Privacy Policy

1. What is this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to The Washington Center for Technology Policy Inclusion, Inc. ("WashingTECH”).

We take your privacy seriously and honor the American commitment to privacy embedded in the spirit of the United States Constitution. WashingTECH is committed to respecting the privacy of the users of its websites www.washingtech.com and www.washingtech.org, and www.techpolicypodcast.org (collectively, the “Site”).

This Privacy Policy is part of the Terms & Conditions of the Site, which are binding on all Site users.

WashingTECH is a non-profit, registered 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to education and research.

This Privacy Policy sets forth WashingTECH’s current policies and practices with respect to Personal Information of the users of the Site. Your continued participation on this Site indicates your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and of the collection, use, disclosure, management, and storage of your Personal Information as described below.

If you have any objections to this Privacy Policy, you should immediately discontinue use of this Site.

2. Collection and Use of Personal Information

You may browse the Site without providing any Personal Information. We may collect personal information you may provide to us, including your name, address, email address and telephone number. We collect such information from you when you make a donation, register for a WashingTECH event, request information, respond to a survey, or apply for a job listed on our site.

We use your Personal Information to provide you with the services you request and to respond to questions related to WashingTECH or the Site. We may also use your Personal Information to notify you about updates, action alerts, new features, and activities on behalf of WashingTECH or the Site that may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive such communications from WashingTECH, you may opt out of communications, as described below.

From time to time, we may post information about job opportunities on the Site. If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, you can submit a resume and a cover letter. Applications will be handled by our human resources director and we will make reasonable efforts to review the applications in a timely fashion. We will share your application with members of the WashingTECH staff to assess your qualifications. We will not distribute or share Personal Information submitted in relation to employment with any third party without your consent.

We may also use your Personal Information for operational and business purposes or to find out how we can improve our organization and Site via surveys or online tracking mechanisms.

Other information. In some instances, we automatically collect other basic information about you which does not directly identify you, but which may correspond with you or a particular device. We use this information to learn more about how our website is used and to otherwise improve and administer the site. Automated technologies may include the use of web server logs to collect IP addresses, “cookies” and web beacons. Further information about our use of cookies can be found below in the Cookies and other Tracking Technologies section at the end of this Notice.

We aggregate Personal Information collected directly during the registration process and via “cookies” to help us evaluate and modify existing services and features. (For more information on cookies and our related policy see Section 8 below).

We use the personal information to:

Provide you with personalized service;
Operate this website and understand its use for statistical purposes (number of site visits, average time visitors spend at the site, etc.) and security purposes;
Manage and process inquiries, registrations, donations and other interactions with you;
Send you information you have requested or consented to receiving such as newsletters, breaking news, and other information relevant to WashingTECH.
We also use your Personal Information to develop new services and features that may be of interest to you.

3. Disclosure of Information

We will not sell, rent, lease, or otherwise disclose your Personal Information to any third party except as provided in this Privacy Policy. We may disclose information to third parties who provide us with various business services, including monitoring and maintaining the websites and with whom we work to provide you with services or information.

We may also disclose information we collect in special cases such as when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) the rights of WashingTECH or to anyone that could be harmed by such activities, including threats to the physical safety of any person.

We may disclose personal information (1) if we are required to do so by law, legal process, statute, rule, regulation, or professional standard, or to respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or other legal request, (2) in response to law enforcement authority or other government official requests; (3) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity; or (4) in the event that WashingTECH is dissolved or otherwise reorganized, or purchased by a third party. Disclosure may also be required for audits or to investigate a complaint or security threat.

4. Your Rights to Review and Correct Your Personal Information

You may contact WashingTECH by sending an e-mail including the subject line of “Personal Information Request” to info@washingtech.org to ask if we are keeping Personal Information about you. If we do have Personal Information about you, we will provide you with a readable copy of such Personal Information at no charge. Factual errors in your Personal Information, including out-of-date information, can be corrected by sending a request to info@washingtech.org that credibly shows our error.

5. Vendors

We use third-party vendors for various purposes. For example, we use a third-party vendor, ActBlue Civics (“ActBlue”), to store email addresses. When you sign up to receive information from WashingTECH or fill out a form, the information is received and stored on ActBlue’s servers. WashingTECH does not permanently store on its servers e-mail addresses or other Personal Information collected from our Site.

6. Opt-Out Procedures

You may always opt-out of receiving communications from us by clicking on the removal link provided at the bottom of every e-mail sent by WashingTECH.

7. Security of Information

WashingTECH takes steps to protect your information from unauthorized access. While we take reasonable measures to protect the information you submit via the website against loss, theft, and unauthorized use, disclosure, or modification, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. No internet, email, or mobile application transmission is ever fully secure or error free. Email or other messages sent through the website may not be secure. You should use caution whenever submitting information through email or the website and take special care in deciding which information you provide us.

In order to most efficiently serve you, credit card transactions are handled by established third-party banking, processing agents, and distribution institutions. They receive the information needed to verify and authorize your credit card or other payment information. Financial transactions related to your generous donations to WashingTECH, including without limitation in connection with awards dinners and advertising, are handled by ActBlue. Information relating to your financial transactions will not be maintained on WashingTECH servers. Please visit ActBlue Civics to familiarize yourself with its payment processors, terms and conditions, and privacy policy.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your Personal Information, you acknowledge that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control; (b) the security, integrity, and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through the Site cannot be guaranteed; (c) any such information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party; and (d) when you transfer any information to us, you do so at your own risk.

8. Cookies

You should be aware that non-Personal Information and data may be automatically collected on the Site through the use of “cookies.” “Cookies” are small text files stored as text on a computer hard drive. Websites can use cookies to recognize repeat visitors, facilitate the visitor’s ongoing access to and use of the site, and allow a site to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements. Cookies are not programs that come onto a visitor’s system and damage files. The use of cookies is common in the internet industry, and most websites use them to provide useful features to their visitors. Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to the visitor that has no meaning outside the assigning site. If a visitor does not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows the visitor to reject the cookie feature. WashingTECH uses cookie technology but only to obtain non-Personal Information from online visitors in order to improve their online experience and facilitate their visit within the Site.

9. Links to Third-Party Websites

The Site may contain links to the websites of third parties not affiliated with WashingTECH. You understand, acknowledge, and agree that these links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by the Site or WashingTECH of the content, advertising, or business practices of the third parties. WashingTECH is NOT responsible for the privacy practices or the content on any other websites, including any websites that may indicate a special relationship or “partnership” with WashingTECH. WashingTECH does not disclose unique identifiers to those responsible for the linked websites. The linked websites, however, may collect Personal Information from you when you link to their websites. This collecting of information is not subject to the control of WashingTECH. To ensure protection of your privacy, always review the privacy policies of the websites you visit by linking from the Site.

10. Our Commitment to Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. We never collect or maintain information at the Site from persons we know to be under age 13, and no part of our Site is designed to attract anyone under age 13. Please do not communicate with or contact us if you are under age 13. By your participation in our Site activities, you certify that you are at least 13 years of age and meet any other eligibility requirements of the Site.

11. Accountability

WashingTECH is committed to maintaining and strengthening consumer trust in our Site, by strictly adhering to this Privacy Policy. Further, WashingTECH holds its employees responsible to handle personal data consistently with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

WashingTECH may revise this Privacy Policy over time as new features are added to the Site or as Internet law and standards evolve. We will post those changes prominently, but we do recommend that you read this Privacy Policy each time you visit the Site. Changes will not apply retroactively to Personal Information that was collected before the changes to the Privacy Policy, except as may be required by law.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, would like further information about our privacy and information handling practices, would like to discuss opt-outs or withdrawing consent, or would like to make a complaint about a breach of the Act or this Statement, please contact us at this address: info@washingtech.org.

If you have any questions relating to this Statement, you can contact us using the following means:

The Washington Center for Technology Policy Inclusion, Inc.

11110 Sunset Hills Rd.

P.O. Box 8261

Reston, VA 20195
Phone: 703-259-8447
E-mail: info@washingtech.org