Privacy Policy
The American Geophysical Union (“AGU”) wants you to know how we address privacy issues on the AGU Blogosphere web site (the “Site”). AGU provides the privacy policy below (the “Privacy Policy”) to explain how your personal information will be treated by AGU. AGU reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. Please check back frequently in order to see changes, and Your use of the Site constitutes your acceptance of the privacy policy, as it may be amended from time to time.
1. Collection of Personal Information from Site Users
- AGU may collect and/or track (1) the home server domain names, e-mail addresses, type of computer, and type of Web browser of visitors to the Site, (2) the e-mail addresses of visitors that communicate with AGU or the Site via e-mail, (3) information knowingly provided by the visitor in online forms, registration forms and surveys, (including name, address, e-mail and other personal profile data), and (4) aggregate and user-specific information regarding page views.
- AGU may place Internet “cookies” on visitors’ hard drives. Internet cookies save data about individual visitors, such as the visitor’s name, password, user-name, screen preferences, the pages of a site viewed by the visitor, and the advertisements viewed or clicked by the visitor. When the visitor revisits the Site, AGU may recognize the visitor by the Internet cookie and customize the visitor’s experience accordingly. Visitors may decline Internet cookies, if any, by using the appropriate feature of their Web client software, if available; however, this may impair certain features of the Site.
- When a visitor performs a search within the Site, AGU may record information identifying the visitor or linking the visitor to the search performed. AGU may also record limited information associated with every search request made by the visitor and use that information to, among other things, solve technical problems with the service and to calculate overall usage statistics.
2. Use of Personal Data Collected
AGU may use personally identifiable information in a number of ways, such as:
- To communicate with you about your account, or to communicate information about the Site.
- To build higher quality, more useful services, such as by analyzing usage trends, and by measuring demographics and interests regarding specific areas of the Site.
- To provide you with prompt and effective customer service.
- To support the operation of the Site, troubleshoot problems, resolve disputes, and to enforce our Terms and Conditions.
- To send you promotional communications and materials on AGU products and services, if you accepted AGU’s invitation to accept such communications and materials.
3. Disclosure of Personal Data Collected
AGU may disclose personally identifiable information about you to Third Parties as follows:
- With your consent.
- To facilitate a transaction or communication with a third party that you have initiated.
- To AGU’s agents and advisors (such as our accountants or attorneys). We only disclose the personal information necessary for them to provide their services to you or to us, and only under strict confidentiality restrictions.
- As AGU believes necessary to: (a) comply with law (including court and government orders, and civil subpoenas); (b) enforce or apply AGU’s Terms and Conditions and other agreements; or (c) protect the rights, property, or safety of AGU, our bloggers, our users, or others.
- If you partake (or we reasonably suspect that you are partaking) in any illegal or potentially illegal activity. We may disclose personal information even without a subpoena, warrant, or other court order, to the extent we feel is necessary to inform and cooperate with law enforcement agencies or other appropriate authorities.
- In aggregated form, i.e., information about multiple users collectively without identifying any individual user, such as the total number of visitors to a particular section in a given week.
4. Collection of Personal Data from Children
This Site is not intended for use by children under the age of thirteen (13) years of age. To the extent that AGU is able to determine the age of users by their submissions to, or communications with, the Site, AGU will not knowingly (a) collect or post information from individuals under thirteen years of age (“Children” or “Child”) without their parent’s or guardian’s consent, or (b) provide any personally identifying information collected from Children, regardless of its source, to any third party for any purpose whatsoever.
5. Security Measures
AGU has implemented numerous security features to prevent the unauthorized release of or access to personal information. In particular, when a visitor provides information through the Site, AGU offers the visitor the ability to use a secure server. The secure server encrypts all information a visitor inputs before it is sent to AGU, and is also used to store personal information securely.
6. Third Party Web Sites
The Site may contain links to other Internet web sites. Unless we explicitly state otherwise, we have no control over these third party sites and their privacy practices, and this Privacy Policy applies only to information you supply (or that we collect) in connection with use of the Site. You should review third party privacy policies in connection with visiting the Sites.
7. Opt-Out Right
Visitors may opt-out of having their personal information collected by AGU, used by AGU for secondary purposes, or used by AGU to send promotional correspondence to the visitor, by contacting Nanci Bompey via email at [nbompey@agu.org] or via postal mail or telephone at the address and phone number below.
8. AGU’s Right to Contact Visitor
AGU reserves the right to contact visitors to the Site regarding their use of the Site, as well as changes to the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, or any other policies or agreements relevant to Site visitors.
9. Access to and Ability to Correct Personal Data
Upon request via postal mail, e-mail, or telephone (during regular business hours), AGU will provide to visitors a summary of any personally identifiable information retained by AGU regarding the visitor. Visitors may modify, correct, change or update personally identifiable information that AGU has collected through the Site or may cause their personal record to be removed from AGU’s database by contacting Nanci Bompey via postal mail, e-mail, or the telephone number indicated below.
10. AGU’s Right to Change Privacy Policy
AGU may change the content of our Site and Privacy Policy at any time. Please revisit our Privacy Policy from time to time to be sure you are familiar with our current policy.
11. Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this privacy policy or you would like to review, change, and/or remove your personal information, you may contact us at:
E-mail: nbompey@agu.org
Telephone: 202.777.7524
Mailing address: 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009
12. Governing Law
This Privacy Policy and the privacy practices of AGU will be subject exclusively to the laws of the District of Columbia within the United States of America. AGU makes no representation that this Privacy Policy and such practices comply with the laws of any other country. Visitors who use the Site and reside outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. If you reside outside of the United States, by using the Site, you consent to the transfer and use of your information outside your country.