Privacy Policy | Public Democracy America

Public Democracy America’s Privacy Policy And Terms Of Use

Public Democracy America owns and operates this website, including all pages hosted at www.publicdemocracyamerica.org, and all sub-domains hosted through our top-level domains and those hosted through our online donation and eCommunity areas (collectively, "the Sites"). This Privacy Policy addresses how we collect and use the personal information collected through the Sites, as well as how we use donor information that may be provided to Public Democracy America via other means.

The Privacy Policy does not apply to pages hosted by other organizations or to any links to third party websites or applications. These other websites and applications will have their own privacy policies that you should review.

Although our Sites may be accessed from outside of the United States, the Sites are directed to individuals and entities within the United States. If you are not located in the United States, please be aware that by using our Sites you are consenting to your information being transferred to the United States and that we might not offer the same level of privacy protection that would be required by your home country.

Please read the following Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use. The use of the Sites is conditioned on your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, and your use of the Sites constitutes your agreement with this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please check back periodically. Your continued use of the Sites following any such changes will constitute your agreement with the amended Privacy Policy.

Public Democracy America respects the privacy of its supporters. We have developed a rigorous Privacy Policy that reflects that respect. Please read the following policy to understand how your personal information will be treated. In addition to the terms of this Policy, we will use reasonable efforts to honor any other limitations you may wish to place on the usage of your personal information.

The safety of children is very important to us. Our Sites are not intended for children younger than 13 and we do not intend to collect personally identifiable information from children. Children should always ask a parent for permission before sending personal information to anyone online.

Our Privacy Policy is organized in the following sections:

How we collect information

Information we collect

Use of information

Sharing of information

Update, correct, or delete personally identifiable information

Protecting personally identifiable information

Use of cookies

Links to third-party sites

Children's privacy

Privacy rights for California residents

International account holders

Contact information

How we collect information

Public Democracy America may collect information regarding visitors to the Sites, including IP address, browser and domain information, and information volunteered by you, such as e-mail address, contact information (which may include phone numbers) and, for donations and purchases, credit card information. We may also monitor and track information, such as visitor usage patterns using standard website tracking software. When you are on any of the Sites and are asked for personal information, you are sharing that information with Public Democracy America alone, unless stated otherwise. Public Democracy America may share your personal information with its partner companies or service providers in order to complete your donation or purchase, fulfill your order and answer your questions.

Information we collect

Public Democracy America collects personally identifiable information (which may include name, email address, physical address, and phone number) from visitors and other supporters when they register to join our organization, become a member, make a donation or purchase online or offline, subscribe to our e-newsletter, take an action concerning an issue using our service, or otherwise participate in one of our online communities. Please note that our web server does not automatically recognize or collect personal information based on your e-mail address; the personal information we collect is always voluntarily submitted by you.

In addition, Public Democracy America uses third party services throughout the Sites, such as Google Analytics, to place first party and/or third party cookies (see Use of Cookies below) on devices that access the Sites. These cookies enable Public Democracy America to track how our Sites are used, which portions of the Sites are visited and which items our visitors find most interesting. To opt out of use of our cookies for tracking, you may visit Google’s advertising policy page.

We also use certain third party service providers to place advertisements to market Public Democracy America on sites across the web. We place a cookie on your browser, and then a service such as Google reads these cookies and may serve an ad for Public Democracy America on a 3rd party site. You may opt out of this ad serving by visiting Google’s advertising policy page. If you are concerned about 3rd party cookies served by networks, you should also visit the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Public Democracy America works diligently to ensure that our advertisements do not appear on extremist or fake news websites. However, due to the nature of digital advertising, this can occur without our knowledge. If you see a Public Democracy America advertisement on such a website, please let us know by sending an e-mail to PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com so that we may investigate.

Use of information

Public Democracy America uses the personally identifiable information we collect about you to be able to send you communications such as an e-newsletter, various printed publications or mail appeals, and text messages (if you have opted-in at the time of providing your mobile phone number; standard text messaging rates may apply) in furtherance of our educational and advocacy objectives.

We use the information we collect with respect to accessing and using the Sites to help administer and improve the Sites and for other internal purposes.

Sharing of information

Except as set forth in this Policy, Public Democracy America will not disclose any of your personally identifiable information to third parties, except when we have your permission or under special circumstances, such as when we believe in good faith that the law requires it. We may exchange your personal information with our affiliates and with third party service providers who may perform other marketing activities.

Please note: We are aware of and sensitive to the issue of unsolicited e-mail ("spam"); therefore Public Democracy America will never rent, trade or sell your e-mail address to a third party for directed marketing of commercial products. We may, from time to time, allow our service providers to draw conclusions regarding user behaviors from demographic and aggregated information. We may agree with other reputable, charitable organizations to write via postal mail or e-mail to some of each other's supporters, for the mutual benefit of both. If you would prefer not to have your information used in this manner, simply send us a request via e-mail to PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com, with your exact name and address and a request to not share your information in this manner.

Update, correct, or delete personally identifiable information

The accuracy of your individual information is important to Public Democracy America. Additionally, we have tried to streamline our operations by making it easy for you to control the information that we maintain about you. As an eCommunity member, you can change your personal information, unsubscribe, or make an inquiry about your information by sending an e-mail to PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com.

Protecting personally identifiable information

When you give Public Democracy America personally identifiable information, we take steps to treat your information securely. Public Democracy America uses industry-standard encryption technologies when transferring and receiving sensitive visitor data (e.g., financial information) within the Sites. All online donations are processed via third parties using secure servers. Public Democracy America is PCI compliant and works only with vendors who are also PCI compliant for handling personally identifiable information and/or financial transactions. More information can be found on the PCI Security and Standards Council website. Public Democracy America does not store your credit card information for future use. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personally identifiable information, Public Democracy America cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we use commercially reasonable efforts to secure it on our systems, and to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected. Public Democracy America is not responsible for use of personally identifiable information by its partner companies. Please consult the Sites of those companies for information concerning their privacy policies.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small text-only files that are stored on your computer and that can be used to help identify you when you visit any of the Sites. A cookie cannot read data off of your computer hard disk, nor can it read cookie files created by other websites. We may use cookies to make visiting and using our Sites easier, for instance, so that you do not have to continually re-enter information, and so that we can tailor the Sites to your expressed preferences.

Most web browsers accept cookies. However, if you wish, you can usually set your browser to refuse cookies, or to notify you when you receive a new cookie. Note that if cookies are disabled, you may not be able to enjoy all the interactive features of the Sites. For more information about cookies, including instructions on how to stop cookies being installed on your browser, please see www.allaboutcookies.org.

Links to third-party sites

The Sites provide links to several third party websites. While we make efforts to choose our links carefully, we cannot take responsibility for the content of linked websites, or for the privacy policies of websites we link to. Since we do not control those websites, we encourage you to review the privacy policies on those websites prior to any use.

Children's privacy

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 13 and believe your child is using any of the Sites, please contact us at PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com. Upon request, the parent or guardian of a child under 13 may review and request the deletion of such child’s personally identifiable information, as well as refuse to permit the further collection or use of such information. If we discover that a user is under the age of 13, we will delete their account and all personally identifiable information immediately.

Privacy rights for California residents

If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information regarding the disclosure of your personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com.

International Users

Our Sites are operated in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, you should be aware that we will collect, process, and maintain your information in the United States. By using the Sites, accessing the Sites or providing any information to the Sites, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may not offer the same level of privacy protection that would be required by your home country, and to the processing and maintaining of that information as described in this Privacy Policy.

If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will post the revised Privacy Policy here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information and whether we may disclose it to anyone. Your continued use of any of the Sites indicates your consent to the Privacy Policy as posted from time to time.

Public Democracy America Terms of Use

This website is owned and operated by Public Democracy America. Please read these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

The Terms of Use govern all pages hosted at www.publicdemocracyamerica.org, including all sub-domains hosted through our top-level domains and those hosted through our online donation and eCommunity areas (collectively, "the Sites"), as well as donor information that may be provided to Public Democracy America via other means. These Terms of Use do not apply to pages hosted by other organizations, to which we may link and whose privacy and other policies may differ. The use of the Sites is conditioned upon acceptance of these Terms of Use, including our Privacy Policy, and your use of any of the Sites constitutes your agreement with these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use may change from time to time, so please check back periodically. Your continued use of the Sites following any such changes will constitute your agreement with the amended Terms of Use.

Use of the Sites is provided by Public Democracy America subject to the following Terms of Use.

You agree to use the Sites only for lawful purposes, and in a manner which does not infringe the rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of the Sites by, any third party. If Public Democracy America reasonably determines that you have violated or are likely to violate the foregoing prohibitions, Public Democracy America may take any action it deems necessary to cure or prevent the violation, including without limitation, termination of your access to any of the Sites at any time, without notice, and/or the immediate removal of any content from this Sites. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to any of the Sites or for removal of information from the Sites.

THE SITES AND THE INFORMATION, NAMES, IMAGES, PICTURES, AND LOGOS REGARDING OR RELATING TO PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA AND ANY THIRD PARTY ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR ENDORSEMENT MADE AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON INFRINGEMENT. IF YOU DOWNLOAD ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT FROM ANY OF THE SITES, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM, DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIALS.

IN NO EVENT WILL PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH USE OR LOSS OF USE OF ANY OF THE SITES, WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THIS EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT A JUDGMENT IS RENDERED IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION DISREGARDING ONE OR MORE OF THE WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS AND LIABILITY LIMITATIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, PUBLIC DEMOCRACY AMERICA’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100)

Public Democracy America does not warrant that the Sites or the functions contained in the material of the Sites will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Sites or the server making the Sites available are free of viruses or bugs or represents the full functionality, accuracy and reliability of the materials.

Public Democracy America Sites use various Public Democracy America trademarks that are protected by state and federal laws. Other trademarks appear on the Sites with permission from their respective owners. All rights in these marks are reserved to their owners. Nothing on the Sites should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark or other mark displayed on the Sites, without the owner's prior written permission for each specific use.

Commercial use or publication of all or any items displayed on the Sites is strictly prohibited without prior authorization from Public Democracy America. Subject to your full compliance with the Terms of Use, you are granted a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to view, bookmark, download and print the pages within the Sites. The Sites may be used solely for personal, informational and noncommercial purposes. As indicated on certain pages of the Sites, the Sites contain materials that have been developed for advocacy or educational purposes and that are intended for download, printing and distribution. Documents may be copied for these noncommercial uses only on the condition that any copyright and source indications are also copied, no modifications are made and the document is copied in its entirety. You may not otherwise modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, post, reproduce, publish, create derivative works from, transfer or sell any pages, data, information, or services obtained from the Sites unless you have the prior written consent of Public Democracy America and any other applicable owner of the Sites content. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by us.

In addition, please note that some documents and photos may have been published on the Sites with the permission of the relevant copyright owners (who are not Public Democracy America). All rights in these documents are reserved to their owners, and permission to copy or otherwise exploit them must be requested and obtained directly from the copyright owners (the sources are indicated within these documents/photographs).

As noted, the Sites may contain links to other websites. All such links are provided as a convenience to our users. Public Democracy America takes no responsibility for the content of external websites.

Any communication or material that you transmit to, or post on, any public area of the Sites, including any data, questions, comments, suggestions, or the like, (collectively, “User Content”) is, and will be treated as, non-confidential and non-proprietary information. You hereby grant to Public Democracy America a nonexclusive, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to reproduce, display, distribute and modify all such User Content for the purposes of operating the Sites and to provide the services referenced in the Sites.

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any account information, user names, access permissions or passwords that you use to access the Sites or any portion thereof. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities occurring under your accounts, user names or passwords that are due to your conduct, inaction or negligence. If you become aware of any suspicious or unauthorized conduct concerning your account, you agree to contact us immediately and take other appropriate action to deal with such conduct.

The Sites are operated in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, you should be aware that we will collect, process, and maintain your information in the United States. By using the Sites, accessing the Sites or providing any information to the Sites, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may not offer the same level of privacy protection that would be required by your home country, and to the processing and maintaining of that information as described in our Privacy Policy. Acknowledging the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local, state, federal and international rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content. You agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside and shall not violate any laws governing or restricting interactions by or among persons or entities of different nations.

If there is any conflict between these general Terms of Use and any rules and/or specific terms of use appearing on the Sites relating to specific material, then the latter shall prevail. If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, that provision will be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

By using the Public Democracy America Sites, you agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Public Democracy America, its affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, successors, agents, partners, contractors, and vendors (collectively, the "Public Democracy America") from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and all costs and expenses of defense, including but not limited to, attorneys' fees, resulting directly or indirectly from a claim (including without limitation, claims made by third parties for infringement of intellectual property rights) that arise in connection with (i) your use or misuse of any of the Sites; (ii) your breach of these Terms of Use; or (iv) your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. You agree to cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any claim. Public Democracy America reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you for which you will remain responsible for indemnifying and holding harmless the Public Democracy America Parties.

The Sites are administered by Public Democracy America from its offices in Virginia, United States of America. These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Virginia. You agree that any disputes relating to or arising out of the use of any of the Sites or any transaction undertaken through the Sites shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal or state courts.

If you do not accept these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy in full, you must immediately terminate use of the Sites.

Contact information

We are grateful for your support. If you have any questions about Public Democracy America’s Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, the practices of the Sites, or your interaction with the Sites, please contact us:

Public Democracy America
PublicDemAmerica@gmail.com

Last Updated: April 23, 2021