Privacy Policy and Legal Notice
- Privacy Policy Summary
- Sending Personal Information
- Comments
- Information Collection
- Cookies
- Site Security
- Links to Other Sites
- Disclaimer of Endorsement
- Copyright
- Official Seal, Names, and Symbols
- Terms of Use
The Privacy Act of 1974 protects your rights to privacy. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) respects your right to privacy and will protect your privacy when you visit our website. We do not collect personal information such as names, addresses, or phone numbers when you visit our site. Any information you explicitly provide us is completely voluntary. We assume that you consent to our use of any such affirmatively provided information for the purpose for which you provide it.
We will not share information protected by the Privacy Act, without your consent, for any purpose other than the routine uses stated in our System of Records Notice (SORN). You do not have to provide any personal information to visit this website.
Please be mindful that information presented on this website is considered public and may be distributed, copied, or disclosed in a rulemaking document or on the Internet.
The sections below describe the types of information we may collect and how we handle that information.
When you send us your email address we will not share it with anyone outside of the TTB staff. We will use your email address for the purpose for which it was provided. (see the "Comments" section below regarding previously emailed comments to Notices of Proposed Rulemaking). We suggest that you do not send personal information to us via email. In addition your email address may be used to request your consent to participate in TTB sponsored surveys. At that time you will also be given the opportunity to opt out from receiving invitations to participate in future surveys.
3. Sending Personal Information
If you voluntarily choose to send personal information (e.g., Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, Permit Registry Number, etc.) to us via this website by completing an online form, responding to the Web survey, registering for a seminar, or subscribing to Web updates, we will use that information to fulfill your request. We do not sell the information collected at this site, or any other information we collect. You do not have to give us personal information to visit our website.
Comments in response to Notices of Proposed Rulemaking or other documents must be submitted through the Regulations.gov online system or by the method identified in the specific Federal Register notice. Name and address information (including email addresses) in comments submitted in response to rulemaking proposals is maintained with the comment on Regulations.gov.
As of February 23, 2007, TTB.gov no longer accepts email submissions. Email comments you may have submitted through this website prior to February 23, 2007, will be maintained until further notice for public viewing on the TTB.gov website along with comments submitted by other means.
During your visit we collect certain data about your visit that does not identify you personally. We analyze this data to help us design and organize the site according to your needs. With this data, we produce statistical information about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We never track or record information about individuals and their visits.
TTB does not create individual profiles with the information we collect or use that information for commercial marketing. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:
- The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website;
- The type of browser site (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox) and operating system (e.g., Windows, Unix) used to access our site;
- The date and time you access our site;
- The links you click on specific Web pages; and
- If you linked to TTB.gov from another website, the address of that website.
“Cookies" are small bits of text that are used either for the duration of a session ("session cookies"), or saved on a user's hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that user, the next time the user logs on to a website ("persistent cookies"). TTB.gov does not use persistent cookies.
Some sections of TTB.gov may use session cookies to provide streamlined navigation throughout the site and for statistical analysis. These session cookies are deleted from the component's server soon after your session ends and are not collected or saved. You can set up your Web browser to inform you when cookies are set or to prevent cookies from being set. You can still use our website if you do not accept the cookies, but you may be unable to use certain cookie-dependent features.
We monitor visits to our website to identify any attempt to tamper with it. When you submit personal information using our website--for example, if you register for a conference online--we have systems that make sure individuals outside of TTB cannot access your personal information.
Tampering with TTB's website is against the law. Anyone attempting to tamper with the site may be punished under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.
We would try to identify you personally only when required to do so by a law enforcement investigation. Any information we collect for an investigation is destroyed according to federal records guidelines.
Our website has links to other websites, especially to sites of other federal and state agencies. In a few cases we link to private organizations. When you go to another site, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of that site. TTB cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided there. For more information read TTB’s Linking Policy.
Linking to a website does not constitute an endorsement by TTB, or any of its employees, of the sponsors of the site or the products presented on the site. If you have any questions, please contact TTB's Webmaster.
TTB does not endorse any commercial product, service, process, or enterprise. Links to other websites and references to any commercial product or enterprise are provided solely for the convenience of the user and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. TTB assumes no responsibility for the content or operation of other websites.
Federal employees cannot claim copyright for any work on the TTB.gov website that was created or maintained during the course of their duties. You may copy text and images from our website freely, with the exception of official seals, names, and symbols (see below), but credit must be given to TTB. If copyrighted material appears on our site, or is reached through a link on this site, the copyright holder must be consulted before the material may be reproduced.
11. Official Seals, Names, and Symbols
Federal law prohibits the use of any symbol, emblem, seal, insignia, or badge of any entity of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), or any colorable imitation of such words, initials, symbols, emblems, or seals in connection with any advertisement, solicitation, business activity, or product where such use reasonably could be interpreted as conveying the false impression that such advertisement, solicitation, business activity, or product is in any manner approved, endorsed, sponsored, or authorized by or associated with TTB or any organization within the Department of the Treasury. See 18 U.S.C. Section 701, 31 U.S.C. Section 333, and 31 CFR Part 27.
12. TTB Online Services: Terms of Use
This system is the property of the United States Department of Treasury. Unauthorized use of this system is strictly prohibited and subject to criminal and civil penalties. The Department of the Treasury may monitor, record, and audit any activity on the system and search and retrieve any information stored within the system. By accessing and using this system you are agreeing to abide by these terms of use and are consenting to such monitoring, recording, and information retrieval for law enforcement and other purposes.
Each user must have individual login credentials. The person who submits a request for a user registration will receive unique login credentials consisting of a username and password. Each individual is responsible for any TTB Online Services activity associated with his or her login credentials. The user is responsible to maintain the security and confidentiality of his or her username and password. Any user who becomes aware his or her login credentials have been compromised should immediately change the user’s password and notify TTB.
Multiple people can have access to information (e.g., applications, permits, registrations, notices, formulas, and labels) in a TTB Online Services platform. If someone other than the person who submitted the submission requires access, that person must register for his/her own TTB Online Services account (Permits Online, Formulas Online and/or COLAs Online) and submit a “Request Access” application to access specific pending and approved records. Note that a Signing Authority or Power of Attorney form must already be on file with TTB before requesting access. In addition, submissions on a TTB Online platform generally must be digitally signed by the registered user, often under penalty of perjury.