IndependentVoice Online Privacy Statement (August 15, 2006)

IndependentVoice is committed to protecting the personal information that you provide when using the IndependentVoice Site.  This Online Privacy Statement describes how we treat all participant data collected during your visit to the IndependentVoice Site, both anonymous data and personally-identifying data.

Types of Data We Collect

We collect two types of user data: (1) anonymous data that is automatically collected from all visitors to the IndependentVoice Site; and (2) personally-identifiable data that you voluntarily submit to us (described below under "Personal Data").

Anonymous Data. We automatically collect Internet Protocol addresses and domain names through our server and through cookies. (See the section on Cookies below for more information.) We also track the number and frequency of hits per page on an aggregate basis.

Personal Data. We may collect 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 IndependentVoice Site, including (but not limited to) when you: 

• join or contribute or volunteer for activities of IndependentVoice;
• make any additional contributions to support the work of IndependentVoice;
• sign up for our IndependentVoice e-mail updates;
• send correspondence to public officials or others through the IndependentVoice Site;
• register for our message boards or other communication and information sharing forums;
• participate in one of our online surveys; or
• participate in any activity that requires your Personal Data.

If you join in IndependentVoice activities or make a donation to IndependentVoice from a website link, we may also identify the source of that link, so that we can evaluate what content is motivating Web users to contact, participate in, and/ or contribute to the IndependentVoice.

IndependentVoice may be required to disclose information regarding its contributions to comply with California’s campaign finance laws.

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 IndependentVoice Site, for example the "remember my login" option offered when you log on to the IndependentVoice Site, or the "remember me" option offered on the Feedback or Survey, or any other special information and participation pages. 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 IndependentVoice Site or your postal address when you write a letter to a public official. 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 IndependentVoice Site to run the Site's interactive applications, such as the online contribution or volunteer forms. Session Cookies last only as long as your session on the IndependentVoice 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 IndependentVoice online newsletter. If you select "text-only" format for the online newsletters or bulletins or other action communications, it will not contain any Session Cookies.

How We Use The Data We Collect

We use anonymous data to identify the source of user traffic (for example, anyuniversity.edu, or aol.com), but we are not able to use this data to identify individual users. We use data on which sections of the IndependentVoice Site are most visited, so that we can evaluate the popularity of our different Web pages and continue to improve the IndependentVoice Site. We do not link any anonymous data with the Personal Data you provide to us.

We use your Personal Data for various purposes:

• to fulfill the request for which you specifically provided the data;
• to send you our e-mail newsletter, political updates and action alerts, if you have not opted out of receiving that information;
• to personalize the content that you see based on the activities that you have selected on the IndependentVoice Site; 
• to allow you to set and change user preferences; 
• to offer you other ways to support IndependentVoice, including, in some limited cases, solicitations for additional contributions; and
• to confirm your contribution to IndependentVoice.

The IndependentVoice Site is hosted by servers in the United States. Accordingly, if you are located outside of the United States, the Personal Data you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. By submitting your Personal 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 (see below regarding third-party sharing of Personal Data from non-U.S. residents).

If you are a U.S. resident, we may also from time to time combine your Personal 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.

Affiliates & National Organization

IndependentVoice may share your Personal Data with our national organization.  We may also share your Personal Data with our organizers and communications staff in order to permit them to contact you regarding any local activities we think may interest you, if you have not opted out of receiving this information.

Third Party Providers

IndependentVoice does not share your Personal Data with Third Parties who are not providing a service to IndependentVoice or assisting IndependentVoice in its organizing activities.

We may share your Personal Data with third-party service providers who on occasion facilitate some aspect of the IndependentVoice Site activities, services or actions, including those providers we use to assist us in our own fundraising and organizing efforts (e.g., a direct mailing house that is contracted to IndependentVoice to mail out petitions).  They are contractually prohibited from sharing any of your Personal Data with any other third parties, except as required to fulfill their contractual service.

We may disclose and use Personal Data in special circumstances when it is necessary to enforce our User Agreement or this Online Privacy Statement, or when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires us to disclose your Personal Data to third parties (e.g., disclosure of limited contributor information to comply with campaign finance law).

Your Ability to Choose

The ability to opt out of IndependentVoice e-mail alerts is available on all email communications.

Children

We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.

Security

The Personal Data we collect about you is stored on a secure server. We use industry-standard encryption technologies with respect to the receipt and transfer of Personal Data you submit to us on the IndependentVoice Site and only authorized personnel have access to your information. Nevertheless, despite our best efforts, no transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

IndependentVoice will revise or update this policy if our practices change, or as we develop better ways to keep you informed and involved. You should refer back to this page for the latest information and the effective date of any changes. If the policy is changed, we will post a new policy on the IndependentVoice website and change the date to indicate when it was last modified. Changes to the policy shall not apply retroactively.

This policy created August 15, 2006 and has not yet been modified.