World-Check Privacy Statement

Who we are
What this privacy statement covers
What World-Check is
Who we hold information about in World-Check
What personal information we process
How we use information about you
Who we disclose your personal information to
Why information may be transferred abroad
How we secure your personal information
How long we keep your information
Automated Decision Making
Your rights
How to contact us
Changes to this privacy statement
Your Questions Answered

(LAST UPDATED: MARCH 12, 2026)

This privacy statement explains how Refinitiv Limited (“Refinitiv”, “we”, “us” or “our”, acting as a data controller) collects, handles, discloses, stores and protects information about you in the context of the World-Check service (“World-Check”).

We encourage you to read this privacy statement thoroughly to understand how we handle your personal information in the context of World-Check. We use sub-headings with collapsible information and hyperlinks to help you find specific information that you may be looking for more easily.

This privacy statement also explains who we are, your rights that may be available to you depending on applicable law, and how you can contact us if you have questions about how we handle your personal information. You can also find answers to commonly‑asked questions about how we handle your personal information in our World-Check FAQs.

Refinitiv Limited, registered in the United Kingdom, is a member of the London Stock Exchange Group of companies (“LSEG Group”) and the entity responsible as data controller for processing personal information within World-Check.

This privacy statement only covers World-Check.

For our general LSEG Privacy Statement, applicable to information the LSEG Group collects from and about users in connection with its other products, services, websites, platforms, software, applications and events, please see our general LSEG Privacy Statement.

World-Check helps financial institutions, corporates, professional services firms, governments, law enforcement agencies, regulators and other World-Check customers and companies within the LSEG Group (“World-Check Users”) to perform due diligence and other screening activities in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations and risk management procedures carried out in the public interest, including but not limited to, the purposes of anti-money-laundering or ‘know your customer’, anti-bribery or anti-corruption or other regulatory compliance checks, or for preventing, investigating, detecting, or prosecuting financial crime, fraud and serious misconduct or dishonesty, or other criminal or unlawful activity (for example, modern slavery, illegal trafficking, environmental crime, etc.) and any unethical conduct (“Checks”).

World-Check Users make their own decisions about how to use the World-Check data they receive in order to conduct their Checks. If you have any questions about these decisions, please refer them to the relevant World-Check User.

You can find general information about the World-Check service on our World-Check information page.

Your information is only included on World-Check if Public Domain Data (as defined below) suggests that there is information about you that World-Check Users ought to be aware of for the purposes of Checks. You can ask whether information about you is included on World‑Check by visiting this page.

When World-Check Users carry out Checks, they can also choose to carry out searches of Public Domain Data contained within media sources using media search tools available in World-Check. For example, they may conduct media searches against names of their customers, vendors, business partners, or other counterparties.

The inclusion of information about you on World-Check does not prevent you from doing business with World-Check Users such as financial institutions. For further explanation of how World‑Check operates, please see our World-Check FAQs.

Your information is typically included on World-Check if Public Domain Data indicates that:

You are a “politically exposed person” (“PEP”) as defined by the FATF Recommendations or fall into a similar category of persons (for example, you are a senior diplomat, member of the judiciary, religious leader, military figure or trade unionist) under national laws or regulations against money-laundering, terrorist financing, bribery or corruption. The FATF Recommendations are global standards against money laundering and terrorist financing issued by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an inter-governmental body originally established by the G7 in 1989 and now with approximately 40 members.
You are a close associate of a PEP, again as defined in the FATF Recommendations. Close associates may include children (for example, the children of a PEP and other minor dependants of a PEP). Where we do collect information about children we will comply with applicable laws and industry guidelines.
You are listed on the website of a regulator, law enforcement authority or governmental body in connection with money-laundering, terrorist financing, bribery, corruption or similar activities.
You are included on a government or international body’s sanctions list (such as the sanctions lists issued by the European Union).
You are linked to terrorist or financial crime-related activities.
You have been accused, investigated, arrested, charged, convicted of, or are suspected of involvement in, crimes which are a possible precursor to money laundering or terrorist financing (e.g. arms trafficking, smuggling, fraud, membership of an organised crime group, environmental offences, war crimes), which are also known as predicate offences.
You have been disqualified or are prohibited from holding positions of responsibility (such as company directorships).

Inclusion of information about you on World-Check does not suggest that you are involved in, or linked to, financial crime, terrorism or any other form of criminality, unlawful activity or unethical conduct. For example, being identified as a PEP simply tells a World-Check User that you perform, or performed, a prominent political or related function or are connected to someone who holds or held such a position.

For the purpose of this privacy statement, "Public Domain Data” means personal information that: (1) is or was originally available to the public and typically over the internet; (2) Refinitiv has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public by or from: (i) the data subject (or consumer or individual to whom the personal information relates), (ii) widely distributed media, or (iii) a person to whom the data subject has disclosed the personal information (provided that Refinitiv does not have knowledge that the data subject has restricted the information to a specific audience); or (3) is or was lawfully made available from records, databases, and/or systems of government agencies, departments, divisions or other operating units, in electronic, paper or any other format. Examples of sources of Public Domain Data include personal information found on: (i) sanction or watch lists; (ii) law enforcement, court, regulatory or other government websites; (iii) political websites and publications such as parliamentary, local government or individual politician websites; (iv) reputable news media and publications; and (v) information sources made public by an individual themselves, for example on their website, blog or any social media application.

As part of World-Check, we may collect and process information that is derived from Public Domain Data, where relevant for Checks.

World-Check Users can also choose to carry out optional searches of Public Domain Data contained within media sources using search tools within World-Check, in order to enhance or supplement their Checks. These search tools allow World-Check Users to enter names of their customers, vendors, business partners and other counterparties alongside keywords used for research purposes into a search engine that searches media sources and returns results based on those names and keywords. Keywords can be selected by World-Check Users, but they are aimed at discovery of the type of information described in the relevant sections of this privacy statement.

If such a search is conducted about you, your name would appear alongside any articles in which your name (or a similar name) appears, alongside any relevant keywords found in that article. However, World-Check Users know that this does not mean that either the person named in the article is actually you or that everything contained in Public Domain Data is true. They are obliged to take further steps to verify information and to determine how to use it.

Whilst we will not always process all of the categories of personal information listed below in relation to one individual, the categories of personal information processed in connection with World-Check include:

Category	Details	Source
Identification information	First name Last name Alias Age Date of birth Place of birth Country of residence, state and province Gender National Identity Passport details Citizenship details Personal identification numbers (e.g. social security and national insurance numbers)	Public Domain Data
Contact information	Email address Residential address Telephone number	Public Domain Data (only where published by Sanctions Authorities)
Employment information	Current and past employer details Job title Appointments Nationality Education, qualifications and experience Public roles (including political, diplomatic, religious, judicial, military and trade union roles)	Public Domain Data
PEP-specific information	Whether you are a PEP or are a close relation or associate of a PEP. Note: a “close relation” of a PEP includes a child of a PEP (refer to the section on children’s personal data below) Marital status Details of PEP relations, associates and dependants Commercial information, such as: Ownership or control of companies, partnerships, or trusts Directorships or executive roles Business ventures in which the individual is a named partner or holds a financial ointerest Associations with sanctioned entities, including vessels and aircraft	Public Domain Data
Financial information	Bankruptcy or insolvency filings	Public Domain Data
Sanctions information	Your inclusion on sanctions lists, lists of disqualified directors and other similar lists	Public Domain Data
Criminal record information	Actual or alleged money laundering or terrorist financing crime Crimes that are a precursor to money laundering or terrorist financing, which are also known as predicate offences (e.g. financial crime, illegal trafficking, environmental offences, smuggling, membership of an organised crime group)	Public Domain Data
Social media information	Date of birth Business title Occupation details	Public Domain Data (only if the individual has made this information publicly available on their social media profile and is used solely as a secondary identifier to corroborate other information. World-Check does not collect usernames, profile photos, posts, comments, likes, shares, hashtags, or metadata from social media.)
Objections	Records of any objections you have provided to us or others	Public Domain Data World-Check Users Third parties, including vendors engaged by us, individuals who have experience interacting with you and your employer
Correspondence	Calls, voice messages, faxes, letters and emails sent between us or made by or to you Times, duration and size of those items of correspondence	You Us

Category	Details	Source
Identification information	· First name	· Public Domain Data
	· Last name
	· Alias
	· Age
	· Date of birth
	· Place of birth
	· Country of residence, state and province
	· Gender
	· National Identity
	· Passport details
	· Citizenship details
	· Personal identification numbers (e.g. social security and national insurance numbers)
Contact information	· Email address	· Public Domain Data (only where published by Sanctions Authorities)
	· Residential address
	· Telephone number
Employment information	· Current and past employer details	· Public Domain Data
	· Job title
	· Appointments
	· Nationality
	· Education, qualifications and experience
	· Public roles (including political, diplomatic, religious, judicial, military and trade union roles)
PEP-specific information	· Whether you are a PEP or are a close relation or associate of a PEP. Note: a “close relation” of a PEP includes a child of a PEP (refer to the section on children’s personal data below).	· Public Domain Data
	· Marital status
	· Details of PEP relations, associates and dependants
	· Commercial information, such as:
	o Ownership or control of companies, partnerships, or trusts
	o Directorships or executive roles
	o Business ventures in which the individual is a named partner or holds a financial
	ointerest
	o Associations with sanctioned entities, including vessels and aircraft
Financial information	· Bankruptcy or insolvency filings	· Public Domain Data

Sanctions information	· Your inclusion on sanctions lists, lists of disqualified directors and other similar lists	· Public Domain Data

Criminal record information	· Actual or alleged money laundering or terrorist financing crime	· Public Domain Data
	· Crimes that are a precursor to money laundering or terrorist financing, which are also known as predicate offences (e.g. financial crime, illegal trafficking, environmental offences, smuggling, membership of an organised crime group)
Social media information	· Date of birth	· Public Domain Data (only if the individual has made this information publicly available on their social media profile and is used solely as a secondary identifier to corroborate other information. World-Check does not collect usernames, profile photos, posts, comments, likes, shares, hashtags, or metadata from social media.)
	· Business title
	· Occupation details
Objections	· Records of any objections you have provided to us or others	· Public Domain Data
		· World-Check Users
		· Third parties, including vendors engaged by us, individuals who have experience interacting with you and your employer
Correspondence	· Calls, voice messages, faxes, letters and emails sent between us or made by or to you	· You
	· Times, duration and size of those items of correspondence	· Us

In some cases, the personal information we collect includes, depending on specific jurisdictions and their applicable data protection laws, so-called ‘sensitive’ or ‘special categories’ of personal information, such as information relating to your political opinions (for example, if you are a PEP holding a position in a political party) and information relating to your racial or ethnic origin (for example, if this can be reasonably inferred from other information held about you on World-Check, such as your name, location and citizenship). In certain circumstances, we may also process information relating to any criminal offences actually or allegedly committed by you (for example, if these are money-laundering or terrorist financing offences, or precursor crimes to such offences). We explain the basis on which we process this type of personal information in the “How we use information about you” section of this statement.

World-Check is not aimed at children. In exceptional circumstances, we will handle limited types of children's personal information. This may occur, for example, where a child is: (1) identified as the child or dependant of a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) included in World-Check; or (2) directly named on an official sanctions, law enforcement, or regulatory list. In these limited circumstances, we only process children's personal information to establish whether they are included on such an official list(s) and/or to confirm, whether they are the children or dependants of a PEP.

Where it is necessary for us to handle children's personal information in these exceptional instances, we will only do so on the basis that it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, typically for prevention of unlawful acts, dishonesty and fraud as provided under paragraph 12, Schedule 1 of the UK Data Protection Act 2018 or as required by other applicable data protection laws.

We use your personal information to facilitate Checks run by World-Check Users, respond to data subject requests and enquiries, comply with regulatory requests, protect our rights, and carry out other activities necessary for the proper management of World-Check. These activities include maintaining data quality, system security, research and content development, training and oversight of analysts and World-Check User support. More detailed information on how we use your personal information is set out in the table below.

For the purposes of this section, ‘ordinary categories of information’ and ‘sensitive categories of information’ are defined in detail in the ‘What personal information we process’ table above. A summary is provided here for ease of reference.

Ordinary categories of information include: identification information (e.g., name, date of birth, nationality), employment information, financial information, sanctions information, social media information (where manifestly public), objections, and correspondence.
Sensitive categories of information include: political opinions (e.g., PEP-specific information), racial or ethnic origin (where reasonably inferred), and criminal record information (actual or alleged offences, predicate crimes).

We process ordinary (non‑special category) personal information in World‑Check on the basis of our and our customers’ legitimate interests. These include:

enabling World‑Check Users to conduct due diligence, screening and other checks necessary to meet their legal and regulatory obligations and risk‑management requirements;
supporting global efforts to prevent, detect and investigate financial crime, fraud, corruption, sanctions breaches and other serious misconduct;
maintaining the integrity, security, accuracy and availability of the World‑Check service;
operating, developing and improving a risk‑intelligence service relied upon by regulated entities, corporates and public authorities; and
ensuring a centralised, consistent and professionally curated approach to screening that reduces the risk of fragmented or inaccurate checks carried out by individual organisations.

These interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms, given the significant public interest in combating financial crime and given that the information processed is sourced from Public Domain Data which you may reasonably expect to be used for such checks.

For sensitive categories of information, our primary legal basis for processing is Article 9(2)(g) GDPR (“necessary for reasons of substantial public interest”), as reflected in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 1. This includes substantial public interest conditions relevant to preventing or detecting unlawful acts, dishonesty, fraud and other misconduct. In limited cases, provided we have clear evidence that the data subject has intentionally made the information public, we may also rely on Article 9(2)(e) GDPR (“manifestly made public”). Criminal offence data is processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1 or, in the EU/EEA, where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).

More detailed information on our processing activities and lawful bases is set out in the table below. Please select ‘Show more’ to view this information.

Purpose / Activity	Information We Use	Lawful Basis / Condition
Providing World-Check	Ordinary categories of information	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Providing World-Check	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).
Responding to your requests and enquiries	Ordinary categories of information	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR); Compliance with legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).
Responding to your requests and enquiries	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).
Exercising our rights and complying with applicable laws (e.g. to defend ourselves from third-party claims and to comply with applicable laws and regulations)	Ordinary categories of information	Compliance with legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR); Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).
	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).
Receiving services from our professional advisors	Ordinary categories of information	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR); Compliance with legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR).
Receiving services from our professional advisors	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).
Complying with regulatory requests	Ordinary categories of information	Compliance with legal obligations (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR)
Complying with regulatory requests	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).
Proper management and integrity of World-Check (e.g., data quality assurance, system maintenance and security, research and content development, training and oversight of analysts, and World-Check User support)	Ordinary categories of information	Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). Please see above for further detail on our legitimate interests.
	Sensitive categories of information	Necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR; UK DPA 2018 Schedule 1). Criminal offence data: Processed where manifestly made public or necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under Schedule 1 of the UK DPA 2018, or (in the EU/EEA) where authorised by Union or Member State law providing appropriate safeguards (Article 10 GDPR).

We make your personal information available to third parties, including World-Check Users, companies within the LSEG Group that require World-Check data for products or services that they offer and with public bodies to allow us to comply with applicable laws.

We also use a limited number of third-party service providers who provide advice and services to us (including professional advisors) in connection with World-Check. Where we share your personal data with our third-party service providers, we ensure that we have contracts in place that strictly govern how they use the personal information we disclose to them.

Further information about who we share your personal information with is set out in the table below.

Recipient type	Purpose	Information shared	Location
LSEG entities	Provision of World-Check Proper management and integrity of World-Check (e.g., data quality assurance, system maintenance and security, research and content development, training and oversight of analysts, and World-Check User support)	Identification information Employment information PEP-specific information Financial information Sanctions information Criminal record information Social media information Objections Correspondence	We may share your personal information within the LSEG Group to support our operations, provide services, and comply with legal and regulatory obligations. While World-Check and supporting applications are primarily hosted in the EU (Ireland) and UK, authorised LSEG personnel, including analysts and support teams, may access and process personal information from other locations worldwide, in accordance with our strict access controls and data protection safeguards. We implement appropriate measures in-line with applicable privacy laws and maintain a high standard of data protection.
Third-party data centres	Hosting and storage of information	Identification information Employment information PEP-specific information Financial information Sanctions information Criminal record information Social media information	The World-Check database is primarily hosted in the EU (Ireland), with a backup location in the UK. To support latency and service delivery for our APAC-based World-Check Users instances of the database are also hosted in Singapore and Japan. These data centres provide infrastructure services only and do not access personal data. All access to the data is managed exclusively by LSEG and its authorised service providers.
External customer support providers	Assisting World-Check Users with technical product queries and troubleshooting issues related to system functionality or access	Identification information Employment information PEP-specific information Financial information Sanctions information Criminal record information Social media information Correspondence	While World-Check and its supporting applications are primarily hosted in the EU (Ireland) and the UK, authorised external support providers may, with the consent of the World-Check User, access and process personal information from other locations worldwide. These providers operate under a 24/7 “follow-the-sun” model, and all access is governed by strict controls and safeguards. We implement appropriate measures in-line with applicable privacy laws and maintain a high standard of data protection.
External consultants and IT service providers	Maintenance, security, and performance of our systems Infrastructure management, technical support and incident response	In general, personal information contained in World-Check is not shared with external consultants or IT service providers. In exceptional cases, access may be required to support system maintenance, security, or incident response. Any sharing is strictly limited to what is necessary for the relevant task and is subject to contractual and technical safeguards.	These providers typically operate from the UK, though may be located in other jurisdictions depending on the nature of the engagement.
External auditors	Independent assurance of our controls and processes (e.g. ISAE 3000 audits). Verification of compliance with regulatory and data protection obligations Assessment of operational risk and internal controls	In general, personal information contained in World-Check is not shared with external auditors. In exceptional cases, limited and controlled access may be granted to verify compliance, licensing, or internal controls. This access is typically read-only, supervised, and subject to confidentiality agreements. Any sharing is strictly limited to what is necessary for the relevant audit activity and is governed by contractual and technical safeguards.	These providers are typically located in the UK, though may operate in other jurisdictions depending on the nature of the engagement.
External law firms	Providing legal advice in relation to data protection, regulatory compliance, and governance Supporting responses to data subject requests and regulatory inquiries Advising on internal policies, risk management, and contractual matters	External legal advisors may, where necessary and appropriate, access and process any personal information we hold about you, including the full contents of your World-Check record and related correspondence, particularly in connection with contentious matters, regulatory inquiries, or data subject requests. Any sharing is strictly limited to what is required for the relevant legal task and is subject to contractual and technical safeguards.	These providers are typically located in the UK and EEA countries, though may operate in other jurisdictions depending on the nature of the engagement.
World-Check Users	Provision of World-Check	Identification information Employment information PEP-specific information Financial information Sanctions information Criminal record information Social media information	We may disclose your personal information to our customers located in various countries around the world, as necessary to deliver our services and fulfil our contractual obligations. However, we do not share personal information with customers in jurisdictions that are subject to international sanctions. We assess these risks regularly and apply appropriate safeguards in line with applicable privacy and data protection law.
Regulators, official authorities, courts and tribunals	Responding to lawful requests, investigations, or proceedings initiated by regulators, official authorities, courts, or tribunals Complying with legal obligations, regulatory requirements, or judicial orders Supporting formal inquiries or proceedings related to data protection, financial crime, or other applicable laws	The specific types of personal information disclosed will vary depending on the nature and scope of the request or proceeding, and may include any personal data we hold, including World-Check records and related correspondence. Any disclosure is strictly limited to what is required under applicable law or regulation and is carried out in accordance with our internal governance and legal review processes.
Prospective buyers, sellers, advisers or partners	Facilitation of potential sales, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures, assignments, transfers or other dispositions of all or any portion of our business	In general, personal information contained in World-Check is not shared with prospective buyers, sellers, advisers, or partners during corporate transactions. However, in limited and controlled circumstances, such as to meet regulatory requirements or support due diligence, access to personal information may be required. This may include any personal data we hold, including World-Check records and related correspondence, where necessary and appropriate for the transaction. Any sharing is strictly limited to what is required and is subject to robust confidentiality and security safeguards.	These parties may be located in various countries worldwide, depending on the nature and scope of the transaction.

World-Check is a global service and LSEG is a global organisation. As a result, your personal information may be transferred, stored and processed in different jurisdictions. The specific countries where personal information may be processed depend on the nature of the engagement and the location of the relevant recipient. These are outlined in the section “Who we disclose your personal information to”, which provides examples of processing locations by recipient type.

Where we transfer your personal information to third parties outside of the UK or European Economic Area (the “EEA”) or to jurisdictions with additional legal requirements, we do so in accordance with applicable laws, using safeguards where required to protect your personal information. This includes:

Transfers based on adequacy decisions under Article 45 of the UK GDPR or EU GDPR
Transfers subject to Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved under Article 46 of the EU GDPR
Transfers subject to the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU SCCs
Intra-group transfers governed by our Intra-Group Transfer Agreement, which incorporates SCCs and UK IDTA provisions
Where required by local laws, we may implement additional safeguards, such as enhanced contractual protections, technical measures, or organisational controls to help ensure your personal information remains protected

More information about these safeguards is available at: https://myaccount.lseg.com/en/policies/international-transfers

We take information security seriously and use a range of physical, electronic and managerial measures to keep your personal information secure. Our technical and organisational security measures are closely aligned with widely accepted international standards, reviewed regularly and updated as necessary to meet our business needs and changes in technology and regulatory requirements. The security measures we implement will vary, depending on the sensitivity of the personal information being protected, but include data encryption, access controls, regular cyber security assessments and staff training on data protection. We also impose restrictions on World-Check Users and our third-party service providers requiring them to only use information on World-Check (including any information about you) in connection with Checks or the services they provide to us.

These policies and measures include:

Robust controls around the inclusion and maintenance of World-Check information which are designed to ensure that information about you on World-Check is accurate and relevant
Education and training to relevant staff to ensure that they are aware of and comply with our policies, procedures and controls designed to keep World-Check information (including any information about you) secure, accurate and relevant
Administrative and technical controls to restrict staff access to World-Check information (including any information about you)
A business continuity and disaster recovery strategy that applies to World-Check and which is designed to safeguard the continuity of access to, and security of, World-Check
Physical security measures, such as staff security passes and strict controls on access to locations of World-Check servers
Monitoring compliance with our policies, procedures and controls

We determine retention periods for personal information in World-Check based on a range of factors, including:

How long your personal information remains relevant to Checks
The length of time it is reasonable to keep records to demonstrate that we have fulfilled our duties and obligations

Any limitation periods within which claims might be made
Any retention periods prescribed by law or recommended by regulators, professional bodies or associations or intergovernmental bodies (for example, the Financial Action Task Force)
The existence of any ongoing legal or regulatory proceedings

Based on these criteria, we retain personal information in World-Check for as long as it is necessary to support Checks, as defined in this statement. This means retaining information where it is necessary to enable World-Check Users to meet their legal or regulatory obligations, manage risk, adhere to industry standards or contractual requirements, or follow generally accepted principles of good practice and ethical business conduct.

Retention periods also reflect applicable expectations set by inter-governmental bodies, such as those recommended by the Financial Action Task Force.

Once personal information is no longer necessary for these purposes (i.e., it is deactivated from the World-Check database), we apply a standard retention period of seven years. This reflects the timeframe within which legal claims may typically be brought and enables us to demonstrate compliance with our obligations.

Retention periods for other types of personal information processed for different purposes (such as handling rights requests or legal claims) may vary depending on the nature of the processing and applicable legal or regulatory requirements.

After the relevant retention period has expired, if the personal information is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was processed, it is securely deleted, unless it is subject to a legal hold, for example, where the information is relevant to a rights request, ongoing litigation, or regulatory proceeding.

For further information on our retention periods, please contact us using the details below.

We do not use automated decision-making processes in a way that produces legal effects concerning you, or similarly significantly affects you.

You may have rights under European, UK and other laws to have access to your information and to ask us to rectify, erase and restrict use of, your information. You may also have rights to object to your information being used and to withdraw consent to the use of your information. Further information on how to exercise your rights is set out below.

We will honour any rights you have under applicable data protection laws. You have the following rights under UK and European laws in respect of personal information on World-Check, and you may have similar rights under the laws of other countries:

Right	Description
Right of access and data portability	You have the right to make a written request for details or a copy of personal information we hold about you and/or to have it transferred to another data controller in some circumstances.
Right of rectification or erasure	You have the right to have inaccurate information about you corrected or removed and certain personal information about you erased.
Right to restriction of processing	You have the right to request that your personal information is only used for restricted purposes.
Right to object	You have the right to object to our processing of your personal information.
Right to withdraw consent	You have the right to withdraw your consent for the processing of your personal information where the processing is based on consent.
Right to complain	If you are unhappy with the way we have used or are handling your personal information you have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority for data protection issues in the country where you usually live, work or where the relevant issue arose. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the supervisory authority, so please contact us in the first instance at the email set out above.

We do not levy a charge where you wish to exercise any of your rights, but we will ask for information to verify your identity. This is to safeguard your own privacy. Any identification evidence that you provide will only be used to verify your identity for the purpose of your requests.

There are limits to the rights that you have in relation to your personal information under applicable laws and in certain circumstances we may not be required by law to meet your request. Where this occurs, we will provide you with an explanation of the legitimate basis on which we are not required to meet your request. You can also find further information about how we handle any requests you make in our World-Check FAQ.

See also the “How to contact us” section below for details of how to contact us to exercise these rights, and data protection regulators if you disagree with a decision we have reached.

If you are based in California, please refer to our California Consumer Privacy Notice, which supplements this Privacy Statement and applies solely to individuals based in California.

If you are based in South Africa, we have established processes and procedures to allow South African data subjects to exercise their rights under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act. If you wish to exercise your rights, please visit here. For more information on our processes and procedures, and your rights, you can visit our Promotion of Access to Information Manual.

If you are based in Brazil, please refer to our Brazilian Data Protection Law Notice, which supplements this Privacy Statement and applies solely to individuals based in Brazil.

If you have any questions, comments, complaints or suggestions in relation to how we process your personal information, or wish to exercise your rights referred to above, please contact our Privacy Office at contact@world-check.com, or you may write to:

Attention: Data Protection Officer
Refinitiv Limited
10 Paternoster Square London, EC4M 7LS
United Kingdom

If you are an EU citizen or data protection regulator, for the purposes of the GDPR, our appointed European representative is Refinitiv Ireland Limited. Our appointed representative can be contacted at contact@world-check.com, or you may write to:

Refinitiv Ireland Limited
12-13 Exchange Place
IFSC
Dublin, D01 P8H1
Ireland

You can ask whether information about you is included on World‑Check by visiting this page.

You also have a right to complain to a data protection regulator in the place where you live or work, or in the place where you think an issue in relation to your personal information has arisen. A list of national data protection regulators in the European Union can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm. For the Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom, please visit https://ico.org.uk/.

We may update this privacy statement from time to time. Please look at the Effective Date at the top of this statement to see when it was last updated.

Any updates to this privacy statement will be published on this page.

Does Refinitiv make my personal information on World-Check available to the general public?

No, Refinitiv does not distribute personal information on World-Check to the general public. Only authorised World-Check Users and third-parties (as described in the ‘Who we disclose your personal information to’ section above) have access to that personal information.

What steps does Refinitiv take to inform World-Check Users about appropriate use of World-Check?

Refinitiv imposes usage restrictions on World-Check Users such as requiring them to only use information on World-Check (including any information about you) in connection with Checks.

Why have I not been told that my personal information is on World-Check?

Your personal information has been collected from sources available to the general public and those sources generally do not provide reliable contact details such as email or postal addresses. In addition, even if we were able to find that information, we do not process detailed contact details such as this. If, however, one of the World-Check Users want to conduct a search against you on World-Check they are required to inform you of this.

Why have you not obtained my consent to your processing of my sensitive personal information?

First, as mentioned above we do not have any reliable contact details for you and second, because of the limited reasons for which we make World-Check available to World-Check Users, we are able to lawfully process your personal information without relying on your consent.

By including my personal information on World-Check are you advising your subscribers that I should be viewed negatively?

No. We make it clear to World-Check Users that the inclusion of an individual on World-Check should not automatically be taken to draw any particular inference (negative or otherwise) about them, and this is enshrined in our usage restrictions. The personal information of many individuals is included on World-Check solely because they hold prominent political or other positions or are connected to such individuals. Furthermore, if, for example, your personal information on World-Check includes allegations about unlawful acts, we advise our users to assume that such allegations are denied by you.

Does the fact that my personal information is on World-Check automatically mean that World-Check Users cannot or will not do business with me?

No. We advise World-Check Users that they cannot rely solely upon personal information found on World-Check when making any decision to deal with any individual. Instead, they must make independent checks of such individual to verify the accuracy of the personal information held on World-Check and decide for themselves whether to conduct business with that individual.

What measures do we put into place regarding the accuracy of personal information on World-Check?

We maintain research standards designed to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the personal information on World-Check. However, because of the nature of Public Domain Data, we cannot discount that data we process may contain some errors or become outdated. Therefore, if you find an error in any personal information that we process or you believe it to be irrelevant or excessive, you can contact us at contact@world-check.com.

Please be assured that we will fully consider any communications that you send to us. We are committed to maintaining accurate and up-to-date personal information, in line with our legal obligations. However, this may not in every instance result in changes or deletions to the information about you on World-Check, if we conclude that the information remains accurate and relevant and/or there are other lawful grounds available to us which permit us to refrain from changing or deleting your personal information.

Can I find out what information Refinitiv has about me in World-Check?

Yes, you may request a copy of the personal information that we hold about you on World-Check. To ensure your privacy, we'll ask for information verifying your identity. To request a copy please send an email message to contact@world-check.com.

We make no charge for supplying you with your personal information.

Any identification evidence that you provide will only be used solely to confirm your identity in connection with your access request and will not be used for any other reason. We reserve the right to deny unreasonable or unwarranted requests for access.

If you have questions about requesting a copy of your personal information, please send an email message to contact@world-check.com.

Can I have my personal information on World-Check updated or removed?

You can ask us to update or remove your personal information from World-Check. However, it is important to note that any right you may have to request updates or deletions to your personal information on World-Check under applicable laws may be subject to limitations and we may be lawfully permitted to refrain from making any update or deletion to your personal information on World-Check. In such circumstances, we will explain to you why this is the case.

Rest assured that we do, however, make extensive efforts to prevent inaccurate, outdated, irrelevant or excessive personal information being processed on World-Check.

Questions about updating or removing your personal information or the kind of supporting documentation that may be required should be directed to contact@world-check.com

World-Check Privacy Statement

Who we are

What this privacy statement covers

What World-Check is

Who we hold information about in World-Check

What personal information we process

Special categories of personal information

Children’s personal information

How we use information about you

Our Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR)

Legal basis for processing sensitive and criminal offence data

Purposes and lawful bases for processing personal information

Who we disclose your personal information to

Why information may be transferred abroad

How we secure your personal information

How long we keep your information

Automated Decision Making

Your rights

California privacy rights

South Africa - Access to information

Brazil privacy rights

How to contact us

Changes to this privacy statement

Your Questions Answered