Burger King 2009 Annual Report Download - page 35

Table of Contents
The personal information that we collect may be vulnerable to breach, theft or loss that could adversely affect our reputation and
operations.
Possession and use of employee, franchisee, vendor and consumer personal information in the ordinary course of our business
subjects us to risks and costs that could harm our business. We collect, process, transmit and retain personal information regarding our
employees and their families, such as social security numbers, banking and tax ID information, and health care information. We also
collect, process, transmit and retain personal information of our franchisees and vendors. In connection with credit card sales, we
transmit confidential credit card information securely over public networks. Some of this personal information is held and managed by
certain of our vendors. Although we use security and business controls to limit access and use of personal information, a third party
may be able to circumvent those security and business controls, which could result in a breach of employee, consumer or franchisee
privacy. Furthermore, any such breach could result in substantial fines, penalties and potential litigation which could negatively impact
our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, errors in the storage, use or transmission of personal information could
result in a breach of privacy. Possession and use of personal information in our operations also subjects us to legislative and regulatory
burdens that could require notification of data breaches and restrict our use of personal information. We cannot assure you that a breach,
loss or theft of personal information will not occur. A major breach, theft or loss of personal information regarding our employees and
their families or our franchisees, vendors and consumers that is held by us or our vendors could have a material adverse effect on our
reputation and results of operations and result in further regulation and oversight by federal and state authorities and increased costs of
compliance.
We rely on computer systems and information technology to run our business. Any material failure, interruption or security breach
of our computer systems or information technology may adversely affect our business and our results of operations.
Computer viruses or terrorism may disrupt our operations and harm our operating results. Despite our implementation of security
measures, all of our technology systems are vulnerable to disability or failures due to hacking, viruses, acts of war or terrorism and
other causes. In addition, some of our systems and processes are not fully integrated worldwide and, as a result, require us to manually
estimate and consolidate certain information that we use to manage our business and prepare our financial statements which could
increase the risk of breach. If our technology systems were to fail, and we were unable to recover in a timely way, or if we do not
adequately manage our financial reporting and information systems, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely
affected.
Compliance with or cleanup activities required by environmental laws may hurt our business.
We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern,
among other things, discharges of pollutants into the air and water as well as the presence, handling, release and disposal of and
exposure to, hazardous substances. These laws and regulations provide for significant fines and penalties for noncompliance. If we fail
to comply with these laws or regulations, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. Third parties may also make
personal injury, property damage or other claims against owners or operators of properties associated with releases of, or actual or
alleged exposure to, hazardous substances at, on or from our properties.
Environmental conditions relating to prior, existing or future restaurants or restaurant sites, including franchised sites, may have a
material adverse effect on us. Moreover, the adoption of new or more stringent environmental laws or regulations could result in a
material environmental liability to us and the current environmental condition of the properties could be harmed by tenants or other
third parties or by the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our properties.
Our current principal stockholders own a significant amount of our common stock and have certain contractual rights to appoint
directors, which will allow them to significantly influence all matters requiring shareholder approval.
The private equity funds controlled by the Sponsors beneficially own approximately 32% of our outstanding common stock. In
addition, three of our 10 directors are representatives of the private equity funds controlled by the
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