Corporate Action Network Action Center Privacy Policy
Corporate Action Network Action Center
Privacy Policy
Last Revised: June 12, 2012
Corporate Action Network Action Center, which operates www.corporateactionnetwork.org and our other websites and mobile applications that link to that web address (“the Site”), takes your privacy very seriously. This policy is intended to inform you about how Corporate Action Network Action Center gathers information from you when you visit the Site, uses and discloses that information, and how you can control the use and disclosure of your information, so you can make an informed decision about using the Site.
Scope
This privacy policy (the “Policy”) applies only to the Site. If you click on a link to another website from the Site, the Policy will not apply to the information collected on that website. You acknowledge that Corporate Action Network Action Center has no control over such third party websites and will not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such websites, nor from any information that you provide to such websites or that such websites collect from you.
The Policy applies to the collection and use of personal information, which means information that identifies, describes, or is capable of being associated with, a particular individual, including, but not limited to, an individual’s name, address, email address, telephone number, Social Security Number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information (“Personal Information”).
Information Collected by the Site
• Information that you provide directly to Corporate Action Network Action Center
You may voluntarily provide Personal Information to Corporate Action Network Action Center when you
- Create an account/profile (required to access the Site)
- Enter your username/password (required to access the Site)
- Make a donation
- Fill out a form
- Send us an email
- Fill out a survey
- Leave comments/participate in discussion pages
- Sign up to host an event
- Create a group
- Conduct searches on the Site
- Sign up to receive email or text message alerts/updates
Public Forums
If you disclose any information in comment boards, discussion pages or elsewhere on the Site, it becomes public information and can be read, collected, or used by others. Please exercise caution when disclosing any Personal Information, and refrain from publicly disclosing direct contact information such as your mailing address, phone number, or email address.
Online Petitions
When you sign an online petition, the petition is public information. Corporate Action Network Action Center may make the petition, your name, city, state, and any comments you offer in connection with the petition publicly available.
Events
When you register through the Corporate Action Network Action Center for an event organized by a third party, information you submit through the Site as part of the registration process will be made available to such third party. Corporate Action Network Action Center has no ability to control, and shall have no responsibility for, how such third party uses your information it so obtains.
Interactive Features
When you create a profile, certain information regarding actions you take through the Site, such as joining a group, may be available to other users or be publicly available.
• Information automatically collected when you visit and use the Site
- Computer’s IP address
- Browser type and operating system
- Your bandwidth speed
- Information about the software programs that are installed on your computer
- Web pages you were visiting immediately before and after you visited the Site
- Web pages that you view and links that you click on within the Site
- Standard server log information
- Information collected through cookies
- If you access the Site through a mobile device, the type of mobile device, your device’s unique ID, the type of mobile Internet browser and operating system you use, and the location of your device
This automatically collected information is considered aggregate information unless it is combined with Personal Information described above.
• Information that we collect from other sources
Corporate Action Network Action Center may access information about you from third-party sources and platforms, including:
- If you access third-party social networking sites (such as Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus) through the Site, your username and contact lists for those services
- Demographic data, such as age, gender and interests
- Unique identifiers, including mobile device identification numbers, that can identify the physical location of such devices in accordance with applicable law
How We Use Collected Information
- Send users email or other electronic communications
- Track users’ involvements in community discussions and use of the Site
- Fulfill users’ requests for services and information
- Prevent illegal activities, enforce the Site’s Terms of Use, and otherwise protect our rights and the rights of our users
- Any other purposes disclosed to you at the time the information is collected or pursuant to your consent
Corporate Action Network Action Center will only make Personal Information about users available to third parties as described below:
- To trusted third parties including vendors, consultants, and volunteers employed to perform Site-related services, including database management, maintenance services, analytics, data processing, and email and text message distribution. These third parties have access to users’ Personal Information only to perform these tasks on our behalf, and on the condition that they will maintain the confidentiality of all Personal Information.
- To investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety or other rights and interests of any person, violations of the site’s Terms of Use, or as otherwise required by law.
- When we believe in good faith that we are lawfully authorized or required to do so or that doing so is reasonably necessary or appropriate to comply with the law or legal process or respond to lawful requests, claims or legal authorities, including lawful subpoenas, warrants, or court orders.
We may share aggregate information with third parties to help us develop content or services.
To customize your experience on this Site and to simplify the Site’s registration process, we provide you with the opportunity to access or interact with third-party services, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. When you connect to the Site through these third-party services, we may share Personal Information about you with these third-party service providers and they may share Personal Information about you with us.
We may use data that we receive from these third-party service providers to:
- Create relationships automatically within the Site (e.g., replicate Twitter relationships with other Site users)
- Suggest relationships (e.g., suggest you connect with Facebook friends)
- Populate a list of potential friends to whom you can send emails
- Enhance and personalize your experience on the Site (e.g., import your profile picture, identify stories that are popular in your network, what your friends are saying about an article)
We may provide Personal Information to third-party service providers to:
- Identify stories on which you have commented/which you have “liked” on the Site
- Identify events that you have indicated you will attend
Note that if Corporate Action Network Action Center discloses personal information (including a user’s name, address or email) to a third party for direct marketing purposes, under California law Corporate Action Network Action Center must allow California users to request certain information about the disclosure. The California statute excludes from the definition of direct marketing the use of personal information (a) by bona fide tax exempt charitable or religious organizations to solicit charitable contributions, or (b) to raise funds from and communicate with individuals regarding politics and government. Our understanding is that Corporate Action Network Action Center does not intend to disclose users’ personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes as defined in the statute.
Cookies
As is standard practice on many websites, we may set and access cookies, web beacons, Flash cookies, and other technologies on your computer. Please note that third parties, such as ad networks, advertising agencies, advertisers, and audience segment providers, may also set and access cookies, web beacons, Flash cookies, and other technologies on your computer when you visit the Site.
Cookies are small amounts of information stored in files within your computer's browser. Web sites can access only the cookies that they have stored on your computer. For example, if Acme computer company stores a cookie on your browser, Acme may access its own cookie but not that of another company.
Corporate Action Network Action Center uses cookies for the following purposes:
- To help us recognize you as a previous visitor and save and remember any preferences that may have been set while you were visiting the Site. For example, we may save your login information so you don't have to sign in every time you visit the site;
- To help us customize the content you see when you visit the Site;
- To help measure and research the effectiveness of our interactive online content, features, and other communications; and
- To track Site analytics and use, and to improve Site services.
We may also use web beacons (known as clear GIFs, web bugs, pixels, or action tags). These technologies are strings of code that deliver a tiny graphic image on a web page or in an email. Web beacons can recognize certain types of information on your computer such as cookies, the time and date a page is viewed, and a description of the page on which the web beacon is placed.
We use web beacons for various tracking purposes, like determining whether or not you are logged into the Site and whether or not you are connected to a third-party service.
Third parties also may use web beacons on the Site to receive auditing, research, and reporting information, or to understand your interests and select and deliver to you advertisements that are tailored to your interests.
Some of the Site’s third-party partners may use Flash cookies, otherwise known as local shared objects (LSOs), to track user behaviors in various ways. LSOs keep collections of cookie-like data stored in a directory on a user's computer, and are installed through Adobe's Flash video player.
Collection of Information by Third Parties
Third party vendors, such as Google DoubleClick, Yahoo Tremor and 24/7 RealMedia, may automatically collect information about your visits to this and other websites, your IP address, your ISP, and the browser you use to visit the Site. They may collect this information using cookies, clear gifs, or other technologies. These third parties may use this information to place ads on other websites or to better understand the usage and visitation of the Site and other websites tracked by these third parties. This Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, cookies, clear gifs or other technologies used by these third parties, and we encourage you to check the privacy policies of advertisers and/or ad services to learn about their use of cookies and other technologies.
Your Choices Regarding the Collection and Use of Your Information
To reduce the amount of Personal Information that Corporate Action collects from you and limit its use, you can take one or more of the following steps:
- Opt-out of receiving emails from Corporate Action Network Action Center
- Change your browser to reject cookies
- Opt-out of allowing Corporate Action Network Action Center to collect your geographic location by changing the location settings on your mobile device
- Opt-out of linking your activity on the Site to your social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus
- De-activate your profile (but your comments will still remain on the Site)
- Opt-out of allowing Corporate Action Network Action Center to share your personal information with allied organizations for the purpose of sending direct mail or email to solicit contributions to non-profit organizations or communicate regarding politics and government
Changes to your Information
To change any Personal Information that you provided as part of your account/profile, click on [ ].
Visitors from Outside the United States
The Site’s offices and data processing equipment are located in the United States. If you visit the Site from another country, please be aware that information you provide to us or that we obtain through your use of the Site may be transferred to and processed in the United States and will be subject to United States law. United States privacy and data protection laws may not be equivalent to the laws in your country of residence. By using the Site or providing us with information, you consent to the collection, transfer, storage, and processing of information to and in the United States, and acknowledge that Corporate Action Network Action Center is not bound by the privacy and data protection laws of any other country.
Children Under Age 13
We encourage parents to monitor their children’s Internet usage and to caution them about the dangers of sharing Personal Information on the Internet. Although we welcome children under age 13 to visit the Site with parental supervision, as stated in the Site’s Terms of Use, children under age 13 should not visit the site on their own and should not submit any Personal Information to the Site. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under age 13. If we learn that we have collected any Personal Information from a child under age 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will delete that information from our database as soon as possible.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
Corporate Action Network Action Center may update the Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices. If we modify the Policy, we will place a prominent notice on the Site and/or send a notice to the primary email address provided in your registration with the Site. As part of any modification of the Policy, we will update the “last revised” date above.
Questions
If you have any questions about the Policy, please contact [email address] or
Corporate Action Network Action Center
1900 L Street, N.W., Ste. 900
Washington, DC 20036
