Privacy Policy
We are committed to respecting your privacy rights. Please read this Privacy Policy to learn about the information we gather, how we handle and disclose it, your options regarding our use of this data, and your ability to make changes or updates to your personal profile.
This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Forum for Democracy USA (“FFD”) collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the ffdusa.org website (“Site”). For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, “you” shall be understood to be synonymous with and equivalent to “User.” This Privacy Policy applies to the Site and all forums, programs and products offered by FFD.
What Data We Collect
Personal Identification Information
This Privacy Policy applies when you visit our Site, register, sign in, vote, fill out a form, become a licensee and/or in connection with other features or resources we make available on our Site.
We will collect personal identification information from you only if you give clear affirmative consent by voluntarily submitting such information to us. You may be asked for, as appropriate, your name, email address, mailing address, zip code, phone number, credit card and/or other pertinent information.
We will never share your personal information, voting preferences or history with anyone.
You can refuse to supply personal identification information, except that it may prevent you from engaging in certain Site-related activities, such as voting in our Forums, accessing educational resources for licensed educators and their students, or buying a product.
Note to Parents and Children
We will never attempt to extract unnecessary information from our users, regardless of age. Consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), FFD will never knowingly request personally identifying information from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. We also encourage parents to monitor their children’s use of the Internet and to help us protect their privacy by instructing them never to provide personal information on this Site without permission.
If a child under the age of 13 wishes to sign up for a user account on this Site, he/she/they must first obtain parental approval and provide a parent’s email address for confirmation. As soon as we receive email confirmation from the parent’s email address approving the child’s user account, we will activate the account. The consenting parent or guardian may monitor the collected information, revoke permission to use previously collected personal information, or delete their child’s account by contacting us at webmaster@ffdusa.org.
If we become aware that a child under 13 has submitted such information without consent, we will use our best efforts to remove this information from our files. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that a child under 13 has provided such information to us, he or she should contact us at webmaster@ffdusa.org so that we may deactivate the user account and remove all personally identifying information from our Site and servers.
Non-Personal Identification Information
We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include your IP Address, server, browser name, operating system and Internet service provider.
HOW WE USE COLLECTED INFORMATION
FFD may collect and use Users’ personal information for the following purposes:
- To personalize the User experience: We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Users as a group use the services and resources provided on our Site.
- To process payments: We may use the information Users provide about themselves when placing an order only to service that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to provide the service. We may use the email address to send you information and updates pertaining to your order. It also may be used to respond to your inquiries, questions, and/or other requests. Outside parties do not have access to any User data except to the extent necessary to complete an online order, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.
- To send periodic emails: We also use the information Users provide to send periodic emails about our polls, programs, website updates, new materials and other items of interest. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include an option to unsubscribe at the bottom of each email, or you may contact us at unsubscribe@ffdusa.org or via our contact page at www.ffdusa.org/contact.
We may store and use information that you provide or non-personal data that we automatically collect:
- To keep you updated about our work, analyze usage of the Site, improve our content, layout or services, and for marketing and promotions.
- We also may gather polling data based on mailing zip codes to reflect the vote tallies in our Forums, and share this congregate data online and to elected representatives, candidates and the media.
Web Browser Cookies
Our Site may use “cookies” to enhance the User experience. Your web browser places small text files known as cookies on your hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about you. You may choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. You also may delete cookies from your hard drive at a later time. If you refuse or delete cookies, some parts of the Site may not function properly.
How We Protect Your Information
We adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of your personal information, username, password, transaction information and data stored on our Site and on a secure remote database server. When a User enters information on our registration order or other forms, the private data exchange between the Site and its Users happens over a SSL secured communication channel and is encrypted and protected with digital signatures. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we are concerned with protecting your privacy and data, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or guarantee that your information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by breach of any of our industry-standard physical, technical or managerial safeguards. If we are informed of a data breach by one of our Data Processors, we will notify you without undue delay.
Sharing Your Personal Information
FFD will not sell, trade or rent Users’ personal identification information to others. We may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding Users with our trusted affiliates for the purposes outlined above.
We may use third-party service providers to help us operate our business and the Site or administer activities on our behalf, such as sending emails or surveys. We may share your information with these third parties for those limited purposes provided that you have not opted out of being a subscriber. These third-party services have appropriate technical and organizational measures in place to ensure an appropriate level of security and data integrity, and will not sell, trade, rent or share User information to any other party.
Please be advised that we may disclose personally identifying information about you to the government or to third parties pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, court orders, subpoenas and similar requests, or when we otherwise believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary or appropriate in connection with any activity that violates the law or may expose us to liability.
If FFD were to be acquired in the future, we may transfer personal information to the successor, provided that the successor is subject to these same privacy commitments for previously collected personal information.
Third-Party Websites
Users may find content on our Site that links to the sites and services of other civics organizations, media sources and other third parties. We do not control the content from links that appear on these sites and are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from our Site. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be frequently changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website’s own terms and policies. If online privacy is a concern to you, we advise you to seek out and read privacy statements of any website you visit prior to disclosing any personal information or transacting any business.
What Rights You Have Over Your Data
If you provide FFD with personal information, you may access and edit this information at any time by visiting your Profile when signing in to this Site. You also have the right to see what data we have collected and/or make updates or corrections. Contact us at webmaster@ffdusa.org.
If you wish to delete your account, please send a request to webmaster@ffdusa.org. FFD may delete the accounts of users who have not signed into the Site for 12 months. If you have submitted your data using any form on our site, we will retain your information unless you request that we delete it.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
FFD has the discretion to update this Privacy Policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We encourage you to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this policy periodically and become aware of modifications.
Your Acceptance of these Terms
By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Site, or your experience with this Site, please contact us at:
Forum for Democracy USA
support@ffdusa.org.
Revised: June 1, 2021