Last Revised January 14, 2014
PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND THE RELATED TERMS OF SERVICE LOCATED AT https://madisonhouseautism.org/legal-disclaimer/ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.
This “Site” (as defined hereinbelow) is operated by Madison House Autism Foundation. (“Foundation”, “us” or “we”). This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to your use of our website located at https://madisonhouseautism.org/ and any other online and mobile websites, blogs and interactive applications operated by Foundation that are related to https://madisonhouseautism.org/ (collectively, the “Site”) (unless a different policy is provided on a particular site or application, in which case such different policy shall control). This Privacy Policy discloses what type of information is collected, the methods used to collect it, how Foundation utilizes the information to better serve all interested parties and the choices you have about the way your information is collected and used. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. Your use of the Site indicates that you have read, accepted and unconditionally agreed to the Foundation privacy practices, as outlined in this Privacy Policy and any other applicable terms. The Terms of Service for this Site are incorporated herein by this reference.
Children
We recognize the importance of safeguarding the privacy of children and encourage parents to check and monitor their children’s use of online activities regularly. This Site supports and complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) and other applicable laws. This Site is not aimed at nor intended for children under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, please do not use this Site, and if you are over the age of 13 but under the age of 18, you should use this Site only with the involvement and permission of a parent or legal guardian. Our Site does not accept registration from children under the age of 13. No personally identifiable information is purposefully or knowingly collected from children under the age of 13 by Foundation without parental consent. For purposes of this Privacy Policy, personally identifiable information (“PII”) is personal information about an individual, such as a first and last name, phone number or email address or other individually identifiable information within the meaning of COPPA and the Federal Trade Commission’s Online Privacy Protection Rule found at 16 CFR 312.2. If Foundation discovers that a person under the age of 13 has provided Foundation with any PII, Foundation will use commercially reasonable efforts to delete such person’s PII from its system. Every user hereby agrees that all information you provide, including but not limited to age, shall be truthful and correct.
Information We Collect
Foundation strives to provide our visitors with information relevant to their particular desires, needs and/or interests. The information we gather helps us to better serve our purpose. We may ask you to provide us with demographic information, information regarding your interests or other PII. Providing us with PII about yourself is voluntary, and you can always choose not to provide certain information, but then you may not be able to take advantage of or participate in some of the Site’s features. Foundation actively and passively gathers, analyzes and/or stores PII and other information generally by way of five different sources: (1) the PII voluntarily submitted by visitors when using or registering to use or receive our services or offers; (2) the PII voluntarily submitted when visitors contribute to the Foundation online, by mail or over the telephone (3) the PII visitors voluntarily provide when participating in any event, contests, sweepstakes and/or other promotions; (4) for compliance with adverse event or other reporting requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”); (5) by tracking and analyzing online and mobile data and activity through mechanisms that identify site usage, browser types, IP addresses, and other data. This last source of information is explained in greater detail over the next several sections of this Privacy Policy.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information
When your computer or mobile device contacts our web servers (for example, when you visit this Site, scan a Microsoft Tag or QR code, or view an HTML e-mail), our web servers automatically collect usage information. Such usage information includes information about how our visitors use and navigate our Site. It can include the number and frequency of visitors to each web page and the length of their stays, browser type, referrer data that identifies the web page visited prior and subsequent to visiting our Site, and IP addresses (see below for more information on IP addresses). We also may determine the applicable technology available in order to serve you the most appropriate version of a web page, e-mail, advertising or promotional announcement or similar service. This information is used to analyze and improve this Site and to provide you with a more fulfilling and relevant experience.
Browser Cookies
Like many websites, we use browser “cookies”. Cookies are a website’s way of remembering who you are. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer’s hard drive or stored temporarily in your computer’s memory. There are two kinds of cookies: those that are “session” oriented and those that are “persistent”. Session cookies delete from your computer when you close your browser. Persistent cookies retain information for later use tomorrow, next week, next month, or whenever they are set to expire. We use cookies to help us to identify account holders and to optimize their experience on our Site. Also, we will use cookies to monitor and maintain information about your use of this Site. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically. You can delete cookies manually or set your browser to automatically delete cookies on a pre-determined schedule. For example, in the Internet Explorer menu bar, select: Tools Internet OptionsBrowsing HistoryDelete to view manual and automatic options. If you decline to accept cookies, you may not be able to take advantage of or participate in certain features of this Site.
Flash Cookies
Our Site enables the use of the Adobe Flash Player. Adobe’s Flash Player is used by the vast majority of websites that offer video and other interactive content. By default, your use of the Adobe Flash Player generates “flash cookies” (also known as “persistent identification elements” or “local shared objects”). Adobe provides a short disclosure about Flash Cookies in its End User License Agreement, stating “Use of the web players, specifically the Flash Player, will enable the Software to store certain user settings as a local shared object on our computer. These settings are not associated with you, but allow you to configure certain settings within the Flash Player.” The Adobe Flash Player (and similar applications) use flash cookies to remember user settings, preferences and usage similar to the browser cookies referenced above, but flash cookies can store more information than browser cookies and are managed through a different interface than the one provided by your web browser. You can control the degree to which you accept flash cookies by accessing your Adobe Flash Player management tools directly through the settings manager for Adobe Flash, located at http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager.html. If you do not allow flash cookies to take any disc space on your computer, you may not be able to take advantage of or participate in certain features on the Site. Users with a computer running the Windows operating system can view flash cookie files in this folder: \Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player. Users with a computer running the Apple operating system can view flash cookie files in this folder: /users/[username]/Library/Preferences/macromedia/Flash Player. Flash cookies, or LSO files are stored typically with an “.SOL” extension.
Although the Adobe Flash Player is used by the vast majority of websites that offer video content and/or games, it is not the only technology being used in the ever-shifting online and mobile content environment. HTML5 is an increasingly popular web standard used for presenting content, especially content delivered to mobile devices. HTML is the mark-up language used for the World Wide Web. Almost all web pages you visit on the internet are based around HTML code. HTML5 is simply the fifth and latest iteration of this mark-up language that allows for more interactive web pages. One of the real benefits of HTML5 is its potential to standardize the highly fragmented rich-media universe. Some HTML5 code may allow your response to advertising and other activities to be monitored across websites and such information to be stored on your computer or mobile device. Technology solutions that allow users to opt-out of or block this sort of tracking are being developed through browser add-ons and other tools.
Web Beacons
Our web pages or e-mail messages may contain a small graphic image called a web beacon, which is sometimes also called a “clear gif”, that allows us to monitor and collect certain limited information about our users, such as the type of browser requesting the web beacon, the IP address of the computer that the web beacon is sent to and the time the web beacon was viewed. Web beacons can be very small or invisible to the user, but, in general, any electronic image viewed as part of a web page or e-mail, including HTML based content, can act as a web beacon. We may use web beacons to count visitors to our web pages or to monitor how our users navigate our Site, and we may include web beacons in e-mail messages in order to count how many of the messages we sent were actually opened or acted upon. We use web beacons to compile aggregate statistics about our Site and our marketing campaigns.
Use Of IP Addresses
An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer or network when you are linked to the Internet. When you request pages from this Site, our servers log your IP address. We may use IP address for a number of purposes, such as system administration, to report aggregate information to our business partners or to audit the use of the Site. We may associate your IP address with the PII you provide.
We also may collect and store information about you that we receive from other sources to enable us to update and correct the information contained in our database and to provide product recommendations and special offers that we think will interest you.
Sensitive Information
Foundation uses all possible efforts to ensure the safety of your sensitive information. No website, internet transmission, computer system or wireless connection is completely secure. Foundation cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. Your use of the Site is at your own risk. Foundation urges you to take steps to keep your information safe by memorizing your password or keeping it in a safe place (separate from your account information), logging out of your account, and closing your web browser. In order to help us protect your sensitive information and PII further, you should be careful about providing your password to others.
Whenever you give Foundation sensitive or confidential information, Foundation will take commercially reasonable steps to protect the information by establishing a secure connection with your web browser. Foundation uses the Security Socket Layer (“SSL”), an industry standard security protocol for encrypting sensitive information. Unfortunately, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable and data transmission over the Internet cannot be guaranteed 100% secure. We cannot and do not ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Foundation and you do so at your own risk.
External Links
Foundation may contain links to, or advertisements about, non-Foundation websites. Other sites may also reference, advertise, or link to Foundation Sites. Foundation does not endorse or sponsor other websites, is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-Foundation sites, expressly disclaims any statements or assertions made on such websites, and denies all liability associated with your use of, and the content on, such other websites and advertisements. Please be advised that the practices described in this Privacy Policy do not apply to information gathered through other websites. We encourage you to be aware of when you leave this Site and to read the privacy policies of each and every website that you visit.
Consent to Processing in the United States
This Site is operated in the United States. By providing any information to Foundation, all users, including, without limitation, users in the member states of the European Union, Canada or elsewhere outside of the United States, fully understand and unambiguously consent to this Privacy Policy. By using our Site, participating in any of our services and/or providing us with your information, you consent and agree to the collection, transfer, storage and processing of your information to and in the United States.
Sharing Information
We may provide information to other organizations when we believe their products or services may be of interest to you. If you opt in to receive communications from a third party, your information will be subject to the third party’s privacy policy and not this Privacy Policy. Therefore, if you later decide that you do not want that third party to use your information, you will need to contact the third party directly. In addition, Foundation may share your PII with third parties under the following circumstances:
Third parties providing services on our behalf: We may engage third parties to perform services in connection with the operation of the Foundation. Examples of these services include: (a) marketing and promotional material distribution, (b) website evaluation, (c) data collection, storage, management, analysis and, where applicable, cleansing, and (d) any other services designed to assist us in maximizing our business potential. These third parties may have access to this Site’s user information, including PII, to the extent it is needed to perform their duties and functions.
Foundation Security: We may release information about our users, including PII, when legally required to do so, at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation or to verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing our Site and applicable laws. We may also disclose such user information whenever we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Foundation, or any of our respective affiliates, business partners, customers or others. In addition, we may disclose information in the process of complying with the adverse event or other reporting requirements of the FDA.
Aggregate Information: We may disclose non-identifying, aggregated user statistics to third parties for a variety of purposes, including describing our services to prospective partners and other third parties. Examples of such non-personal information include the number of users who visited this Site during a specific time period or purchased a specific product through this Site.
Promotions: If you choose to enter an event, contest, sweepstakes or promotion, your PII may be disclosed to third parties in connection with such promotion, including without limitation for purposes of posting your entry with attribution or otherwise as permitted in the official rules for the promotion in question, fulfilling your prize or including your name on a winners list. Also, by entering a promotion, we may require you to consent to the use of your PII or other information, such as name, voice or likeness, in advertising, promotional and marketing materials. In addition, we may offer certain promotional content, such as a sweepstakes, sponsored by or co-branded with a third party, who may obtain the PII that you submit.
How Can I Access, Correct and Update Personal Information?
You can access, correct and update certain personal information that you have provided to us during registration by submitting a message to us using our “Contact Us” page. Please be aware that we will process your request as quickly as we reasonably can, but it may not be possible to update our systems immediately.
In addition, you should be aware that it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases without some residual data because of backups and other reasons.
Your choices/unsubscribe
You will have an opportunity to unsubscribe from receiving promotional material from this Site by clicking on an “unsubscribe” hyperlink contained in promotional emails we send you. Additionally you may send us a message using our “Contact Us” page. Because customer lists often are prepared well in advance of an offering (sometimes a few months before the offer is made), you may continue to receive some offers after you send us a request not to use your information for specified marketing purposes. Please be aware that we will process your request as quickly as we reasonably can, but it may not be possible to update our systems immediately. We appreciate your patience and understanding in giving us time to carry out your request.
In addition, you should be aware that it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases without some residual data because of backups and other reasons.
If you want to opt out of having your PII shared with third parties for marketing purposes, you must consistently opt-out at our Site where you register and whenever you provide PII to us. Please bear in mind that this opt-out choice for “third parties” will not apply to Foundation, Foundation licensees and/or co-branding participants, as set forth below. Please also keep in mind that any opt-out choices you make will not apply in situations where (a) you either have made, simultaneously make, or later make a specific request for information from us, or (b) Foundation uses your PII for either operational purposes (e.g., to complete transactions requested by you, or to send you administrative communications either about your account with us or about features of our Site, including any future changes to this Privacy Policy, or any other policy or terms that affect you and your use of our Site) or fulfillment purposes (e.g., sharing with companies that facilitate communications and transactions with you).
Finally, if you do not exercise your opt-out choices upon registration or otherwise at the time the PII is provided, it may take some time to process your opt-out choices. Our systems require time to update, and promotional mailings using PII shared before your opt-out may already be in process. Thus, your PII might continue to be shared with third parties for promotional purposes for some time after you make your request, For similar reasons, if your PII is shared with a third party, Foundation largely or completely loses control over how that information is used. Thus, even after you have opted out of allowing us to share your PII, you might continue to receive promotional materials from third parties unless and until you duly register your opt-out request with each third party in question.
Notice to California Residents/Your California Privacy Rights
California residents are entitled once a year to request and obtain certain information regarding our disclosure, if any, of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately prior calendar year (e.g., requests made in 2011 will receive information about 2010 sharing activities). As set forth in this Privacy Policy, we comply with this law by offering our visitors the ability to tell us not to share your personally identifiable information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, consistently exercise your opt-out choice whenever you provide PII to us or send us a message using the “Contact Us” page. You must include this Site as the subject line, and your full name, e-mail address, and postal address in your message. Please see the “Your Choices/Unsubscribe” section of this Privacy Policy for additional information.
Forums/Message Boards
Please review our restrictions on use and guidelines for user forums in our Terms of Service. In addition, please note that this Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you may disclose publicly in user forums (such as chat rooms, blogs, message boards, or similar web pages). You should keep in mind that whenever you publicly disclose information about yourself online, that information could be collected and used by people that you do not know. In addition, certain message boards (and similar user forums) may display IP addresses and possibly PII along with the message poster’s name and message. Foundation assumes no responsibility for any action or policies of any third parties who collect any information users may disclose in user forums or other public areas, if any, of this Site.
Revisions to Privacy Policy
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify, update, add to, discontinue, remove or otherwise change any portion of this Privacy Policy, in whole or in part, at any time. When we amend this Privacy Policy, we will revise the “last updated” date located at the top of this Privacy Policy. For changes to this Privacy Policy that we consider to be material, we will place a notice on the Foundation website located at <LINK> by revising the link to read substantially as “Updated Privacy Policy” for a reasonable amount of time. If you provide information to us or access or use the Site in any way after this Privacy Policy has been changed, you will be deemed to have unconditionally consented and agreed to such changes. The most current version of this Privacy Policy will be available on the Site and will supersede all previous versions of this Privacy Policy.
Choice of Law
This Privacy Policy, including all revisions and amendments thereto, is governed by the internal laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict or choice of law principles which would require application of the laws of another jurisdiction. With respect to any disputes or claims, you agree not to commence or prosecute any action in connection therewith other than in the state and federal courts located in Rockville, Maryland, and you hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens with respect to venue and jurisdiction in the state and federal courts of Rockville, Maryland.
For any questions, suggestions, or concerns related to this Privacy Policy, please send us a message using the “Contact Us” page.
© 2014 Madison House Autism Foundation. All rights reserved.