This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a donation on oceansinitiative.org (the “Site”). It is our policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect while operating this Site.
This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our Privacy Policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your PII in accordance with our Site.
What personal information do we collect from website visitors?
When visitors leave comments on the Site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. When registering on our Site, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, mailing address, phone number or other details to help you with your experience.
When do we collect information?
We collect information from you when you register on our Site, subscribe to a newsletter, fill out a form, or enter information on our Site to make a donation.
How do we use your information?
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, sign up for our newsletter, make a donation, or use certain other Site features in the following ways:
— To allow us to better service you in responding to your needs
— To quickly and accurately process your transactions
— To send periodic emails regarding about our organization
How do we protect your information?
Our Site is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our Site as safe as possible. We use regular Malware Scanning. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information. All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.
Cookies
Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the Site’s or service provider’s systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may also use trusted third-party services that track this information on our behalf.
Embedded content from other websites
Pages on this Site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Sharing your personal information
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information. We do not include or offer third-party products or services on our Site.
California Online Privacy Protection Act
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared.
According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:
— Users can visit our Site anonymously
— Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page and Site footer
— Our Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’ and can easily be found on the page specified above
— You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes on our Privacy Policy Page
— Can change your personal information by emailing us
COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States’ consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online. We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.
Fair Information Practices
The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information. In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:
— We will notify you via email within 7 business days
— We will notify the users via in-site notification within 7 business days
— We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
CAN SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. We collect your email address in order to:
— Send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions
— Process donations and to send information and updates pertaining to donations.
— Provide ongoing information to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our customers after the original transaction has occurred.
To be in accordance with CANSPAM, we agree to the following:
— Not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses
— Identify the message as an advertisement, if applicable, in some reasonable way
— Include the physical address of our business or Site headquarters
— Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used
— Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly
— Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can follow the instructions at the bottom of each email and we will promptly remove you from non-transactional correspondence.
Contact Us
If there are any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us using the information below:
Oceans Initiative
117 E Louisa St, #135
Seattle, WA 98102
info@oceansinitiative.org
Updated: August 15, 2024
