WeoGeo Privacy Policy May 29th, 2007 -- (Version 1.0) |
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WeoGeo Privacy Policy May 29th, 2007 -- (Version 1.0) |
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We at WeoGeo are committed to maintaining your privacy. This privacy policy and agreement ("Privacy Policy") covers how we collect, use, and treat personal information that you may provide through our website (the "Website" or the "Site") or while participating in the services we offer at the Website (the "Services"). The terms "you" and "your" refer to any visitor to the Website, Our Terms and Privacy Policy apply to any visitor to the Website (collectively, "you"), including (i) casual visitors to our Site, who do not participate in the Services ("Site Visitors"), (ii) surveyors, engineers, cartographers, scientists, and other participants in the GIS, geospatial, mapping, and related industries, who visit the Site to contribute qualifying mapping content and other qualifying work ("Contributors"); and (iii) users who search the mapping content and other works available at the Site, who license this content from our Contributors, and who otherwise participate in our Services ("Content Users"). Content Users and Contributors are referred to collectively as "Members." The terms "WeoGeo", "we" and "us" refer to WeoGeo, Inc.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully; once you consent to this Policy's terms, it creates legal obligations on you and on WeoGeo. We ask you to show your consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy in different ways, depending on your relationship to the Site. The procedures for consenting to this Policy are (a) less formal if you are simply a casual Site Visitor, and (b) more formal if you are seeking to become a Content User or a Contributor featured on the Site.
By accessing and using our Website as a Site Visitor, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to be legally bound by it. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please refrain from using our Site.
1.2.Consent by Contributors and Content Users
If you register as a Contributor or a Content User, you will be prompted to click an "I Accept" button linked to this Policy during the registration process. Clicking "I Accept" confirms your agreement to be bound by this Privacy Policy.
2. The Types Of Information You May Provide
Information you may provide while visiting our Site or while participating in our Services falls into two broad categories: (i) personally identifiable information, and (ii) aggregate information. We use the term "Personally Identifiable Information" to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, e-mail address, birth date, financial information, photograph, telephone number or any combination of information that could be used to identify you. "Anonymous Information" is information that does not identify you, and may include statistical information concerning, for example, your use of our Services, your access to works by our Contributors, or the pages on our Site that you visit most frequently. These two categories of information can be further divided into (iii) information that we collect from, and that you provide to us ("Site-Directed Information"), and (iv) information you intend to provide or make available to other Members on our Site ("Member-Directed Information"). Our Privacy Policy governs all Site-Directed Information -- whether this information is personally identifiable information or anonymous information -- and does not govern Member-Directed Information, as we have no direct control over the collection or use of Member-Directed Information.
3. Site-Directed Personally Identifiable Information; Our Uses Of This Information
We will not share personally identifiable information you provide to us via the Website with any third party, other than as expressly disclosed in this policy. We collect information from Site Visitors, Content Users, and Contributors at different points on our Website and through our Services, and use this information as follows:
3.1. Registration Information; User Names
In order to participate as a Content User or Contributor in our Services, we require that you complete a registration form. This form asks for contact information, which includes such items as (i) name; (ii) mailing address; (iii) birth date (for COPPA and eligibility purposes); (iv) email address; and (v) the name of any organization you represent in registering. The registration process provides Content Users and Contributors with a user name and password, which allow them to gain access to the Website and Services to which they have subscribed. Our system relies on user names as the public "identifier" for the particular Content User.
3.2. Information Concerning Organizations
If you represent a group or organization, such as a company, or a research group, the group may want you to register on its behalf (collectively, a "Member Group"). If you register as a Member Group, among other information you will be asked to provide us with the first and last names of the managing members of the Group, the corporate or other address of the Member Group, and other Group-related contact information.
We use your e-mail address to send notifications relating to our Site, and to allow for various Interactive Services (as defined in our Terms).
3.4. Communications with Other Content Users
In registering under the Website, Content Users and Contributors indicate an interest in exchanging information with other Content Users, subject to any Privacy Controls imposed. To allow such communications, we provide information to identify individual users, in the form of Content Users' and Contributors' user names. We seek to limit the information provided through our system to the minimum information needed to identify a participant in communications and other exchanges.
3.5. Other Information Exchanges
The Website allows Content Users and Contributors (i) to provide and receive information in a range of forms on an unlimited number of mapping topics, and (ii) to engage in other activity through Website discussions that may include, at the option of the user, an exchange of personally identifiable information. In these instances, we use any information you provide to us strictly for the purposes for which you submit the information.
3.6. Use of Profiles in Promotions
We believe that our Content Users' own experiences on the Site can often act as the strongest promotion for the Site and our Services. To promote and illustrate our Services and the Site, therefore, we may wish to post on our Home Page, and in other areas of the Site, profiles and other Content of our Content Users. If we have used your information for these purposes, and you do not wish us to do so, please notify us as provided in Section 16 (Contact Us). If personally identifiable information is involved, we will remove the information from our promotional material, within a reasonable period of time.
3.7. Informational Notices and Bulletins
Periodically, we may choose to send news, bulletins, marketing materials, or other information to our Members, and will use personally identifiable information to send such communications. If we choose to undertake such communications, you will have the ability to opt out of receiving these communications as provided in Section 8 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out).
3.8. Bulletin Boards and Chat Rooms
As one of our Services, we may offer a wiki, forums, blogs, bulletin board system, and chat room features on our Site. We make only your user name available to other users of these services. Any comments you contribute to the online dialogue, however, become public immediately, attributed to your user name. You should, therefore, use discretion in what you submit to these exchanges.
Periodically, we may initiate surveys or contests at WeoGeo.com, and we may request personally identifiable information from you in connection with such surveys and contests. You are free to choose whether you participate in a survey or contest. The information we request may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and this information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and appeal of this Site. We will notify you of relevant details in connection with asking for you participation in such surveys or contests.
4. Your Responsibility for Member-Directed Information
Member-Directed Information is information you intend to provide or make available to other Content Users or Contributors on our Site. Although we counsel you to take care if you include personally identifiable information in your Member-Directed Information, our Privacy Policy does not cover Member-Directed Information. If you choose to disclose any personally identifiable information, any such information can be collected and used by other Content Users or users, and you may receive unsolicited communications as a result.
5. Anonymous, Aggregate Information
We use Anonymous Information to analyze the effectiveness of our Site, to improve our Services, and for other similar purposes, including for purposes of generating Content Reports for our Contributors. In addition, from time to time, we may undertake or commission statistical and other summary analyses of the general behavior and characteristics of users participating in our Services and the characteristics of visitors at our Site, and may share Anonymous Information with third parties, including Advertisers. Rest assured, though, that Anonymous Information provided to third parties will not allow anyone to identify you, or determine anything personal about you. We may collect Anonymous Information through features of the software that supports our Services, through cookies, and through other means described below.
WeoGeo may automatically receive and record information in our server logs from your browser, including your IP address (the Internet address of your PC), your computer's name, the type and version of your web browser, referrer addresses and other generally-accepted log information. We may also record page views (hit counts) and other general statistical and tracking information, which will be aggregated with that of other users in order to understand how our Website is being used, and for security and monitoring purposes.
A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, which is sent to your browser from a website's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can be used to provide you with a tailored user experience and to make it easier for you to use a website upon a future visit. We may include cookies on our Website and use them to recognize you when you return to our Website. You may set your browser so that it does not accept cookies. Cookies must be enabled on your web browser, however, if you wish to access certain personalized features of our Services.
We may use so-called "pixel tags" ó small graphic images (also know as "web beacons" or "single-pixel GIFS") ó to tell us what parts of our website have been visited or to measure the effectiveness of searches customers perform on our Site. Pixel tags also enable us to send email messages in a format customers can read, and they inform us whether emails have been opened, to help ensure that our messages are of interest to our Content Users and Contributors. None of this data includes personally identifiable information, and you can "opt-out" of receiving these types of emails from us by following the directions provided in Section 8 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out). If any personally identifiable information is collected using such tools, it will be subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
We may send email messages which use a "click-through URL" linked to content on our Website. When you click one of these URLs, you pass through our web server before arriving at the destination web page. We track this click-through data to help determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked simply do not click text or graphic links in the email, or notify us in accordance with Section 8 (Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out).
5.5. Banner Ads; Advertising Profiles
The Services may include the use of ad banner partners for the serving and/or targeting of ads, promotions, and other marketing messages. These ads may be provided, in some cases, by a third party ad service provider or advertiser ("Advertisers"). These Advertisers may use traditional banner ads, or other advertising methods, such as advertising using profiles and related Content. An Advertiser may place or utilize its own cookie on your browser, and may use Anonymous Information about your visit to our sites, such as the number of times you have viewed the ad. If the Advertiser requests that you provide to it personally identifiable information, please be aware that this Advertiser's use and collection of this information will be governed by its own privacy policy, and not our Policy. We recommend that you review the Advertiser's privacy policy before providing personally identifiable information.
In order to determine whether your computer is supported by our system, we may collect certain Anonymous Information. This information includes, but may not be limited to, your operating system and browser, as well as the presence of any software that our Website may require to operate with your computer, or other third party software on your computer. This information is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with third parties, except as provided for in this Privacy Policy.
To enable us to better understand the characteristics of our Members and/or to provide Services tailored to your needs, we may link (a) the personally identifiable information you have provided; with (b) Anonymous Information. If we combine or link any Anonymous Information or other information with your personally identifiable information, the resulting combination will be treated and protected as personally identifiable information under this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, no unrelated third parties will have access to this information, and any of our service providers who are granted access to this information will be bound to protect it in accordance with this Policy.
We will not disclose your personally identifiable information to unaffiliated third parties without your express consent, except in the following limited circumstances:
7.1. Disputes Between Contributors and Content Users
If there is a dispute between Contributors, or between Contributors and Content Users, then in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures set out in our Terms, we will disclose such information to allow the parties to begin discussions.
We may employ other companies to perform functions on our behalf, such as maintaining the Website, providing services related to the Site, collecting information, responding to and sending electronic mail, or other functions necessary to our business. We may need to share your personally identifiable information with these companies (collectively, "Site Vendors"). We will provide Site Vendors with only that information necessary to perform their functions, and we will not allow them to use your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.
We may reveal your personally identifiable information to attorneys, private investigator organizations or law enforcement agencies if we believe (a) that you are in risk of harm from another, or (b) that you are harming or interfering (or will imminently harm or interfere) with others or violating (either intentionally or unintentionally) our Terms or otherwise violating legal rights.
WeoGeo will reveal your personally identifiable information, to the extent we reasonably believe we are required to do so by law. If we receive legal process calling for the disclosure of your personally identifiable information we will attempt to notify you via the email address you supplied during registration within a reasonable amount of time before we respond to the request, unless such notification is not permitted.
WeoGeo shall be entitled to transfer to a third party information it collects, including any personally identifiable information, in connection with a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the business entity responsible for the information under this Policy, provided the acquiring third party has agreed to safeguard your personally identifiable information with protections that in all material respects are the same as or more protective than those set out in this Privacy Policy.
8.Changing or Removing Information; Opting Out
8.1. Discretionary Account Information
To allow appropriate control over personally identifiable information, you can access your account (after supplying your user name and password) to change or update discretionary information that you have previously submitted.
If we choose to send to you bulletins, updates, or other communications that are marketing-related materials, we will provide you with the ability to decline -- or "opt-out of" -- receiving such communications. Instructions for opting-out will be provided if and when we determine to send you such a communication. Please understand that you will not be allowed to "opt--out" of formal notices concerning operation of this Website, and legal and other related notices concerning your relationship to the Site.
Finally, if you request, we will remove your name and all other personally identifiable information from our databases. Please understand, however, that it may be impossible to remove this information completely, due to backups and records of deletions. In addition, please understand that, if you request deletion of your information, you will be unable to utilize associated features of the Website and any associated Services. You may not remove de-identified, anonymous, or aggregate data from our databases.
We have put in place security systems designed to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of personally identifiable Site-Directed Information you provide to us, and we take all reasonable steps to secure and safeguard this Information. Our site's password-protected section requires users to give us unique identifiers such as their user id and password. WeoGeo employees (and employees of our affiliates and Site Vendors) are required to acknowledge that they understand and will abide by our policies with respect to the confidentiality of personally identifiable information. In addition, the Site Vendor that processes credit card transactions on our behalf is obligated to comply with requisite security safeguards applicable to the credit card industry, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (see https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/index.htm). Finally, we provide access to our databases containing personally identifiable information on a need-to-know basis only.
Our security systems are therefore structured to deter and prevent hackers and others from accessing information you provide to us. We also use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Please understand, though, that this information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided by or submitted to WeoGeo. Due to the nature of Internet communications and evolving technologies, we cannot provide, and disclaim, assurance that the information you provide us will remain free from loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties who, despite our efforts, obtain unauthorized access.
10. Notice of Security Incident
If we detect, despite the safeguards set out above, an intrusion or other unauthorized access to or use of personally identifiable information (an "Intrusion"), we will (i) notify effected users of the Intrusion if the information at issue is sensitive, in our discretion, (ii) deliver this notice by the means we deem most efficient under the circumstances (such as, for example, first class mail or email); (iii) use contact information for each effected user that is current in our files; and (iv) use commercially reasonable efforts to accomplish these steps and effect this notice in a timely manner. To the extent applicable law requires steps in addition to those specified above, we will under all circumstances comply with applicable law.
From time to time, WeoGeo may change its Privacy Policy. If we make any changes regarding disclosure of personally identifiable information to third parties, we will attempt to contact you prior to the date the modified policy is scheduled to take effect. We will post notice of the new Policy from the privacy link on our Website. With respect to Site Visitors, your use of our Site following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Privacy Policy, as changed. With respect to Content Users and Contributors, no such changes will take effect unless and until you have provided us with your consent to such changes, in accordance with Section 1.2 above.
We may choose to rely on and share information with companies closely related to us -- our "Affiliates" -- for certain purposes under this Privacy Policy. By "Affiliate," we mean an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with WeoGeo, whether the control results from equity ownership, contract, overlapping management or otherwise. In this context, "control" means the ability to replace the officers or directors or otherwise materially influence or control management decisions. You agree that WeoGeo Affiliates will be entitled to enjoy our rights under this Policy and, in exchange, we agree that we will be responsible for our Affiliate's conduct under this Policy, if our Affiliate fails to comply with any resulting obligations. In any event, we ensure that our Affiliates agree to protect personally identifiable information in a manner no less protective of your interests than the protections set out in this Policy.
13. Relationship to Terms of Use and Other Contracts
This Privacy Policy must be read in conjunction with our Terms, and the provisions of our Terms are incorporated herein. To the extent the Terms conflict with this Privacy Policy, the provisions of this Privacy Policy will control.
14. Privacy Protection for Children
Our Site is not directed to children, and we will not accept or request personally identifiable information from individuals we know to be under 13. In accordance with the Childrenís Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, if we learn that a child under 13 has provided us with Personally Identifiable Information, we will remove this information from our databases, in accordance with Section 8.3 (Deleting Information).
If you wish further information concerning privacy policies in general, concerning online social networking and safety, and concerning the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you should visit the following sites:
http://www.safeteens.com You may contact us for any reason at the following addresses: 17. Effective Date
The effective date of this Privacy Policy is May 29, 2007.
© 2007 WeoGeo, Inc.
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens_educ.html
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html
http://www.wiredsafety.org/internet101/blogs.html
http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm
http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_tips
Attention: Jessica Britt
Address: 10500 University Center Drive, Suite 140, Tampa, FL 33612.
Phone: (813) 574-3141 x112
Email: jbritt (at) weogeo (dot) com.