CompuServe Privacy Policy
CompuServe Privacy Policy |
Protecting the Privacy of Our Members Table of Contents 1. Overview 2. Individual Member Information 3. Reviewing and Correcting Individual Member Information 4. Monitoring Member Online Activity 5. Online Marketing and Promotions 6. Your Responsibilities To Protect Personal Information 7. Legal Responsibilities of CompuServe 8. Privacy of Your Personal Communications 9. Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail 10. Privacy in Chat Rooms, Forums and Bulletin Boards 11. Other Resources for Online Member Privacy Information 12. Backing Up the CompuServe System for Business Purposes As a CompuServe member, you may make the following choices about your privacy: Choose whether you want to receive promotional or marketing information from CompuServe; and Choose whether you want to receive promotional or marketing information from third parties affiliated with CompuServe. During the sign-up process, you will select your preferences for the above-described choices. Anytime after sign-up, you can change your preferences in the Marketing Preferences area (GO PREFERENCES). Please note that these lists are updated quarterly, and it may take a number of weeks for your new preference to be activated. However, CompuServe still reserves the right to communicate with members regarding matters pertaining to the Service, its features and its use. The CompuServe Privacy Policy will periodically be reviewed and updated from time to time and will make that information available to our members. 1. Overview Internet and online service providers like CompuServe maintain unique relationships with members. We offer members the opportunity to communicate privately and publicly with others online. We also provide members with many informational and transactional resources and opportunities that sometimes require sharing personal information. The sharing of this information allows consumers to have the online experience they want. It also enables businesses to deliver information about their products or services efficiently. At the same time, however, the collection of personal information makes it important for members to be aware of CompuServe's privacy policies and our procedures for collecting and using personal information. You also need to know what you as a member can do, and what CompuServe does, to protect that information and your rights of access to that information. 2. Individual Member Information CompuServe defines individual member information as information supplied directly by you and information derived about you from your use of our service. The information collected about a member may include: contact information (name, postal and e-mail addresses); billing information (financial account and credit card number); transactional information (such as use of premium services or online purchases); and navigational information (such as data revealing member choices or preferences they make about the service). Also included are individual communications between the company and the member. Individual member information may or may not be personally identifiable (i.e., identifies you directly). For instance, your name, address and credit card number are personally identifiable individual member information, while navigational or transactional information is aggregated to examine patterns of usage. No transactional or navigational information is shared with CompuServe-affiliated third parties unless it is aggregated. Individual member information might be used for business requirements such as billing, collection and accounting; or for research on usage patterns and product development; online site customization and targeted marketing. CompuServe maintains member information (such as your name and address) for system administration and billing purposes. If a member cancels their CompuServe account, their member information is kept accessible to customer service for approximately six months after cancellation. Thereafter, it is placed in our service bureau archives. 3. Reviewing and Correcting Individual Member Information You have a right to review and correct personally identifiable member information that CompuServe maintains about you. To review the address and phone numbers that you previously entered, simply GO MEMBER and select Accounts & Billing. Click on "Update Your Billing Address" and your current address and phone numbers will be displayed. You may then update whatever records you choose. Your billing method and credit card information will not be displayed for security reasons, but you may type in new information to update your records. 4. Monitoring Member Online Activity Member online activity may be monitored or tracked. This may be done by CompuServe or an independent third party who CompuServe has contracted with to provide a unique service on CompuServe. Providers, including CompuServe, can improve their online services by collecting and thoughtfully using data about members online activities. CompuServe may monitor some online member navigational (where you go) and transactional (what you buy) activity. This data is primarily about the choices members make among the range of available services or merchandise, and the times and ways that members use CompuServe. This information is used internally by CompuServe for programming, marketing and promotions, research on usage patterns and account administration and billing. This online activity information is aggregated--meaning the information from many members is grouped together and does not disclose the personal information of any particular member. Aggregated information includes descriptive or demographic data, usage patterns and preferences. This aggregated information about members may be provided to independent third parties to aid them in their programming decisions and, if a member chooses, used for marketing promotion purposes. CompuServe does not disclose any individual navigational or transactional information except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process (e.g., search warrant or court order). 5. Online Marketing and Promotions CompuServe and affiliated third parties, such as content providers who manage CompuServe Forums or who host an affiliated Internet site, may send postal and electronic mailings or make telemarketing calls to members who have chosen to receive these marketing efforts. These efforts might include announcements of new services and features, or tips for using a particular service more effectively. These communications could come from Forum operators, Electronic Mall vendors, Internet site partners or other CompuServe content providers. For instance, a camera equipment manufacturer might offer the members of photography-related Forums a new product or service in which they might be interested. 6. Your Responsibilities To Protect Personal Information Within CompuServe, your personal information is not accessible to other members unless you choose to share it. You should never give your password to anyone under any circumstances. No CompuServe employee will ever ask for your password online, so do not be fooled by anyone posing as an employee or Forum operator and asking for such information. Take care when providing personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, and telephone number) about yourself to others when online. CompuServe is connected to the Internet and is in many ways accessible from the Internet. CompuServe has only limited control over your online environment. The simple act of maintaining an e-mail address in your name may expose your e-mail address to people and companies who have no direct relationship to CompuServe. Further, directing your browser software to access a site on the Internet may expose your e-mail address and other information. CompuServe is not responsible for the contacts made by its members online or for the results of those contacts. There are no uniform privacy practices when you access the Internet. While the Internet offers an exciting array of informative and entertaining sites, you should be aware that the Internet lies beyond the CompuServe community. Thus, Internet site operators are under no obligation to honor CompuServe's privacy policy when you visit their Internet sites. Some Internet sites may automatically gather certain information about those who visit their sites, including your computers operating system, your browser, your online/Internet service provider and your online activity at the Internet site. Other Internet sites require you to register certain information before you can enter their site. A Internet site operator might be able to collect your e-mail address, particularly if youve communicated in some way with the Internet site. Internet site operators vary regarding what they do with the information they collect, and CompuServe does not control the collection or use of any information a Internet site may collect. Furthermore, some Internet site operators can transfer a file, called a "cookie", to your computers hard drive--with or without your knowledge. Some browsers have a preference setting that will notify you if a cookie is about to be deposited on your hard drive so you can make an informed decision before accepting it. Cookies may be used to recognize that you have previously visited a site, to track the areas within the Internet site that you have visited, or to provide a more customized interface to suit your interests, based on your previous visits to the site. If you have registered to enter a site, it is likely that the information has been stored on your computer as a cookie so that you will not have to re-enter the information each time you visit that particular site. 7. Legal Responsibilities of CompuServe CompuServe is legally obligated to provide any individual member information available if served with proper legal documentation in connection with law enforcement or legal action. 8. Privacy of Your Personal Communications CompuServe gives your e-mail the same privacy protection and standards as U.S. postal mail. CompuServe does not retain or save a copy of e-mail messages once you have deleted them. (Please refer to Section 12.) CompuServe does not retain a copy of your incoming e-mail messages on its host computers once you have downloaded them to your hard drive provided that you have set your mail preferences accordingly. If you do not set this mail preference, a copy of the message will be downloaded to your hard drive (at your direction), and the original message will remain in your mailbox. You may then read or download it again until you either delete the message, or CompuServe automatically deletes it between 30 and 60 days later. CompuServe does not retain a copy of e-mail messages that you send to others although a copy can be saved on your hard drive for your future reference. CompuServe is legally obligated to provide individual member e-mail information (including actual e-mail messages, if stored during a normal backup proceduresee Section 12) if served with proper legal documentation as defined by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 in connection with law enforcement or legal action. Accounts If your employer pays for your CompuServe account, you need to be aware that your employer may be entitled to review your e-mail through its corporate e-mail policy. Check with your employer regarding its e-mail privacy policy. 9. Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail CompuServe's Member Agreement does not allow the distribution of unsolicited commercial e-mail (sometimes called junk e-mail or spam) by third parties to its members. If there are attempts to send unsolicited e-mail to you from other CompuServe member accounts or from over the Internet, it is CompuServe's policy to take action to try to block such solicitations from reaching your e-mail mailbox. It is a violation of the Member Agreement if CompuServe members send unsolicited advertising and promotional material to other members. When CompuServe receives member complaints about unsolicited e-mail from other members, a warning letter is sent to the offending member ordering a stop to such solicitations or the account will be terminated. Reporting E-Mail Solicitations Members can report unwanted e-mail solicitations by sending an e-mail to "actionteam@CompuServe.com" or by sending a message through CompuServe's feedback system (GO FEEDBACK). 10. Privacy in Chat Rooms, Forums and Bulletin Boards CompuServe may monitor its public chat rooms, Forums, bulletin boards and other services to confirm that they are operating properly and that service operating rules and procedures are maintained. Conversations in private chat rooms are, however, private. no conversations or messages are stored or maintained by CompuServe except if captured in the periodic back-up process (see Section 12). CompuServe is legally obligated to provide any individual member information available if served with proper legal documentation in connection with law enforcement or legal action or for health and safety reasons. 11. Other Resources for Online Member Privacy Information CompuServe actively participates in industry associations to support strong and effective privacy guidelines and practices in the interactive industry. There are other sources of information about individual privacy issues--both inside and outside the online/Internet environment. For more information, visit the following Internet sites. Project OPEN Project OPEN (Online Public Education Network) is a consumer education initiative of many leading online/Internet providers (including CompuServe), the Interactive Services Association and the National Consumers League. The purpose of Project OPEN is to build an informed community of online/Internet members who can enjoy the best and safest online experience possible. One of Project OPEN's consumer education initiatives focuses on the issue of online member privacy. You can visit the Project OPEN Internet site at http://www.fraud.org/internet/open.htm Center for Democracy and Technology The Center For Democracy and Technology (CDT) is a non-profit public interest organization. CDT's mission is to develop and advocate public policies that advance constitutional civil liberties and democratic values in new computer and communications technologies. CDTs Internet site also hosts a Privacy Demonstration Project. You can visit CDTs Internet site at http://www.cdt.org Electronic Privacy Information Center The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is a public interest research center. EPIC was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values. You can visit EPICs Internet site at http://www.epic.org Privacy Rights Clearinghouse The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), affiliated with a San Diego, Calif., non-profit consumer organization, offers consumers an opportunity to learn how to protect their personal privacy. You can visit PRC's Internet site at http://www.privacyrights.org 12. Backing Up the CompuServe System for Business Purposes To maintain the integrity of the Service in case of a system failure, CompuServe periodically backs up its entire system by taking a moment-in-time "snapshot." An incidental byproduct of this backup process is that these snapshots include all content on the system, including e-mail. These snapshots are kept for a period of time ranging up to eight weeks before being erased. |