ABCI Online Directory Privacy Policy
PRIVACY STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBLE ONLINE MARKETING
The Access Business Communications, Inc. (ABCI)
Marketing information usage practices are based on two beliefs:
first, that protecting user privacy is essential to the growth and
prosperity of the Internet; second, that a personalized web
experience can provide significant benefits to Internet end users
if done properly. In accordance with these beliefs, the ABCI
Network creates results for advertisers and publishers in
revolutionary ways without compromising individual privacy.
CONSUMER PRIVACY
I. INFORMATION WE COLLECT: INDIVIDUAL INTERNET CONSUMERS
A. Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
The ABCI Network sites are designed to promote and facilitate the
business of the ABCI companies with advertisers and marketers.
These sites are not directed towards individual Internet consumers
nor do they seek any PII from such consumers. PII may be collected
should a consumer contact a ABCI company on his/her own initiative
or respond to a ABCI advertisement and provide any PII. Under no
circumstances does the ABCI Network request or collect sensitive
PII such as an Internet user's medical/health conditions; racial
or ethnic origin; political, religious or philosophical beliefs or
affiliations; trade union membership or sex life.
B. Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non-PII).
When a consumer responds to or views an Internet advertisement
served by a ABCI company (such as through third-party Web sites or
email solicitation) or visits a ABCI Network site, we send a
cookie and/or gif file ("Cookies") to assign an anonymous, unique
identifier to the end user's Internet browser. Cookies are small
data files commonly used on the Internet to help optimize and
personalize the Internet end user experience and identify repeat
visitors to Web sites.
The function of these Cookies is to provide ABCI with information
for the purpose of paying third-parties commissions when an
Internet user clicks on a link, creates a lead, or makes a
purchase on an advertiser's Web site; and also to optimize and
personalize the Internet user's experience. If the Internet user
re-visits the advertiser's site directly, ABCI is able to continue
to track the user's activities on the advertiser's site and reward
the third-party Web site that referred the user. We reserve the
right to retain all ad delivery and reporting data as long as may
be reasonably necessary for accounting and audit purposes.
Like most standard Web site servers, we use log files to collect
Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service
provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, and date/time
stamp. We use the information to analyze site usage, administer
the site, understand usage and navigation trends in aggregate, and
determine the relevance of content. This information, however, is
not linked to any personally identifiable information.
We also may use Internet browsing and online purchase data
associated with an anonymous identifier to develop a predictive
statistical user profile of the end user's needs and interests.
ABCI does not use Cookies or log files to collect end users'
names, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, credit
card numbers, social security numbers, or any other information
which can be used to identify a specific person. We may match the
IP address and user profile with email address data obtained
separately in order to better target campaigns to meet user's
interests, but will not share this information with third parties.
For improved audience targeting, some ABCI Network sites use
marketing technology that allows advertisers to add
non-personally-identifying demographic information, such as age,
gender, area code, or ZIP code, to the non-identifiable profile
data. Thus, there is no direct connection between an end user's
online choices and his or her personal identity.
In some cases, ABCI receives and records partial email addresses
of Internet users, only in circumstances where the user
voluntarily provided its identity and contact information through
the Advertiser's site or third-party marketer's site. This partial
email address does not enable ABCI to personally identify an
Internet User.
II. INFORMATION SHARING
The ABCI Network may make any PII provided in responding to an
advertisement available to the company sponsoring the
advertisement, as well as to other trusted third parties in
accordance with the terms of this privacy policy. As a result, you
may receive information on additional products, services and
offers that may be of interest to you.
The ABCI Network and/or our marketing partners may enhance and/or
merge PII about consumers who have opted-in to receive marketing
communications with commercially-available third party data
collected from other sources in an effort to ensure that the
messages being sent to the consumer in online and/or offline
marketing programs are relevant to their interests. In the event
we enhance and/or merge such personally identifiable information
with data collected from other sources, we will take reasonable
steps to maintain the integrity and quality of that information.
The ABCI Network may share PII (including information that has
been enhanced with information from other sources) with
advertisers, third party marketers, our affiliated entities for
their online and/or offline marketing programs or in connection
with the sale, merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer
of substantial asset, reorganization or liquidation of any of the
ABCI Network companies. While ABCI strongly encourages clients and
partners to adopt responsible approaches to online marketing, ABCI
is not responsible for the information practices of clients or
their partners. The collection, use, and disclosure of information
by clients and partners are subject to their respective privacy
policies, which may differ from ABCI's policy.
The ABCI Network may release account and any other personal
information when we believe release is appropriate to respond to a
subpoena or otherwise comply with the law; enforce or apply our
Terms and Conditions
and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety
of ABCI or others. This includes exchanging information with other
companies and organizations for fraud protection.
III. CONSUMER CHOICE AND ACCESS
A. Opting Out.
Some ABCI Cookies have an "opt-out" option. This process does not
remove the ABCI Cookie from your system; it simply replaces it
with an opt-out Cookie that does not contain any unique
identifiers. If this site provides such a process it is detailed
below.
Some of ABCI's Cookies do not have an "opt-out" option, yet you
still have the option of blocking the use of Cookies by changing a
setting in your Internet browser. Please see your browser
supplier's Web site for details on how to do this.
This site does not maintain a process for an individual consumer
to opt-out of a ABCI ad serving Cookie.
B. Accessing Consumer Information.
Because they are not directed towards individual Internet users,
most ABCI Network sites do not maintain a process for an
individual consumer to review and/or request changes to any PII
collected.
Except as provided below, this site does not maintain a process
for an individual consumer to access his/her PII.
IV. SECURITY
The ABCI Network employs industry standard security measures to
ensure the security of all data. Any data that is stored on ABCI's
servers is treated as proprietary and confidential and is not
available to the public. ABCI has an internal security policy with
respect to the confidentiality of customer and other data,
allowing access only to those employees or third parties who have
a need to know such information for the purpose of effectively
delivering ABCI products and services by means of user login and
password requirements. The ABCI Network routinely evaluates its
data security practices to identify security threats or
opportunities for improvement.
No transmission of data over the Internet is guaranteed to be
completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under
the control of ABCI to intercept or access transmissions or
private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect your
PII, ABCI cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information
you transmit to us. You acknowledge and assume this risk when
communicating with a ABCI Network company.
V. CONSENT AND CHANGES
The ABCI Network may find it necessary or be legally obligated to
update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will
post those changes on this page and update the effective date so
that you are always aware of the information we collect, how we
use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. Except as
otherwise required by law, modifications to this Privacy Policy
will not affect the privacy of data collected by ABCI prior to the
effective date of the policy change.
VI. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY AND SPAM
The ABCI Network is very sensitive to the issue of children's
privacy and makes every effort to protect the privacy of children
using the Internet. ABCI's Web site, products, and services are
not developed for or directed at children. Children (persons under
the age of 18) are not eligible to do business with us and we do
not collect personal information from any person we actually know
is under the age of 13.
The ABCI Network is committed to
proper Internet practices and full compliance with the CAN-SPAM
Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. § 7701). It is our policy to prohibit the
sending of unsolicited or "Spam" e-mail by ABCI or any of its
marketing partners.
Please note that under the CAN-SPAM Act, an advertiser is required
to provide an opt-out mechanism for consumers to unsubscribe from
future emails about the advertiser. Although not required to by
law, many email marketers also include an opt-out mechanism to
enable consumers to be removed from their mailing list. This has
caused some confusion for consumers in opting out. The table below
clarifies which opt-out mechanism you should use for commercial
emails.
|
To receive no further emails . . . |
Opt-Out Mechanism to Use |
|
about the advertiser |
Advertiser's |
|
from the email marketing company |
Opt-Out Mechanism to Use |
|
from the advertiser or email marketing company |
Both |
VII.
DATA PROCESSING/SAFE HARBOR
The European Union ("EU") maintains strict privacy laws. These
rules differ significantly from US laws. To reconcile these
differences, the US and the EU have created a Safe Harbor that
defines mutually acceptable privacy operations. ABCI, Inc. adheres
to the Safe Harbor principals. For more information see
www.export.gov/safeharbor.
By providing information to ABCI Network sites, you acknowledge
that they operate in the United States and agree to (i) permit
ABCI to transmit and use your User information anywhere necessary,
including across international boundaries, to affect the services
and transactions provided by this Site; and (ii) that such use by
ABCI shall be subject to the terms and conditions stated in this
Privacy Statement and our
Terms and Conditions.
VIII. DIGITAL POLICY FORUM
ABCI, Inc. is a member of the Digital Policy Forum ("DPF"). The
DPF is made up of online marketing, analytics, advertising,
publishing, and email companies that are committed to examining
and developing responses to important privacy and consumer
protection issues in emerging media.
IX. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, THIRD PARTY INFORMATION & LANGUAGE
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE OVER PRIVACY IS SUBJECT
TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
(INCLUDING LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES, AND ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES).
YOU AGREE THAT ABCI'S LIABILITY FOR ANY BREACH OF THIS PRIVACY
POLICY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE VALUE OF THE
TRANSACTIONS OR SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY ABCI OR $250 TO THE
EXTENT SUCH CLAIM IS NOT OTHERWISE BARRED BY OUR TERMS AND
CONDITIONS. You also agree that you have provided notice to, and
obtained consent from, any third party individuals whose personal
data you supply to ABCI with regard to: (a) the purposes for which
such third party's personal data has been collected; (b) the
intended recipients or categories of recipients of the third
party's personal data; (c) which of the third party's data are
obligatory and which data, if any, are voluntary; and (d) how the
third party can access and, if necessary, rectify the data held
about them. It is the express will of the parties that this
agreement and all related documents have been drawn up in English.
CLIENT
PRIVACY
I. INFORMATION WE COLLECT: ADVERTISERS AND PUBLISHERS
A. Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
The ABCI Network collects personally identifiable information from
all Advertisers and Publishers (collectively "Clients") wishing to
work with any ABCI company. The collection of this information is
a part of our normal business practices. Advertisers or their
representatives will be asked to provide personally identifiable
data through the host sign up and registration process. Examples
of personally identifiable data that may be requested include
name, address, phone number, email address, and social security
number, tax ID number, etc. The ABCI Network will never request or
collect data from a Client on subject areas including
medical/health conditions; racial or ethnic origin; political,
religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations; trade union
membership or sex life.
B. Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non-PII).
The ABCI Network may use cookies and log files to optimize and
personalize the Clients' experience and allow ABCI to monitor site
traffic patterns.
II. INFORMATION SHARING
The ABCI Network does not use any personally identifiable data
about a Client for profiling purposes. All PII that ABCI collects
from Clients is principally intended for administrative needs
(e.g., accounting and pay-out and performance reporting), for
which purpose such data are required.
The ABCI Network may provide email address and basic account data
to an Advertiser or Publisher to facilitate a potential or
continued working relationship between the Advertiser and
Publisher. Once an affiliation is established, Advertiser and
Publisher (or their agents or other third parties as designated by
a Client) are privy to their respective campaign information and
PII, including anonymous Internet user transaction data for
Internet users referred by Publisher and any other information
that a Client may instruct ABCI to disclose. While ABCI strongly
encourages Clients to adopt responsible approaches to online
marketing, ABCI is not responsible for the information practices
of Clients or their partners. The collection, use, and disclosure
of information by clients and partners are subject to their
respective privacy policies, which may differ from ABCI's policy.
Periodically ABCI Network sites may use Clients' PII in order to
communicate with our network of hosts via email newsletters or
other avenues to offer strategic marketing information and other
communications to assist in business related activities. In the
event that a Client of the ABCI Network wishes not to have their
PII used for these purposes, they may elect to opt-out from future
communications. For more information on opting-out please see the
"Client Choice Concerning Data Collection" section below.
Except as may be agreed between a ABCI company and a Client, all
PII data provided by individual Clients will be kept in strict
confidence by ABCI Network companies and will be treated with the
same level of respect and care that they treat other proprietary
information and trade secrets. ABCI will never sell, rent,
exchange or barter any personally identifiable Client information
to or with any third party for financial gain or marketing
purposes. The ABCI Network may, from time to time, provide such
information to certain third-party administrative vendors for
efficiency purposes in providing administrative or program
management services such as billing, delivery and payouts. Any
third-party vendor so used has agreed to protect the
confidentiality of information provided by ABCI.
The ABCI Network may share PII in connection with our affiliated
entities or in connection with the sale, merger, consolidation,
change in control, transfer of substantial asset, or
reorganization or liquidation of any of the ABCI Network
companies. The ABCI Network may release account and any other
personal information when we believe release is appropriate to
respond to a subpoena or otherwise comply with the law; enforce or
apply our Advertiser Terms
of Use*,
Publisher Terms of Use*
and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety
of ABCI or others. This includes exchanging information with other
companies and organizations for fraud protection.
III. CLIENT CHOICE AND ACCESS
When a Client registers for services with a ABCI Network company,
PII is required as a part of doing business. ABCI's primary intent
in collecting personally identifiable information is for
administrative purposes including accounting and payouts. However,
the ABCI Network may periodically use personally identifiable
information for marketing and communication purposes targeted to
our Clients. Clients wishing not to receive such communications
from a ABCI Network company may do so by "opting-out" during the
registration and application procedure process. A Client may
change their "opt" status at anytime during their tenure with ABCI
by accessing their online account.
When a Client logs on any browser-based ABCI Network reporting
system, a "Cookie" is placed within their computer. The purpose of
the Cookie is to allow ABCI to validate the identity of the Client
and maintain the security and privacy of the Client's account
data. This Cookie is required to log into ABCI's reporting systems
and there is no method to opt-out of this Cookie.
IV. SECURITY
The ABCI Network employs industry standard security measures to
ensure the security of all data. Any data that is stored on ABCI's
servers is treated as proprietary and confidential and is not
available to the public. ABCI has an internal security policy with
respect to the confidentiality of customer and other data,
allowing access only to those employees or third parties who have
a need to know such information for the purpose of effectively
delivering ABCI products and services by means of user login and
password requirements. The ABCI Network routinely evaluates its
data security practices to identify security threats or
opportunities for improvement.
No transmission of data over the Internet is guaranteed to be
completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under
the control of ABCI to intercept or access transmissions or
private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect your
PII, ABCI cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information
you transmit to us. You acknowledge and assume this risk when
communicating with a ABCI Network company.
V. CONSENT AND CHANGES
The ABCI Network may find it necessary or be legally obligated to
update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will
post those changes on this page and update the effective date so
that you are always aware of the information we collect, how we
use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. Except as
otherwise required by law, modifications to this Privacy Policy
will not affect the privacy of data collected by ABCI prior to the
effective date of the policy change.
VI. DATA PROCESSING/SAFE HARBOR
The European Union ("EU") maintains strict privacy laws. These
rules differ significantly from US laws. To reconcile these
differences, the US and the EU have created a Safe Harbor that
defines mutually acceptable privacy operations. ABCI, Inc. adheres
to the Safe Harbor principals. For more information see
www.export.gov/safeharbor.
By providing information to ABCI Network sites, you acknowledge
that they operate in the United States and agree to (i) permit
ABCI to transmit and use your User information anywhere necessary,
including across international boundaries, to effect the services
and transactions provided by this Site; and (ii) that such use by
ABCI shall be subject to the terms and conditions stated in this
Privacy Statement and our
Advertiser Terms of Use*
and Publisher Terms of Use*.
VII. DIGITAL POLICY FORUM
ABCI, Inc. is a member of the Digital Policy Forum ("DPF"). The
DPF is made up of online marketing, analytics, advertising,
publishing, and email companies that are committed to examining
and developing responses to important privacy and consumer
protection issues in emerging media.
VIII. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, THIRD PARTY INFORMATION &
LANGUAGE
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE OVER PRIVACY IS SUBJECT
TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR
ADVERTISER TERMS OF USE*
and PUBLISHER TERMS OF USE*
(INCLUDING LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES, AND ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES).
YOU AGREE THAT ABCI'S LIABILITY FOR ANY BREACH OF THIS PRIVACY
POLICY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE VALUE OF THE TRANSACTIONS OR
SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY ABCI TO THE EXTENT SUCH CLAIM IS NOT
OTHERWISE BARRED BY OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS. You also agree that
you have provided notice to, and obtained consent from, any third
party individuals whose personal data you supply to ABCI with
regard to: (a) the purposes for which such third party's personal
data has been collected; (b) the intended recipients or categories
of recipients of the third party's personal data; (c) which of the
third party's data are obligatory and which data, if any, are
voluntary; and (d) how the third party can access and, if
necessary, rectify the data held about them. It is the express
will of the parties that this agreement and all related documents
have been drawn up in English.