Activision Blizzard account lock and forced arbitration: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Feature Ransom]] | |||
[[Category:Legal Lockout]] | |||
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On March 21, 2024, [[wikipedia:Activision_Blizzard|Activision Blizzard]] blocked access to Blizzard services, requiring customers to accept [[Forced Arbitration|forced arbitration]] terms in the updated Blizzard [[end-user license agreement]] (EULA)<ref>Blizzard End User License Agreement written by Activision Blizzard last updated March 21, 2024 [https://web.archive.org/web/20241225130154/https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement Archived] December 25, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2025.</ref>. In effect, customers were prevented from accessing their account (including games licensed to them) until they accepted these terms. | |||
This change to the EULA constitutes an example of a [[EULA roofie|EULA Roofie]]. | |||
==Incident== | |||
[[File:Screenshot of the popup presented to users on Battle.net.png|alt=A popup from Battle.net showing the following text: "Review Terms. By clicking Agree you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the Blizzard End User License Agreement and Blizzard Entertainment Online Privacy Policy."|thumb|The popup users were presented with. Clicking "Cancel" would log the user out.]] | |||
When logging in to Blizzard services (using the ''Battle.net'' game client or ''Blizzard.com''), a pop-up appeared asking users to review the Blizzard EULA and [[Privacy policy|Privacy Policy]]. Dismissing the prompt would force the user to log out of their account, which would prevent access to all Blizzard services. Some users even could not access Blizzard Support.<ref>New EULA dated March 21, 2024 a discussion on the public Blizzard forums under Starcraft 2 started by user Ecip-1680 https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/new-eula-dated-march-21-2024/28315 also [https://web.archive.org/web/20250115044227/https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/new-eula-dated-march-21-2024/28315 Archived] January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 14, 2025.</ref> | |||
== | ===Impact on access to customer support=== | ||
A particularly problematic aspect of this situation was that customers could not access Blizzard Support to ask questions about the EULA without first accepting it.<ref name="forum-discussion">New EULA dated March 21, 2024 forum discussion https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/new-eula-dated-march-21-2024/28315</ref> This created a situation where users needed to agree to terms they had questions about in order to ask questions about those terms. | |||
The EULA | ===Terms of the new EULA=== | ||
The new Blizzard EULA starts with the following clause in bold, binding users to [[forced arbitration]]:<blockquote>'''THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THE SECTION TITLED "DISPUTE RESOLUTION." THIS AGREEMENT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO ANY "DISPUTE" BETWEEN YOU AND BLIZZARD AND MAY REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES IN BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION, AND NOT IN COURT.'''</blockquote> | |||
These clauses | Users who reject the EULA have limited recourse in refunds:<blockquote>IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO INSTALL, COPY, OR USE THE BLIZZARD PLATFORM OR GAMES. IF YOU REJECT THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS AFTER YOUR PURCHASE OF A GAME FROM BLIZZARD, YOU MAY CONTACT BLIZZARD THROUGH <nowiki>https://us.battle.net/support/en/</nowiki> TO INQUIRE ABOUT A FULL REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THAT GAME.</blockquote> | ||
{{Important|This clause would apply to any online services for games, such as Warcraft 3, which could be purchased as early as 2002.<ref>Wikipedia article on Warcraft III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft_III:_Reign_of_Chaos</ref> Such purchases are far outside the 14-day refund window.}} | |||
===Historical context of clause=== | |||
These clauses, as well as the legal actions they represent, are not new to the Blizzard EULA. Similar verbiage can be seen in previous versions of the EULA as far back as 2018.<ref>Blizzard End User License Agreement written by Activision Blizzard last updated June 1, 2018 [https://web.archive.org/web/20180919091644/https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement Archived] September 19, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2025.</ref> | |||
===Impact on subscription services=== | |||
Active ''World of Warcraft'' subscribers were particularly affected by this change, as their subscriptions would continue to bill, despite subscribers being unable to access the service if they did not accept the new terms.<ref name="forum-discussion" /> This created a situation where users were being charged for a service they could not access unless they agreed to new legal terms. | |||
==See also== | |||
*[[Forced arbitration]] | |||
*[[EULA roofie]] | |||
*[[Game Platform Terms of Service]] | |||
==References== | |||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Activision Blizzard]] | |||
[[Category:Forced Arbitration]] | |||
[[Category:Incidents]] | |||
[[Category:Digital rights management]] | |||
[[Category:End-user license agreements]] | |||
[[Category:Articles based on videos]] | |||
Latest revision as of 13:56, 30 January 2025
On March 21, 2024, Activision Blizzard blocked access to Blizzard services, requiring customers to accept forced arbitration terms in the updated Blizzard end-user license agreement (EULA)[1]. In effect, customers were prevented from accessing their account (including games licensed to them) until they accepted these terms.
This change to the EULA constitutes an example of a EULA Roofie.
Incident[edit | edit source]
When logging in to Blizzard services (using the Battle.net game client or Blizzard.com), a pop-up appeared asking users to review the Blizzard EULA and Privacy Policy. Dismissing the prompt would force the user to log out of their account, which would prevent access to all Blizzard services. Some users even could not access Blizzard Support.[2]
Impact on access to customer support[edit | edit source]
A particularly problematic aspect of this situation was that customers could not access Blizzard Support to ask questions about the EULA without first accepting it.[3] This created a situation where users needed to agree to terms they had questions about in order to ask questions about those terms.
Terms of the new EULA[edit | edit source]
The new Blizzard EULA starts with the following clause in bold, binding users to forced arbitration:
THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THE SECTION TITLED "DISPUTE RESOLUTION." THIS AGREEMENT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO ANY "DISPUTE" BETWEEN YOU AND BLIZZARD AND MAY REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES IN BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION, AND NOT IN COURT.
Users who reject the EULA have limited recourse in refunds:
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO INSTALL, COPY, OR USE THE BLIZZARD PLATFORM OR GAMES. IF YOU REJECT THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS AFTER YOUR PURCHASE OF A GAME FROM BLIZZARD, YOU MAY CONTACT BLIZZARD THROUGH https://us.battle.net/support/en/ TO INQUIRE ABOUT A FULL REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THAT GAME.
Important: This clause would apply to any online services for games, such as Warcraft 3, which could be purchased as early as 2002.[4] Such purchases are far outside the 14-day refund window.
Historical context of clause[edit | edit source]
These clauses, as well as the legal actions they represent, are not new to the Blizzard EULA. Similar verbiage can be seen in previous versions of the EULA as far back as 2018.[5]
Impact on subscription services[edit | edit source]
Active World of Warcraft subscribers were particularly affected by this change, as their subscriptions would continue to bill, despite subscribers being unable to access the service if they did not accept the new terms.[3] This created a situation where users were being charged for a service they could not access unless they agreed to new legal terms.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Blizzard End User License Agreement written by Activision Blizzard last updated March 21, 2024 Archived December 25, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ↑ New EULA dated March 21, 2024 a discussion on the public Blizzard forums under Starcraft 2 started by user Ecip-1680 https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/new-eula-dated-march-21-2024/28315 also Archived January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New EULA dated March 21, 2024 forum discussion https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/sc2/t/new-eula-dated-march-21-2024/28315
- ↑ Wikipedia article on Warcraft III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft_III:_Reign_of_Chaos
- ↑ Blizzard End User License Agreement written by Activision Blizzard last updated June 1, 2018 Archived September 19, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2025.