ACLU of Texas - Privacy Policy

Online Privacy Statement

EFFECTIVE AS OF: SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU of Texas Foundation (collectively, "ACLU") are committed to protecting the personal information that you provide to us when using the ACLU Site. This Online Privacy Statement describes how we treat all user data collected during your visit to the ACLU Site, both anonymous data and personally-identifying data.

The ACLU may occasionally update this Statement. We will post any changes on this Web page, so be sure to check back periodically.

User Data We Collect

We collect two types of user data: (1) anonymous data that is automatically collected from all visitors to the ACLU 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.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 ACLU Site, including (but not limited to) when you:

join or renew your membership to the ACLU;
make an additional contribution to support the ACLU;
sign up for our ACLU of Texas e-mail network
send correspondence to your government representative through the ACLU Site;
register for our message board;
participate in one of our online surveys; or
participate in any activity that requires your Personal Data.

If you join the ACLU or make a donation to the ACLU from a Web site link, we may also identify the source of that link, so that we can evaluate what content is persuading Web users to contribute to the ACLU.

How We Use The Data We Collect

We use anonymous data to identify the source of user traffic (for example, umich.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 ACLU site are most visited, so that we can evaluate the popularity of our different Web pages and continue to improve the ACLU 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 an e-mail newsletter or action alerts, if you have not opted out of receiving that information;
To personalize the content that you see based on the activities and products that you have selected on the ACLU Site;
To allow you to set and change user preferences;
To allow you to renew your membership in the ACLU;
To offer you other ways to support the ACLU, including, in some limited cases, solicitations for additional contributions;
To confirm your contribution to the ACLU.

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.

Third-Party Sharing

We share your Personal Data with third-party service providers who fulfill your orders, contact you on our behalf, or facilitate some other aspect of the ACLU Site activities, services or products, including those third-party service providers we use to assist us in our own fundraising efforts. These service providers have access to your Personal Data solely for the purpose of providing these services to us on our behalf, and they are contractually prohibited from sharing your Personal Data with any other third parties.

If you are a U.S. resident and member/donor to the ACLU, we also share your Personal Data with our local offices 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.

Except for email address information, which is never shared, we may also share the Personal Data of members and donors who are U.S. residents with other non-profit organizations and publications ("Sharing Organizations"), but never to any partisan political groups or to groups whose programs are incompatible with ACLU policies. We never give your Personal Data directly to the Sharing Organizations; instead we send the list to a third-party service provider that prepares the mailing for the Sharing Organization (and that is contractually bound to use your Personal Data only for this purpose and not to share it with any other third parties). The Sharing Organizations never see our list and never know what names are on it unless you respond to the Sharing Organizations' mailing. Exchanging mailing lists enables the ACLU to expand our membership base. However, if you have signed up as a member or donor on the ACLU Site, you can choose to opt out of having your data shared.

Finally, we may disclose and use Personal Data regardless of where you reside 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.

Except as described in this Online Privacy Statement, we will not share your Personal Data with any third party unless we first notify you and offer you an appropriate choice to consent to such further use, for example, through an opt-out or opt-in request.

Your Ability to Choose

When you provide us with your Personal Data on the ACLU Site, you can let us know that you do not wish to receive our online newsletter, ACLU Online, or any e-mailed action alerts by un-checking the subscription request boxes on the form you are completing, by un-checking the subscription request boxes on our User Preference Page or by contacting us via postal mail sent to Webmaster, ACLU of Texas, P.O. Box 12905, Austin, TX 78711-2905.

If you are signing up as a donor/member on the ACLU Site, you can opt out of having your Personal Data shared with Sharing Organizations on the online form you are filling out or thereafter by filling out the ACLU Feedback Page or by contacting the Membership Department via postal mail sent to Webmaster, ACLU of Texas, P.O. Box 12905, Austin, TX 78711-2905.

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, password protected server. We use industry-standard encryption technologies with respect to the receipt and transfer of Personal Data you submit to us on the ACLU 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.

Comments and Questions

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this Online Privacy Statement or our data collection practices or to request that we delete your Personal Data, you can email us, or send us your questions or comments via postal mail sent to Webmaster, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, P.O. Box 12905, Austin, TX 78711-2905.