Dun & Bradstreet Privacy Policy
Dun & Bradstreet is the world's leading source of business information and insight. Since 1841, Dun & Bradstreet has collected information about businesses to deliver products and services that assist our customers in making critical commercial decisions. Dun & Bradstreet's global business database contains more than 265 million business records, which we compile through a wide variety of partners and public sources. The business data we collect is enhanced by Dun & Bradstreet's proprietary DUNSRight® quality assurance process. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, manage, share, and protect business information which includes business professional and business contact data (“Data”).
Privacy Principles
Our Data management practices are guided by the following privacy principles:
Notice: Dun & Bradstreet informs users and customers about the purposes for which we collect, use, manage, and share Data.
Choice: Dun & Bradstreet uses and discloses Data in accordance with a business's or business professional's choice to restrict the use of the Data.
Accountability for Onward transfer: Data is disclosed to third parties only for the purposes described in the notice and as permitted under applicable law, such as for purposes for which the individual has provided implicit or explicit consent. If Data is shared with third parties, we require contracts with those third parties that include limitation on use, provisions regarding compliance with comparable standards of security and data handling procedures as Dun & Bradstreet provides. Dun & Bradstreet remains liable for meeting the Privacy Principles if third-party agents that it engages to process personal data on its behalf do so in a manner inconsistent with the Privacy Principles, unless Dun & Bradstreet can prove that it is not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.
Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation: Dun & Bradstreet employs quality assurance measures during collection and processing to produce high-quality Data. Data is used in a manner that is compatible with the purposes for which it was collected or authorized.
Access & Correction: Dun & Bradstreet provides businesses and business professionals with the opportunity to examine their own information and to correct verified inaccuracies.
Data Security: Dun & Bradstreet applies appropriate technical, physical, and administrative Data security measures to protect Data against unauthorized access and disclosure.
Accountability: Dun & Bradstreet seeks to adhere to these privacy principles through ongoing compliance assessments and training and dispute resolution procedures.
Applicability to Dun & Bradstreet Legal Entities and Websites
This online privacy notice describes the data privacy practices that are applicable to the following Dun & Bradstreet U.S. legal entities: Dun & Bradstreet Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Dun & Bradstreet Emerging Business Corporation; Hoover’s Inc.; Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex, Inc.
This online privacy notice describes the data privacy practices that are applicable to the following U.S. Dun & Bradstreet websites: www.dnb.com, www.dandb.com, www.zapdata.com, www.dnboptimizer.com, and www.dnbgov.com, www.Netprospex.com www.smartmarketingdatahub.com and http://schooldata.com/legalprivacy-policy/.
These sites may provide links to other U.S. Dun & Bradstreet websites, non-U.S. Dun & Bradstreet websites and non-Dun & Bradstreet websites that may employ different Data management practices. We encourage you to carefully read the online privacy notices of these other websites to ensure that you understand their practices and the relevant distinctions.
What Information Do We Collect?
Dun & Bradstreet collects information on businesses and business professionals. We collect identifiable business information from website visitors when they decide to apply for a Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S® Number, register for a newsletter or e-mail alert, sign up for a conference/seminar, sign up to participate in online forums, complete a survey, fill out an online form, access D&B video content online, or purchase a product or service online. We also collect information offline from business owners and principals, from businesses' creditors, vendors, third parties and suppliers, and from public records such as business registrations, Uniform Commercial Code filings and bankruptcy filings. The business information that we collect includes the following:
Company and business professional contact information, including name, title, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address, domain names, and trade associations;
Detailed company profiles and statistics, including number of employees;
Background information regarding company management, such as beneficial ownership/persons of significant control, the educational and career histories of company principals;
Company operational histories, including territories, subsidiaries, affiliates, and lines of business;
Detailed trade and business credit information, including payment histories and patterns;
Summary business information regarding profitability, debts, assets, net worth, and business relationships;
Business compliance information from public source government and professional records, media and business publications
IP addresses, geolocation, comments on social media is collected and aggregated and used to analyze trends regarding Dun & Bradstreet products and services.
Credit/debit card information in order to process certain customer payments.
Dun & Bradstreet also collects information about website visitors indirectly through standard web logs, such as IP addresses, browser types (e.g. Internet Explorer), areas of the website that are visited, and the website from which a visitor came. We routinely use this web log information in the aggregate in order to administer and improve our website. While some of this information may be traceable to an individual, we only seek to identify individuals whom we believe are using our website for improper purposes or to otherwise use the information as described in this policy.
Dun & Bradstreet analyzes IP addresses of visitors to our websites and match business information from our various databases and received from third parties against the IP addresses to learn more about what types of businesses are visiting our websites and the browsing preferences of such businesses on our websites. We use the information derived from these analytical activities, which may be combined with non-personally identifiable behavioral information received from third parties, to better model and refine our general marketing activities and may, from time to time and to the extent permitted by law, directly market our products and services to these businesses based on the information we have learned about their browsing activities while on our websites.
Some users of Dun & Bradstreet products and services may choose to make certain individual profile elements public (e.g. blogs). Any information an individual submits and posts publicly may be viewable by website visitors. To request removal of your personal information from a Dun & Bradstreet blog, contact us at 1-800-234-3867 or send an email to customerservice@dnb.com.
Dun & Bradstreet does not respond to Do Not Track Signals.
How Do We Use and Share Information?
Dun & Bradstreet uses the identifiable business and business professional information that we collect to offer customers a variety of business information products and services for use in making business credit, risk management, supplier, and marketing decisions. Dun & Bradstreet also licenses professional business contact information to authorized resellers and third party businesses for marketing and data management purposes.
We may use your professional business contact information to match it with other public and private Data sources in order to create anonymous segments of information (this is non-personally identifying information, such as demographic, behavioral and technical information, extracted from the underlying Data) for use by Dun & Bradstreet and/or third parties to target advertising messages to you on third party sites and services. Such segments do not reveal or contain your personal information. You may opt-out from certain targeting advertising by following the instructions in the section below entitled “Third Party Advertisers.” Dun & Bradstreet complies with the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising as administered by the Digital Advertising Alliance. Visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ to exercise your option to opt-out of targeted ads provided by certain listed companies.
Dun & Bradstreet shares Data with third party service providers, such as credit card processors, auditors, attorneys, consultants, live help/chat providers and contractors, in order to support Dun & Bradstreet's Internet websites and business operations. Dun & Bradstreet contractually requires that these recipients only use the Data for the intended purpose of the disclosure and that they destroy or return the Data when it is no longer needed. We may also disclose Data as required or appropriate in order to protect our website, business operations or legal rights, or in connection with a sale or merger involving Dun & Bradstreet assets or businesses.
From time to time, Dun & Bradstreet compiles online and offline transaction and registration information for internal analyses, such as market research, quality assurance, customer experience, and operational benchmarking initiatives.
Also, be advised that Dun & Bradstreet sometimes receives requests (e.g., court order, subpoena, law enforcement proceeding) for personal information from public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. In responding those requests D&B’s adherence to the Privacy Principles set out above will be limited (a) to the extent necessary to meet national security, public interest, or law enforcement requirements or (b) by statute, government regulation or case law that creates conflicting obligations or explicit authorizations.
Collection of Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information
Dun & Bradstreet may collect sensitive personally identifiable information (“SPI”) associated with certain customers or customers' clients, such as individuals' Social Security Numbers and dates of birth, in order to provide certain product and service offerings and only when voluntarily provided by the customer. We will only collect this SPI if it is necessary to fulfill certain product orders, we will only use it for the limited, permissible purpose for which it is collected and we will take commercially reasonable steps to adequately secure the information. For more information regarding our data security practices, please review the "Data Security" section below. We may also share this SPI with trusted third parties for the limited, permissible purpose of fulfilling the associated product orders.
You Have Choices
Dun & Bradstreet respects your privacy preferences and offers the following ways through which you may control how we contact you and disclose your Data. We will honor your requests accordingly. See also the “Communication Preferences” section below.
Dun & Bradstreet E-mail Marketing: We provide individuals with the opportunity to opt out of receiving Dun & Bradstreet promotional e-mails and updates about Dun & Bradstreet products and services. You may follow the unsubscribe instructions in any of our promotional emails. We may continue to send you transactional or service-related e-mails despite your desire to not receive promotional or marketing e-mail messages.
Dun & Bradstreet Telemarketing: We provide businesses with the opportunity to place themselves on our company's internal Do Not Call list should they no longer wish to receive telemarketing calls from us. You may do this by calling Dun & Bradstreet Customer service at 1-800-234-3867 or clicking on the Dun & Bradstreet Communications Preference link http://businessinsight.dnb.com/ManageYourPreferences. We may continue to call you for transactional or service-related purposes despite your desire to not receive telemarketing calls.
Dun & Bradstreet Direct Mail Marketing: We provide businesses with the opportunity to place themselves on our company's internal Do Not Mail list should they no longer wish to receive marketing or promotional mailers by contacting Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service at 1-800-234-3867 or clicking on the Dun & Bradstreet Communications Preference link http://businessinsight.dnb.com/ManageYourPreferences. We may continue to send you transactional or service-related correspondence despite your desire to not receive marketing mailers.
Third Party Marketing: Individuals whose business contact information is in our professional business contacts database may request to be excluded from the professional contacts database which is the underlying data source for various marketing and sales solutions licensed to third parties for marketing and sales purposes. An individual who wishes to be removed from our professional contacts database may request to be removed either in writing or by calling Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service. For additional information or to request removal, please contact Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service at 1-800-234-3867 or send an e-mail to customerservice@dnb.com. While we may remove your individual business contact information from our professional contacts database, please be aware that we will continue to provide your company's contact information in our Business Information Reports and other products and services. Note that if your professional contact information is in a different third party’s marketing directory, you will need to request removal with such third party directly.
Website Use Information: You have additional choices regarding website use information that our third party advertisers and partners may collect or receive through the employment of cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, clear GIFs, and other similar media. Please see the "Third Party Advertisers" section below for more information.
Access and Correction
To help ensure data quality and accuracy, Dun & Bradstreet provides businesses and business professionals with access to their Data within the D&B databases and with an opportunity to correct verified inaccuracies. Authorized business representatives may request a complimentary copy of their company's business report by calling Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service at 1-800-234-3867 or sending an email to customerhelp@dnb.co.uk if you are a citizen of the EU or, if you are not, to customerservice@dnb.com. When a business owner or principal contacts Dun & Bradstreet about a potential data error, we promptly investigate the issue, confirm the information in question, correct verified inaccuracies and respond to the original inquiry. In such a case, we may apply a "stop distribution" order regarding the relevant business report, as well as ancillary products that may be affected by the verified inaccuracy, until the matter is properly resolved. When the investigation is complete, we will also send a correction notice to businesses or others whom we know to have received the inaccurate data, as appropriate. However, some third parties and third party sites may continue to display inaccurate Data until their databases and display of data are refreshed in accordance with their update schedules.
Cookies, Web Beacons, Pixel Tags, and GIFs
We design the layout and features of our website so that new visitors may anonymously learn about our products and services without revealing their identities. For new visitors, we use first party cookies or Web beacons (placed on your browser by Dun & Bradstreet) to collect limited data, such as the date, time, and areas of our website that are visited, as well as the website from which the new visitor came. We may use IP addresses to derive certain other information concerning businesses visiting our websites as described in this policy, but we do not analyze this information in a way which would reveal the identity of the individual browsing our websites. When you select one of our products or services, register for a newsletter or e-mail alert, fill out an online form, or complete a survey, we may try to identify your browser and we may combine information from cookies, Web beacons, and other information collected online with other data that we maintain about you. By improving the features, marketing, and content of our website and by making your online experience more convenient and meaningful, we are able to better serve our customers' needs.
A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer's hard drive and that often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a website, that website's computer asks your computer for permission to store this text file in a section of your hard drive that is specifically designated for cookies. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it. Your browser will only permit a website to access the cookies that it has previously sent to you and not the cookies sent to you by other websites. Some of our business partners, such as third party advertisers, use cookies that originate from their websites. We have no access to, or control over, these cookies. For more information, please see the "Third Party Advertisers" section below. We use cookies to store login or other information on your computer, which serves to improve our website functionality and tailor our services to your preferences and interests. For certain services, we offer users the ability to store a user ID or password within a cookie so that they do not need to re-enter it when they subsequently return to our website. Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server's log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our website and to assess which parts of the site are most popular. This information helps us to constantly improve our website and better serve our customers and some of our cookies may be tied to personally identifiable information. We do not store credit/debit card numbers in cookies.
Most Internet browsers allow users to decide whether to accept cookies and how long to keep them on their hard drive. You may reset your browser to refuse cookies and still use our website, although website access and functionality may be slower and less convenient.
We may use local shared objects, also known as Flash cookies, to display content based upon what you view on our site to personalize your visit. Third Parties, with whom we partner to provide certain features on our site or to display advertising based upon your Web browsing activity, use Flash cookies to collect and store information. Flash cookies are different from browser cookies because of the amount of, type of, and how Data is stored. Cookie management tools provided by your browser will not remove Flash cookies. To learn how to manage privacy and storage settings for Flash cookies click here.
A Web beacon is a graphic image, such as a pixel tag or clear GIF, which is placed on a Web page or in an e-mail message to monitor user activity, such as whether the Web page or e-mail message is accessed or clicked. They are often invisible because they are very small in size. They are also used on many Web pages for alignment purposes. We sometimes use Web beacons to provide an independent accounting of how many people visit our website or to gather statistics about browser usage on our website. Some of our Web pages and HTML-formatted e-mail newsletters use Web beacons in conjunction with cookies. It is difficult for you to limit the use of Web beacons because there is no easy way to distinguish their use from alignment and other purposes. Web beacons may also be loaded from a different Web server than the rest of the page.
Some of our e-mails may also contain pixels or code to gather information regarding e-mail behavior and analytics. We may share this encrypted information with third parties for e-mail analytics purposes.
We use third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. In the course of serving advertisements, our third party advertisers and partners may place or recognize a unique third party cookie on your browser. These companies may use information about your visits to Dun & Bradstreet and other websites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about goods and services that may be of interest to you. These third party partners monitor how guests use our website and determine which of our online features they prefer. We may report information to our partners about our customers and the products and services they order, as well as aggregated, non-identifiable information about our guests' use of our website. For more information, please see the "Third Party Advertisers" section below.
Third Party Advertisers
The use of third party cookies and other tracking technologies is not covered by our privacy policy. We do not have access to or control of any third party tracking technologies. We use third party advertising companies to serve our Internet ad banners on our website and other websites on which we advertise. Our third party advertisers may also use a third party analytics provider to place third party cookies on your browser in order to collect anonymous and aggregated session Data, such as the ads that are viewed. If you view a Web page where our ads appear, the advertising company may place a cookie on your computer or use a Web beacon to access a cookie that they previously placed on your computer. These companies do not collect information that can personally identify you, but they may use information about your visits to our website and other websites to measure the effectiveness of ads. We do not disclose any personally identifiable information to these companies. We share aggregate website usage information with third party advertisers and partners for the purpose of effectively targeting our online advertisements. Unless you are previously notified, these advertising companies do not link any online behavior or cookies with other information that can be used to personally identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address, when working with Dun & Bradstreet.
These third party advertising networks also track visitors' online usage and behavior patterns. These companies may use information about your visits to Dun & Bradstreet and other websites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about goods and services that may be of interest to you. The result of these efforts is the creation of an online profile that attempts to predict individual user interests, preferences and purchasing habits. The third party advertising networks then accordingly customize the advertising content served to users when visiting other websites.
The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) is a self-regulatory cooperative of online marketing and analytics companies. The NAI provides educational content and opt-out tools to help Internet users learn about and address online behavioral marketing practices. Through the NAI's online options, you may opt out of particular NAI network members' behavioral advertising programs or you may opt out of all NAI network members' programs. Opting out will prevent the given network from which you opted out from using your Web preferences and usage patterns to deliver targeted online ads. The NAI opt-out only works with participating third party advertising networks that use cookies and Web beacons to execute their advertising initiatives. If you would like additional information about online behavioral marketing and your options regarding these standard Internet practices, please visit the NAI website.
Data Security
Dun & Bradstreet maintains commercially reasonable security measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure and that are consistent with our business operations and generally accepted industry standards. These measures include the implementation of technical, physical and administrative security safeguards. Dun & Bradstreet requires employees to complete privacy and security training. Dun & Bradstreet also implements a third party service provider due diligence and oversight program to ensure that our vendors likewise employ adequate data collection, processing, transfer, management and security measures in carrying out their services on our behalf.
We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to us and you agree that you provide this information and engage in such transmissions at your own risk. Once we receive information from you, we will endeavor to maintain its security on our systems. Dun & Bradstreet has established policies and procedures for securely managing information and protecting Data against unauthorized access and we continually assess our data privacy, information management and data security practices. We do this in the following ways:
Establishing policies and procedures for securely managing information;
Limiting employee access to sensitive information;
Protecting against unauthorized access to customer data by using data encryption, authentication and virus detection technology, as required;
Requiring service providers with whom we do business to comply with relevant data privacy legal and regulatory requirements;
Monitoring our websites through recognized online privacy and security organizations;
Conducting background checks on employees and providing Data Privacy training to our team members;
Continually assessing our data privacy, information management and data security practices; and
Using secure socket layers (SSL) encryption for sensitive communication over the Web for pages including login, account and order processing.
Data Retention
Dun & Bradstreet will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service at 1-800-234-3867 or customerservice@dnb.com. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, re solve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Children
Dun & Bradstreet websites are business information sites providing contact information on working professionals. They are not targeted, intended or expected to be of use to children. User provided contributions of content or contact information regarding or about children are expressly prohibited.
Changes to Dun & Bradstreet's Data Privacy Practices
If we make material changes to our data privacy practices, we will post these changes on our website in order to keep you informed of how we collect, use, manage, disclose, and protect Data. Such changes will be posted in this online privacy notice and the policy effective date will be updated accordingly.
Your Use of Our Website Is Consent
By using our website, you hereby consent to our collection, use, management, retention, and disclosure of your information as described in this notice.
Sale of Dun & Bradstreet Assets
In the event that Dun & Bradstreet is purchased or sells parts or all of the business, the information collected will be considered an asset that can be transferred.
Transfers of Personal Information from EU to the US – Privacy Shield
Dun & Bradstreet and its legal entities identified in this Policy adhere to the Privacy Shield principles for personal data transferred from the EU to the US. Dun & Bradstreet certifies under the Privacy Shield which is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. For information about the Privacy Shield and a list of certified companies, go to: https://www.privacyshield.gov/.
Dun & Bradstreet is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Other Transfer Mechanisms
Dun & Bradstreet also complies with EU to US cross border transfer requirements by entering into standard contractual clauses or using other mechanisms available under the EU Data protection laws.
Dun & Bradstreet complies with the applicable laws regarding transfers from the EEA to the US.
Dun & Bradstreet also complies with the US-Swiss Safe Harbor Framework and its principles.
Dispute Resolution
This dispute resolution program covers both offline Data collection (e.g. personal information collected through our call centers or via postal mail) and online Data collection (e.g. personal information collected via the Internet). If you are a citizen of the EU and you have any complaints regarding our compliance with relevant aspects of the Data transfer laws and regulations surrounding Data transfers from the EU you should contact us at: EUDPO@dnb.com or customerhelp@dnb.co.uk.
If you are not a citizen of the EU and you have a question or concern regarding Dun & Bradstreet's data privacy practices, please contact the Chief Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@dnb.com or call the Customer Service center at 1-800-234-3867 or send an email to customerservice@dnb.com. We will do our best to resolve any complaints or issues as quickly as possible.
Independent Dispute Resolution
If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.
Arbitration
Under the Privacy Shield, arbitration is an option available to an individual as a final recourse for claims that a Privacy Shield organization has violated its obligations under the Principles and the claim is not fully resolved by other Privacy Shield recourse mechanisms. The arbitration will be implemented in accordance with the rules established under the Privacy Shield.
Contact Dun & Bradstreet
If you are an EU citizen and have questions or concerns regarding your personal information or about Dun & Bradstreet’s EU Privacy Policy, you can contact: EUDPO@dnb.com or, customerhelp@dnb.co.uk or, EU Data Protection Officer, Dun & Bradstreet, Marlow International Parkway, Marlow, Berkshire SL7 1AJ.
For more information regarding this online privacy notice, please contact:
Privacy Officer
D&B
103 JFK Parkway
Short Hills, NJ 07078
privacyofficer@dnb.com
Effective Date of Privacy Policy: September 21, 2016
This update to the privacy policy has been done to reflect Dun & Bradstreet’s certification under the U.S. Department of Commerce Privacy Shield program. Previous update to this privacy policy was dated April 19, 2016.