Background Briefing Privacy and Cookie Policy

Effective: May 14,  2018

Introduction

What this policy is for

This Policy explains how we collect, use and disclose information about you. By using your information, we can provide the product or service you’ve asked for. The use of your information helps us understand what your needs and interests are, provide personalised content and match the most relevant adverts and services for you.

Your consent

By completing our registration forms (for example through our websites or mobile applications (“apps”), or by the continued use of our services), you consent to the use of your personal information in accordance with this Policy. This includes any sensitive personal information that you may provide, such as details of any medical conditions that you may mention in a forum post or in an email to us in relation to a campaign.

Who we are

Backgroundbriefing.org is a website owned by Public Truth Media Foundation, a United States-based, nonprofit. When you provide personal information via our website, social media accounts or email subscription, the data controller is Public Truth Media Foundation.

Collection of information

Registration, forums, apps and your dealings with us

We collect information about you when you provide it to us. For example, when you fill out our online forms, subscribe to one of our titles, respond to one of our promotions, enquire about our products and services or participate in a reader forum (which could be online through our websites or our apps), by telephone or in person, or on paper. If you telephone us or if we call you, the call may be recorded for quality, training and management purposes. We may also record customer enquiries via online chat for the same purposes.

Information from devices

We also collect information indirectly from you, from the device you may be using when you interact with one of our websites or use our apps. This can include your geographic location, which for example may be required to provide services to you that have copyright restrictions. We may also collect information from cookies placed on your computer or your device.

Social login

If you log in to our websites or online services through a third party site, such as Facebook, that site may pass information to us, such as, user ID, name associated with the ID, email address and location, plus other information permitted under the privacy policy for that website. Our websites may also return information about you to that social networking site regarding your login.

Posts, comments and interaction

When readers enter into a conversation with any us, for example through the use of polls, comments, text messages, email, phone, radio or letters we reserve the right to display this content indefinitely in any relevant context subject to our editorial judgement. This may be anonymised in the case of testimonials or customer service conversations.

Public information and posts

Any information about yourself or others that you submit on social media sites, including chat rooms, blogs and forums, will be viewed by other people. As such, this personal data may be viewed, collected and used by third parties, including search engines, over which we have no control. We are not responsible for either the information you submit/post or otherwise make available in such public areas or any use that may be made of such information by any third party.

Other sources

We may also obtain information about you from other companies that have your permission to share information about you, as well as from other online and offline sources. We may combine this information with information we collect directly or indirectly from you.

Information about other people

By giving us information about another person, you confirm that they have appointed you to act for them, for you to provide us with their information, including sensitive personal data, and to the transfer of their information abroad and to receive on their behalf any data protection notices.

How we use and share your information

Deliver services, improve experience and personalisation

We will use your information to provide you with the requested products and services, to provide a greater personalised experience and to manage our relationship with you, including allowing you to interact and comment. We may use your information to monitor and improve and protect our products, content, services and websites, both online and offline. We may also provide you with help and support where we believe it is required. For example, we may contact you where a checkout journey is not completed, if you have provided your information.

The content on our websites and in our communications with you may be adjusted depending on what we know about the content, products and services that you may like. This means we can highlight content and articles that we believe will be of interest to you. We provide personalisation by using cookies, IP addresses, web beacons, URL tracking and app settings.

Market research and analytics

We may use your information to conduct market research in order to improve the services we offer and to develop new products and services.

Relevant communications

Unless you have told us otherwise, we may use your information to send you newsletters, bulletins and other information about your chosen services. We may also send occasional emails seeking donations in support our work. You will be able to easily unsubscribe from such emails.

Direct marketing

This may include communications by post, telephone, email and messages to your mobile phone and through social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) about us and our fundraising campaigns, including for a reasonable time after you may have ceased a subscription or service with us.

To provide co-branded services and features

We may collaborate with other nonprofit organizations to raise awareness and/or funds for vetted programs. These co-branded services may be hosted by us or by the third party. The third party’s use of your information will be governed by their privacy policy, which you should always read.

Allowing social sharing functionality

By logging in with or connecting your account with social media, you are permitting us to share information we collect from and about you with that social media provider, other users and your friends, and you understand that the social media service’s use of the shared information will be governed by the social media service’s privacy policy. If you do not want your personal information shared in this way, please do not connect your social media service account with your account, and do not participate in social sharing on our websites or apps.

Disclosures required by law

Your personal information will be disclosed where we are obliged by law to do so. We may also disclose your personal information where we are allowed by law to protect or enforce our rights or the rights of others and for the detection and prevention of crimes, such as fraud.

In case of merger with another nonprofit

If Public Truth Media Foundation ceases to operate independently and its assets are acquired by another nonprofit, your information may be disclosed to the acquiring nonprofit for them to use for the purposes set out in this Policy.

Donations and credit checks

Customer information will be used to take donation payments and may be used to verify credit details related to this payment. Permission to do so is implicit in providing financial details to process payment. Direct debit information may be retained for ease of renewal of services.

Data Transfers

When you complete our registration forms or use our services, we may transfer your information to processors outside the European Economic Area but will do so with appropriate measures and controls in place to protect that information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

When you give us information about another person, you confirm that they have appointed you to act for them and agreed to the transfer of their information abroad.

User Access and Control

Updating your information

Please ensure you update your personal information or tell us if it changes or is inaccurate. You can update your details, for example your email address, by contacting us at info@backgroundbriefing.org.

Controlling other communications

You can control communications by following the unsubscribe instructions in the communication. You may still receive other communications that are relevant to your chosen services but do not relate to that specific type of communication. Where this is the case, you will be able to unsubscribe from these communications in the same way.

Requesting copies of your personal information

You may request a copy of your personal information which backgroundbriefing.org may hold about you. You can also ask us to correct any inaccuracies in your personal information (which is free).

Retention of personal information

We will retain your information for as long as necessary for the uses set out in this Policy. If you ask us to delete your information before that time, we may not be able to do so, due to technical, legal, regulatory and contractual constraints. For example, we would need to retain your name and contact details for suppression purposes if you do not want to receive direct marketing from us.

If you ask for your account to be closed, we will do this as soon as is reasonably possible subject to any applicable terms and conditions relating to the account. Personal information from closed accounts is retained in order to comply with legal obligations, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed or to resolve disputes.

If we withdraw a product or service, such as an online forum, we may either archive or delete the information you have provided to it.

Contact Us

By email:	info@backgroundbriefing.org

Background Briefing Cookie Policy

Introduction

This Policy covers our use of cookies, IP addresses, and other technologies.

What are Cookies?

Cookies and other online tracking technologies are small bits of data or code that are used to identify your devices when you use and interact with our websites and other services. They are often used for remembering your preferences, to identify popular news stories, and remember you’re logged in, allowing you to comment on stories.

What Cookies do we use and how do we use them?

Essential cookies and similar technologies

These are vital for the running of our services on our websites and apps.We use these cookies to tell if you’re logged in to your account, which allows extra functionality, such as making comments on stories.

Analytics cookies and similar technologies

These collect information about your use of our websites and apps, and enable us to improve the way it works. For example, analytics cookies show us which are the most frequently visited pages on the backgroundbriefing.org website allowing us to provide the most popular news articles further up the page. They help us record how you interact with our website, such as how you navigate around pages and from page to page; identifying improvements we can make to the customer journey. They also help identify any difficulties you have accessing our services, so we can fix any problems. Additionally these cookies allow us to see overall patterns of usage at an aggregated level.

Functional/preference cookies and similar technologies

These cookies collect information about your choices and preferences, and allow us to remember things like language, your username (so you can log in faster), text size, and location, so we can show you relevant content to where you are. They allow us to customize the services you have accessed. We also use these cookies to provide you with services such as video clips.

Web beacons

These are bits of data that count the number of users who access a website or webpage and can also allow us to see if a cookie has been activated. Web beacons used on web pages or in emails allow us to see how successful an article has been or that an email message was successfully delivered and read in a marketing campaign. Web beacons are also used to verify any clicks through to links or advertisements contained in emails. We may use this information to help us identify which emails are more interesting to you and to inform advertisers how many customers have clicked on their adverts (this information is aggregated and does not identify you individually).

Flash cookies

We may, in certain situations, use Adobe Flash Player to deliver special content, such as video clips or animation. To improve your user experience, Local Shared Objects (commonly known as Flash cookies) are used to provide functions such as remembering your settings and preferences. Flash cookies are stored on your device, but they are managed through an interface different from the one provided by your web browser.

Tracking URLs

Tracking URLs are a special web link that allows us to measure when a link is clicked on. They are used to help us measure the effectiveness of campaigns and advertising and the popularity of articles that are read.

We also use cookies and similar technologies:

When you access and interact with our services cookies may collect certain information about those visits. For example, in order to permit your connection to our websites, our servers receive and record information about your computer, device, and browser, including potentially your IP address, browser type, other software or hardware information, and your geographic location.

If you access our services from a mobile device

We may collect a unique device identifier assigned to that device, geo-location data, and other transactional information for that device. We may also use the unique identifier to validate free trials, for example.

Usage of services

To collect, use and store information about your usage of our services, websites and apps, such as pages you have visited, content you have viewed, search queries you have run, and advertisements you have seen or interacted with.

To provide relevant content

The content on our websites and in our communications with you may be adjusted depending on what we know about the content, products and services that you like. This means we can highlight content and articles that we believe will be of interest to you. We provide personalisation by using cookies, IP addresses, web beacons, URL tracking and mobile app settings.

Mobile applications

By downloading our apps, we will require access to the following services on your device: unique identifier (UDID), MAC address or other applicable device identifier and location. Other services may also be required in order for the apps to function. You may control these through using the tools on your device, such as turning off push notification and location services.

Managing cookies

Most modern browsers are set to accept cookies by default, but you can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. Please consult the “Help” section of your browser.

Controlling OBA cookies

The “Your Online Choices” website http://www.youronlinechoices.com provides more information about controlling cookies.

Controlling Flash cookies

You can manage the use of Flash technologies with the Flash management tools available at Adobe’s website, at http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/privacy.html.

Controlling web beacons

You can prevent web beacons from tracking your activity, although you won’t be able to decline receiving them in emails. For information about managing your cookie options, please click here.http://www.allaboutcookies.org/.

Please note that by blocking any or all cookies you may not have access to certain features, content, or personalisation available on our websites, or apps.