

You are forgetting one key factor. Blizzard entertainment is an American based company. You might need to look at international laws regarding this as they my also play a part in this. Also the burden of proof is on you to prove blizzard scanned more of your pc than the tos/elua allow.

 

[icu]

Technically, no company has the right to "spy" on you. That's illegal. However, you enter into a binding agreement when you accept Blizz's ToS and that agreement allows them to scan certain areas within your computer. Unfortunately without proof that Blizz is searching your PC outside of the areas they are allowed legally, there is just no way to really fight the suspensions...

California Business and Professions Code section 22947 prohibits,

...an unauthorized person from knowingly installing or providing software that performs certain functions, such as collecting personally identifiable information, on or to another user's computer located in California.​

Bold sections for emphasis.

Blizzard wouldn't be able to count on being an 'authorized person' with the EULA as per 22947.1.b,

An “authorized user” does not include a person or entity that has obtained authorization to use the computer solely through the use of an end user license agreement.​

 

[webhond]

theres only one thing i find funny here

you believe, honestly, that blizzard would make a legal mistake while doing this.

im pretty sure, all their lawyers, have everything you can throw at em, allready figure out ten times.

its a mosquito against a elephant, you might be able to sting, but they will never feel it.

 

[ryftobuddy]

Jesus dude, can you stop with this BS?

If you're still so upset about blizzard's practices, open a lawsuit against them. I'm sure you can find some money hungry lawyer that may want your business.

I do feel sorry for you though. If losing your wow account and a maximum of $78 is worth you spending thousands of dollars and a few years of your life fighting in the court system, so be it. It makes absolutely no sense, but you go ahead and do your thing.

 

[webhond]

California Business and Professions Code section 22947 prohibits,

...an unauthorized person from knowingly installing or providing software that performs certain functions, such as collecting personally identifiable information, on or to another user's computer located in California.​

Bold sections for emphasis.

Blizzard wouldn't be able to count on being an 'authorized person' with the EULA as per 22947.1.b,

An “authorized user” does not include a person or entity that has obtained authorization to use the computer solely through the use of an end user license agreement.​

1. you authorized em, you signed the agreement.
2. they collect what u r running, a bot. how personal is that. not!

this gets nowhere. i wish u luck but this whole " im gonna save all your accounts, we can fight blizz 1010101oenoneeleventyone1!!!!!1!! "
is a joke.