Online Privacy Statement
Effective June 22, 2009
The Online Privacy Statement and Site User Agreement of the ACLU of Massachusetts are available here.
Online Privacy Statement
Site User Agreement
Online Privacy Statement
The ACLU of Massachusetts is comprised of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts. To learn more about the differences between the two organizations, click this link.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts (collectively, "ACLUM") has a long history of being at the forefront of protecting individual privacy, and we are particularly committed to protecting the personal information that you provide and entrust to us when using the ACLUM’s websites. This online privacy statement (the “Privacy Statement”) describes how we treat all user data collected by the ACLUM during your visit to the ACLUM Site, both technical data that is automatically collected and voluntarily submitted data.
For purposes of this Privacy Statement, the “ACLUM Site” is the website whose home page is www.aclum.org, and includes all web pages whose domain name contains the following: www.aclum.org. The ACLUM also operates other websites that don’t contain these domain names. This Privacy Statement does not apply to those websites (unless those websites specifically link to this Privacy Statement) and the terms of the privacy statements for those other ACLUM websites may differ from the terms of this Privacy Statement. Additionally, this is not the privacy statement for any blogs, forums or social networking sites where ACLUM has a presence that are on websites other than the ACLUM Site. Further, this is not the privacy statement for the websites of the national ACLU or any other ACLU local affiliates, and you should refer to the privacy statements on those websites or contact those affiliates to learn the manner in which they treat information you provide to them through their websites (or provide to them in any manner other than through the ACLUM Site).
The ACLUM may occasionally update this Statement. We will post any changes on this web page, so be sure to check back periodically. If we do make material changes, we will post a notice on our home page that the Privacy Statement has been modified and provide a link to the revised Privacy Statement. Any information that you submit after a change has been posted will be subject to the new provisions.
User Data We Collect
We collect two types of user data: (1) technical data that is automatically collected from all visitors to the ACLUM Site (“Automatically Collected Data”); and (2) data that you voluntarily submit to us (described below under "Voluntarily Submitted Data").
Automatically Collected Data. We automatically collect Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses and domain names of the originating visitor’s computer on our server and may know some information you have previously provided through cookies. (See the section on Cookies below for more information.) We also track the number and frequency of hits per page by IP addresses, but we do not associate any individual IP address with any other personally identifying information except to detect security intrusions or certain unlawful activity.
In addition, if you come to the ACLUM Site from a website link, we may also identify the source of that link, so that we can evaluate what content is persuading web users to become involved in the ACLUM’s work.
Voluntarily Submitted Data. We may collect Voluntarily Submitted Data, including personal data, that you voluntarily provide, such as your name and postal address, phone number, e-mail address, and similar information, when you participate in certain activities on the ACLUM Site, including (but not limited to) when you:
join or renew your membership to the ACLUM;
make an additional contribution to support the ACLUM;
sign up for our ACLUM e-mail network;
send correspondence to your government representative, to a friend or to other targeted representatives through the ACLUM Site;
order items from the ACLUM store;
register for our message board;
register online for an event;
participate in one of our online petitions or surveys; or
participate in any activity that requires your Voluntarily Submitted Data.
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Cookies
We collect some data through the use of cookies. Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that are transferred either to your computer's hard drive ("Long-term Cookies") or temporarily to your computer's Random Access Memory ("Session Cookies").
We use Long-term Cookies only when you select a "remember" option on the ACLUM Site, for example the "remember my login" option offered when you log on to the ACLUM Site, or the "remember me" option offered on a “take action” page. If you select these options, a Long-term Cookie will be stored on your computer's hard drive solely for the purpose of automatically filling in the remembered information, for example, automatically filling in your password when you log in to the ACLUM Site or your postal address when you write a letter to your representative. These "remember" options are offered only for your convenience and are completely voluntary. If you do not select a "remember" option, no Long-Term Cookie will be stored on your computer's hard drive.
We use Session Cookies whenever you visit the ACLUM Site to run the Site's interactive applications, such as the shopping cart. Session Cookies last only as long as your session on the ACLUM Site. They expire when the session ends and are not written onto your computer's hard drive. We also use Session Cookies in e-mails containing the HTML format. If you select "text-only" format preference, emails sent to you will not contain any Session Cookies.
How We Use The Data We Collect
In addition to the uses described above, we use Automatically Collected Data to identify the source of user traffic (for example, umich.edu, or aol.com), but we do not tie this information to individual users in our database. We use data on which sections of the ACLUM site are most visited, so that we can evaluate the popularity of our different web pages and continue to improve the ACLUM Site. We do not link any Automatically Collected Data with the Voluntarily Submitted Data you provide to us except to detect security intrusions or certain unlawful activity.
We use your Voluntarily Submitted Data for various purposes, including:
To fulfill the request for which you specifically provided the data, including sharing the data with its intended recipient (e.g., delivering a petition you sign or a letter you wish to send to the recipient of the petition or letter);
To periodically communicate with you concerning ACLUM matters, such as delivering to you information and updates on our activities and action alerts, if you have not opted out of receiving such information and updates;
To indicate you as the author of any comment you post, including on any ACLUM Site blog or forum, when you opt to identify yourself as the author or when posting such comment requires such identification, and to display any personally identifying or other information you voluntarily include in such comments.
To personalize the content that you see based on the activities and products that you have selected on the ACLUM Site;
To allow you to set and change user preferences;
To allow you to renew your membership in the ACLUM;
To offer you other ways to support the ACLUM, including solicitations for additional contributions if you have not opted out of receiving such communications;
To confirm your contribution to the ACLUM;
To confirm your registration to an ACLUM event;
To confirm a purchase; and
To follow up with you with an email specific to an activity you have participated in or intend to participate in.
If your Voluntarily Submitted Data includes a U.S. zip code or state and you are a member, donor or subscriber to ACLUM information, we may also share your Voluntarily Submitted Data with the national ACLU offices and either national ACLU or ACLUM may use that information:
To periodically communicate with you concerning local affiliate matters, such as delivering information and updates on the national ACLU or local affiliate's activities, action alerts concerning local matters and invitations to local events, if you have not opted out of receiving that information;
To confirm your registration to an event;
To follow up with you with an email specific to an activity you have participated in or intend to participate in; and
To offer you other ways to support the ACLU or ACLUM, including solicitations for additional contributions, if you have not opted out of receiving such communications.
The ACLUM Site is hosted by servers in the United States. Accordingly, if you are located outside of the United States, the Voluntarily Submitted Data you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. By submitting your Voluntarily Submitted Data, you consent to its transfer and storage in the United States and its use in accordance with the purposes for which it was originally collected.
If you are a U.S. resident, we may also from time to time combine your Voluntarily Submitted Data with some publicly available data collected from third parties to improve our services to you and for our own internal marketing, communications, and fundraising purposes.
Third Parties
Third Party Sharing
We share your Voluntarily Submitted Data with third-party service providers who fulfill your orders or transactions, contact you on our behalf, or facilitate some other aspect of the ACLUM Site activities, services or products, including those third-party service providers we use to assist us in our own fundraising and communications efforts and that collect Voluntarily Submitted Data on behalf of the ACLUM for the ACLUM to use as described above. These service providers have access to your Voluntarily Submitted Data solely for the purpose of providing these services to us on our behalf, and they are contractually prohibited from sharing your Voluntarily Submitted Data with any third parties (other than subcontractors assisting them in their providing these services to us and who also are contractually prohibited from sharing our Voluntarily Submitted Data with any other third parties). Please note that we do not knowingly share data from non-U.S. residents with any other third parties (except where required by law, see below), even if a non-U.S. resident has subsequently authorized such use, for example, by checking an opt-in request.
We may also share the Voluntarily Submitted Data of members and donors who are U.S. residents with other non-profit organizations and publications ("Sharing Organizations"), but never to any partisan political groups or to groups whose programs are incompatible with ACLUM policies. We never knowingly give your Voluntarily Submitted Data directly to the Sharing Organizations; instead we send the list to a third-party service provider that prepares the mailing for the Sharing Organization (and that is contractually bound to use your Voluntarily Submitted Data only for this purpose and not to share it with any third parties other than subcontractors assisting them in their providing these services to us and who also are contractually prohibited from sharing our Voluntarily Submitted Data with any other third parties). The Sharing Organizations never see our list and never know what names are on it unless you respond to the Sharing Organizations' mailing. Exchanging lists can enable the ACLUM to expand our membership base. However, if you have signed up as a member or donor on the ACLUM Site, you can choose to opt out of having your data shared. To learn more, read the section on "Your Ability to Choose" below.
Finally, we may disclose and use Voluntarily Submitted Data regardless of where you reside in special circumstances when it is necessary to enforce our User Agreement or this Privacy Statement, or when we, under what we hope to be extraordinary and infrequent circumstances, in good faith, truly believe that the law requires us to disclose your Voluntarily Submitted Data to third parties.
Except as described in this Privacy Statement, we will not knowingly share your Voluntarily Submitted Data with any third party unless we first notify you and offer you an appropriate choice to consent to such further use, for example, through an opt-out or opt-in request.
Third-Party Functionality
As discussed in the preceding section, to support certain functions carried out on the ACLUM Site, the ACLUM uses third-party service providers. In limited instances with respect to specific optional functions on the ACLUM Site, those third parties may have data collection, use or security procedures that differ from the practices outlined in this Privacy Statement and that may impact users of those optional functions. For example, a third-party service provider may support a specific web tool on the ACLUM Site, such as a web game, that appears within the ACLUM Site, even though that tool is actually on the website of the third-party service provider. Any time a third-party service provider’s data collection, use or security practices differs from the data collection/use practices described in this Statement in a manner that would impact users of the ACLUM Site, we will attempt either to describe on the pages of the ACLUM Site where such optional functions appear the specific data collection, use or security practices of such third-party service provider that would apply if you elect to use those optional functions, or we will provide a link to that third-party service provider’s privacy policy. |
Coalitions
In furtherance of its mission, the ACLUM forms, works with and joins Coalitions of organizations and individuals collectively working on issues related to the ACLUM’s mission (“Coalitions”). The ACLUM does not share Voluntarily Submitted Data you submit to the ACLUM Site with those Coalitions unless you have opted in to doing so, including by submitting Voluntarily Submitted Data to the Coalition through the ACLUM Site or by taking an action on the ACLUM Site that is specifically designated as an action of the Coalition (unless it states on the website page where you take such action that Voluntarily Submitted Data will not be shared with the Coalition). Once you have opted in to doing so (or have voluntarily submitted information to a Coalition in any manner other than through the ACLUM Site), that information is information you are submitting to the Coalition itself. Unless specifically stated otherwise on the ACLUM Site with respect to a Coalition action or a collection mechanism for a Coalition, this Privacy Statement does not address the treatment of personal information, including Voluntarily Submitted Data, that is submitted to a Coalition. Please contact the Coalition or review the privacy statement on the Coalition’s website, if it has one, to learn about the treatment of the information you provide to a Coalition.
Your Ability to Choose
When you provide us with your Voluntarily Submitted Data on the ACLUM Site, you can let us know that you do not wish to receive our email communications by unsubscribing from further email communications of a specific type following receipt of an email of that type, or by contacting us via postal mail sent to Webmaster, 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110.
You can opt out of having your Voluntarily Submitted Data shared with Sharing Organizations on the online form you are filling out or thereafter by contacting us at action@aclum.org or via postal mail sent to Membership Department, ACLUM, 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110.
Again, please remember that if you are a non-U.S. resident, we will not knowingly use your Voluntarily Submitted Data for any purpose other than the one for which it was originally collected regardless of whether you check or un-check a box.
Children
We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.
Security
The Voluntarily Submitted Data we collect about you is stored on a secure, password protected server and only authorized personnel have access to your information. We use industry-standard encryption technologies with respect to the receipt and transfer of Voluntarily Submitted Data you submit to us on the ACLUM Site and only authorized personnel have access to your information. Nevertheless, despite our best efforts, no transmission over the Internet and no data storage method can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.
Updating Your Data
To update your Voluntarily Submitted Data or to make corrections, you can do so by sending an email to
action@aclum.org or via postal mail sent to Membership Department, ACLUM, 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110.
Comments and Questions
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this Privacy Statement or our data collection practices or to request that we delete your Voluntarily Submitted Data, send us your questions or comments to
action@aclum.org or via postal mail sent to Webmaster, ACLUM, 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110.
ACLU of Massachusetts Site User Agreement
Welcome to the general website ("ACLU of Massachusetts Site") for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts (collectively, "ACLU of Massachusetts"). The ACLU of Massachusetts Site is the website whose home page is located at www.aclum.org and includes all web pages whose domain name contains the following: www.aclum.org and some pages of secure.aclu.org where a link to this privacy statement exists. The ACLU of Massachusetts also operates other websites that don’t contain these domain names, such as www.rightsmatter.org. This User Agreement does not apply to those websites (unless those websites specifically link to this User Agreement) and the terms of the user agreements for those other ACLU of Massachusetts websites may differ from the terms of this User Agreement. Additionally, this is not the user agreement for any blogs, forums or social networking sites where ACLU of Massachusetts has a presence that are on websites other than the ACLU of Massachusetts Site. This is not the user agreement for the websites of the national operations of the ACLU, The American Civil Liberties Union or the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (“ACLU National”) or for any ACLU local affiliates other than ACLU of Massachusetts, and you should refer to the user agreement on those organizations’ websites or contact those organizations to learn those websites’ terms of use. Please read this User Agreement carefully, including the ACLU of Massachusetts Online Privacy Statement. By using the ACLU of Massachusetts Site, you agree to follow the rules set forth on these web pages. From time to time we may revise this User Agreement including its Online Privacy Statement, so be sure to check these web pages occasionally. If we do make material changes, we will post a notice on our home page that the User Agreement has been modified and provide a link to the revised User Agreement. When you continue to use the ACLU of Massachusetts Site after we post a change, it means you agree to the new rules.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts Foundation are separate organizations that are each engaged in the same mission of defending the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, including First Amendment freedoms, equality, privacy rights and fundamental fairness. To learn more about the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts and the different activities carried on by each organization, click this link.
Online Privacy Statement & Information You Voluntarily Submit to the ACLU of Massachusetts Site
Please review our Online Privacy Statement, which is part of this User Agreement and describes how we handle any personally identifying information about ACLU of Massachusetts Site users, including information you voluntarily submit to the ACLU of Massachusetts Site. By providing such information, you hereby acknowledge and agree to ACLU of Massachusetts’ treatment of such information as described in the Online Privacy Statement.
Copyright
The ACLU of Massachusetts owns or licenses the copyright in all the materials on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site, including text, graphics, logos, button icons, audio clips, photographs, and software, and those rights are protected by United States and international copyright laws and other intellectual property laws (“ACLU of Massachusetts Site Content”). To the extent your use of material on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site does not constitute “fair use” for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:
Permitted Distribution. Unless the specific web page from which ACLU of Massachusetts text materials is available indicates you may not do so, you may copy or distribute any text materials that appear on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site in print or digital format only and only for the following non-commercial purposes: research, teaching, private study, and activism within a local geographic area regarding civil liberties issues. You may also distribute ACLU of Massachusetts Content that is not ACLU of Massachusetts text materials if and only to the extent that the specific launching page from which that ACLU of Massachusetts Content is accessible, and/or the ACLU of Massachusetts Content itself, explicitly indicates that the ACLU of Massachusetts Content may be distributed in a specified manner. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all distributed copies must display the following copyright notice:
Copyright [2009 or other year indicated] American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Reprinted with permission of the
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts http://www.aclum.org
Distribution Requiring Advance Written Permission. You must obtain written permission in advance if you wish to reproduce ACLU of Massachusetts Content that is not text material (e.g., videos, drawings, photographs, podcasts, etc.) or if you wish to reproduce any ACLU of Massachusetts Content for any reason not listed in the previous paragraph. You can request this permission by sending us a fax at (617) 451-0009 or an email at info@aclum.org that contains the information listed below:
• a complete description of the ACLU of Massachusetts Content requested, such as the URL of the web page that contains the ACLU of Massachusetts Content, a description of the sections or paragraphs that will be distributed, and, where applicable, the title and date of the ACLU of Massachusetts Content;
• a description of the intended audience;
• a description of the manner of distribution;
• the length, retail price, and approximate size of first printing or circulation that will include the ACLU of Massachusetts Content;
• a description of the geographic scope of the distribution and the length of time for which rights are being requested. (Please note that the ACLU of Massachusetts grants only nonexclusive rights);
• a reply fax number or email address and a phone number.
Information You Post to the ACLU of Massachusetts Site
To the extent you voluntarily post material to the ACLU of Massachusetts Site for display on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site itself (e.g., postings and comments to ACLU blogs and forums), you automatically grant to ACLU of Massachusetts and ACLU National an irrevocable, perpetual worldwide license for the ACLU of Massachusetts to display such material on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site, except to the extent we have indicated otherwise on the portion of the ACLU of Massachusetts Site that permits you to post such information (e.g., if a particular blog or forum on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site posts any specific terms of use that applies to that particular blog or forum). Additionally, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing by you and ACLU of Massachusetts by posting any material to the ACLU of Massachusetts Site for display on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site, you are representing, warranting and covenanting to the ACLU of Massachusetts and to ACLU National that those materials are original to you or you have obtained permissions, releases, rights or licenses, if any are required (including where use of that material does not constitute “fair use”), that you assume full responsibility for the posting of such material vis-à-vis third parties, including but not limited to make any payments to third parties with respect to displaying such third party material. By posting material for display on a portion of the ACLU of Massachusetts Site that contains specific terms of use applicable to that portion of the ACLU of Massachusetts Site, you agree you have read, understand, agree to and accept such specific terms of use.
Trademark
All ACLU-related trademarks on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site (collectively "ACLU Trademarks") are registered trademarks in the United States and other countries. To the extent your use of ACLU Trademarks does not constitute “fair use” for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:
You may not use the ACLU Trademarks for any product or service that does not belong to the ACLU, nor in any manner that is likely to cause confusion about whether we are the source, affiliated with, sponsor of or endorser of any product or service. In addition, you may not use the ACLU Trademarks in any manner that illegally disparages or discredits us.
At times, the trademark of a third party (such as a coalition partner will appear on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site (“Third-Party Trademarks”). Your ability to use a Third-Party Trademark that appears on the ACLU of Massachusetts Site is limited to the manner, if any, in which the ACLU of Massachusetts Site explicitly states on the page on which such Third-Party Trademark appears that such use in such manner is authorized by the third-party owner of that Third-Party Trademark (unless your use is permissible under the law (e.g., it is “fair use”) or the owner of such Third-Party Trademark has specifically granted you the right to such use in such manner).
Frames and Metatags
You may not frame the content of the ACLU of Massachusetts Site. You may not use metatags or any other “hidden text” that incorporates ACLU or the ACLU of Massachusetts Trademarks or our, our local affiliates’ or ACLU National’s name without our express written consent.
Links to Other Websites
The ACLU of Massachusetts Site contains links to other websites that we think may be of interest to you. We are not responsible for and have no control over these other sites or their content. Remember that when you link to another site, that other site is governed by its own user agreement and privacy statement, which you should be sure to read.
Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
ALTHOUGH WE TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES” OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS SITE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS SITE ARE FREE FROM SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES.
WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS OR INJURY BASED ON ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS SITE, NOR FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS OR INJURY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THE ACLU OF MASSACHUSETTS SITE OR YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS USER AGREEMENT.
Termination
We reserve the right to terminate the ACLU of Massachusetts Site and this User Agreement at any time without notice for any reason, including, in the case of the User Agreement, for your violation of any of its provisions. The Limitation of Liability and Governing Law Sections of this User Agreement survive any such termination.
Governing Law
This User Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Massachusetts applicable to contracts made and performed there without regard to its conflicts of law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Massachusetts and County of Suffolk and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.
