We collect, process, store, use and share data, some of which contains personal information, including the personal information of our players. Our business is therefore subject to a number of federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations, regulatory codes and guidelines governing data privacy, data protection and security, including with respect to the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, sharing and protection of personal information. Such laws, regulations, regulatory codes and guidelines may be inconsistent across jurisdictions or conflict with other rules.
The scope of data privacy and security regulations worldwide continues to evolve. While the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been a significant piece of legislation, it is no longer the principal legislation relating to personal data. We believe that the adoption of increasingly restrictive regulations in this area is likely within the United States and other jurisdictions. For example, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), which gives California residents new rights to access and require deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is collected, used, and shared. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for security breaches that may increase security breach litigation. Since the CCPA, was enacted, as of the end of 2024, 19 other U.S. states have enacted consumer data privacy laws, and the effects of these state laws are significant and have required, and could continue to require, us to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Further, there currently are a number of additional proposals related to data privacy or security pending before federal, state, and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies and there appears to be a trend towards more stringent state privacy legislation in the U.S., which could increase our potential liability and adversely affect our business. Further, there continues to be expansions of privacy laws and guidance worldwide. For instance, the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, significantly expanded the CCPA, including by introducing additional obligations such as data minimization and storage limitations, granting additional rights to consumers, such as correction of personal information and additional opt-out rights, and creating a new entity, the California Privacy Protection Agency, to implement and enforce the law. Various U.S. states' privacy laws including in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Tennessee are also due to go into effect in 2025 and 2026. Data Protection legislation may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment in resources to compliance programs, and could impact strategies and availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies.
Further, the European Union has adopted comprehensive data privacy and security regulations. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on controllers and processors of personal data in the European Economic Area, or EEA, including, for example, higher standards for obtaining consent from individuals to process their personal data, more robust disclosures to individuals and a strengthened individual data rights regime, and shortened timelines for data breach notifications. The GDPR created compliance obligations applicable to our business and some of our players, which could require us to self-determine how to interpret and implement these obligations, change our business practices and expose us to lawsuits (including class action or similar representative lawsuits) by consumers or consumer organizations for alleged breach of data protection laws. The GDPR increases financial penalties for noncompliance (including possible fines of up to 4% of global annual revenues for the preceding financial year or €20 million (whichever is higher) for the most serious violations). The United Kingdom operates a separate but similar regime to the European Union that allows for fines of up to the greater of £17.5 million or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year. EU countries may also have their own data protections laws in addition to the GDPR. Further, we are required to comply with the GDPR and also the United Kingdom GDPR (UK GDPR), which, together with the amended United Kingdom Data Protection Act 2018, retains the GDPR in United Kingdom national law. These laws and regulations lead to additional costs and increase our overall risk exposure.
In recent years, the United States and European lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern over electronic marketing and the use of third-party cookies, web beacons and similar technology for online behavioral advertising. In the European Union, marketing is defined broadly to include any promotional material and the rules specifically on e-marketing are currently set out in the ePrivacy Directive which will be replaced by a new ePrivacy Regulation. While the ePrivacy Regulation was originally intended to be adopted in May 2018 (alongside the GDPR), it is still going through the European legislative process. The current draft of the ePrivacy Regulation imposes strict opt-in e-marketing rules with limited exceptions for business-to-business communications and significantly increases fining powers to the same levels as the GDPR. Regulation of cookies and web beacons may lead to broader restrictions on our online activities, including efforts to understand followers' internet usage and promote ourselves to them. Additionally, some states in the U.S. have wiretapping type laws, for instance the California Invasion of Privacy Act ("CIPA"), which plaintiffs' lawyers have recently begun applying to online data collection via cookies and similar technologies, with some courts claiming such practices constitute illegal eavesdropping without consent. CIPA requires "opt-in" consent, making it difficult to argue consent was given without mechanisms like opt in cookie banners. These laws are separate from state privacy laws like the CCPA or CPRA, and despite being drafted before the internet era, are being applied to online activities by certain plaintiffs' lawyers, which potentially pose a risk to online businesses like us.
Israel also has data protection laws and regulations, including the Israeli Protection of Privacy Law, 5741-1981, or the PPL. The PPL imposes certain obligations on the owners of databases containing personal data, including, e.g., a requirement to register databases with certain characteristics, an obligation to notify data subjects of the purposes for which their personal data is collected and processed and of the disclosure of such data to third parties, a requirement to respond to certain requests from data subjects to access, rectify, and/or delete personal data relating to them and an obligation to maintain the security of personal data. In addition, the Protection of Privacy Regulations (Data Security), 5777-2017, imposes comprehensive data security requirements on the processing of personal data. The Protection of Privacy Regulations (Transfer of Data to Overseas Databases), 5761-2001, further impose certain conditions on cross-border transfers of personal data from databases in Israel. A significant amendment to the PPL was recently enacted and will take effect in August 2025. This amendment enhances the enforcement authority of the Israeli data protection regulator, expands the provisions in the law which can be subject to statutory damages, and introduces new obligations on organizations, including for example the mandatory appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) in certain circumstances.
Certain violations of the PPL are considered a criminal and/or a civil offense and could expose the violating entity to criminal, administrative, and financial sanctions, as well as to civil actions. Additionally, the Israel Privacy Protection Authority, or the Privacy Protection Authority, may issue a public statement that an entity violated the PPL, and such a determination could potentially be used against such entity in civil litigation. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has also introduced further expected amendments to the PPL designed, among other things, to enhance the Privacy Protection Authority's investigative and enforcement powers (including powers to impose fines) and to broaden data subject rights.
Other examples of evolving data privacy and security regulations around the world include the Indian draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules which is open for public comment at present and the recently enacted Personal Data Protection Bill in Indonesia.
Regarding transfers to the United States of personal data (as such term is used in the GDPR and applicable EU member state legislation) about our staff, European users, and other third parties, we utilize certain standard contractual clauses approved by the EU Commission (the SCCs). The SCCs and other cross-border data transfer mechanisms have been the subject of legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny in the past and may face additional legal challenges or be the subject of additional legislative activity and regulatory guidance. Revised SCC's are anticipated in 2025 whereby we may need to implement different or additional measures to establish or maintain legitimate means for the transfer and receipt of personal data from the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to the United States (and other countries), and we may, in addition to other impacts, experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens, and we face the potential for regulators to apply different standards to the transfer of personal data from the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to the United States (and other countries), and to block, or require verification of measures taken with respect to, certain data flows from the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to the United States (and other countries). We also may be required to engage in contract negotiations with third parties that aid in processing data on our behalf, to the extent that any of our service providers or consultants have been relying on invalidated or insufficient transfer mechanisms (including the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and/or contractual protections) for compliance with evolving interpretations of and guidance for cross-border data transfers pursuant to the GDPR, Swiss privacy laws, and UK privacy laws. In such cases, we may not be able to find alternative service providers which could limit our ability to process personal data from the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom and increase our costs and/or impact our games or other offerings. We may face a risk of enforcement actions by data protection authorities in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom relating to personal data transfers. Any such enforcement actions could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, distract management and technical personnel, and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Efforts to comply with these and other data privacy and security restrictions that may be enacted could require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and increase the cost of our operations. Failure to comply with such restrictions could subject us to criminal and civil sanctions and other penalties. In part due to the uncertainty of the legal climate, complying with regulations, and any applicable rules or guidance from regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations relating to privacy, data protection, information security and consumer protection, may result in substantial costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which may compromise our growth strategy, adversely affect our ability to attract or retain players, and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposure, financial condition and results of operations.
Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to players or other third parties, or any other legal obligations or regulatory requirements relating to privacy, data protection, or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims (including class actions), or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our players to lose trust in us, and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations, and policies that are applicable to us may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our games. Additionally, if third parties we work with, such as our service providers or data sharing partners, violate applicable laws, regulations, or agreements, such violations may put our players' and/or employees' data at risk, could result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, litigation, claims (including class action claims) or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our players to lose trust in us and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Further, public scrutiny of, or complaints about, technology companies or their data handling or data protection practices, even if unrelated to our business, industry or operations, may lead to increased scrutiny of technology companies, including us, and may cause government agencies to enact additional regulatory requirements, or to modify their enforcement or investigation activities, which may increase our costs and risks.
While most of our games do not target children under 18 years of age as their audience, the FTC, as well as consumer organizations, may consider that the characteristics of several of our games attract children under 13 years of age. The U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal information from children under 13 years of age. The FTC has taken action against other gaming companies relating to children's' privacy, for example, Epic Games, the maker of the popular game Fortnite, agreed to pay a $275 million fine for alleged violations of COPPA as well as take other corrective actions. Recently, the FTC announced a major enforcement action against a game developer for the sale of loot boxes to children and teens without verifiable parental consent. The complaint was settled with the developer having to, among other things, agree to enter into a ten-year compliance monitoring program and pay a fine of $20 million. Although we have taken measures to identify which of our games may be subject to COPPA and to comply with COPPA with respect to those games, if COPPA were to apply to us in a manner other than we have assessed or prepared for, our actual or alleged failure to comply with COPPA may increase our costs, subject us to expensive and distracting lawsuits or government investigations, could result in substantial fines or civil damages and could cause us to temporarily or permanently discontinue certain games or certain features and functions in games.
These laws around children's privacy continue to evolve globally. For example, in the US, the FTC has recently proposed updates to COPPA and there have been federal proposals for new bills such as the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). At the state level, states have enacted their own laws and codes such as California's recently enacted Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. The United Kingdom enacted the "Age Appropriate Design Code" (commonly referred to as the "Children's Code"), a statutory code of practice pursuant to the United Kingdom Data Protection Act 2018. The code requires online services, including our games that are likely to be accessed by children under 18, to put the best interests of the child's privacy first in the design, development and data-related behavior of the game. The UK government has also introduced legislation in relation to user safety online - the Online Safety Act 2023. The Data Protection Commission in Ireland published its Fundamentals for a Child-Oriented Approach to Data Processing, introducing certain child-specific data protection measures. It is possible that other countries within and outside the European Union will follow with their own codes or guidance documents relating to processing personal information from children or in relation to online harms; currently, other countries are considering or have issued drafts of similar codes, including: Denmark, Switzerland and multiple U.S. Federal and State bills such as COPPA 2.0 and KOSA. These may result in substantial costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices which may compromise our growth strategy, adversely affect our ability to attract, monetize or retain players, and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposures, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, in some cases, we are dependent upon our platform providers to solicit, collect and provide us with information regarding our players that is necessary for compliance with these various types of regulations. Our business, including our ability to operate and expand internationally, could be adversely affected if laws or regulations are adopted, interpreted or implemented in a manner that is inconsistent with our current business practices and that require changes to these practices, the design of our games, features or our privacy policy. These platform providers may dictate rules, conduct or technical features that do not properly comply with federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and regulatory codes and guidelines governing data privacy, data protection and security, including with respect to the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, sharing and protection of personal information and other consumer data. In addition, these platforms may dictate rules, conduct or technical features relating to the collection, storage, use, transmission, sharing and protection of personal information and other consumer data, which may result in substantial costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which in turn may compromise our growth strategy, adversely affect our ability to attract, monetize or retain players, and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposures, financial condition and results of operations. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with these platform-dictated rules, conduct or technical features may result in platform-led investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, or public statements against us, which in turn could result in significant liability or temporary or permanent suspension of our business activities with these platforms, cause our players to lose trust in us, and otherwise compromise our growth strategy, adversely affect our ability to attract, monetize or retain players, and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposures, financial condition and results of operations.
Player interaction with our games is subject to our privacy policy and terms of service. If we fail to comply with our posted privacy policy or terms of service or if we fail to comply with existing privacy-related or data protection laws and regulations, it could result in proceedings or litigation against us by governmental authorities or others, which could result in fines or judgments against us, damage our reputation, impact our financial condition and harm our business. If regulators, the media or consumers raise any concerns about our privacy and data protection or consumer protection practices, even if unfounded, this could also result in fines or judgments against us, damage our reputation, and negatively impact our financial condition and damage our business.
In the area of information security and data protection, many jurisdictions have passed laws requiring notification when there is a security breach involving personal data or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to implement. Our security measures and standards may not be sufficient to protect personal information and we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent security breaches. A security breach that compromises personal information could harm our reputation and result in a loss of player and/or employee confidence in our games and ultimately in a loss of players, which could adversely affect our business and impact our financial condition. A security breach could also involve loss or unavailability of business-critical data and could require us to spend significant resources to mitigate and repair the breach, which in turn could compromise our growth and adversely affect our ability to attract, monetize or retain players. These risks could also subject us to liability under applicable security breach-related laws and regulations and could result in additional compliance costs, costs related to regulatory inquiries and investigations, and an inability to conduct our business.