Your privacy is important to Rouses. Our goal is to provide you with a personalized online experience that provides you with the information, resources, and services that are most relevant and helpful to you. This Rouses Online Privacy Statement (the “Privacy Statement”) has been written to describe the conditions under which this website and other online Rouses resources (the “website”) are being made available to you. The Privacy Statement discusses, among other things, how data obtained during your visit to this Website may be collected and used. We strongly recommend that you read the Privacy Statement carefully. By using this website, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Statement. If you do not accept the terms of the Privacy Statement, you are directed to discontinue accessing or otherwise using the website or any materials obtained from it. If you are dissatisfied with the website, by all means contact us; otherwise, your only recourse is to disconnect from this site and refrain from visiting the site in the future.
The process of maintaining a website is an evolving one, and Rouses may decide at some point in the future, without advance notice, to modify the terms of this Privacy Statement. Your use of the website, or materials obtained from the website, indicates your assent to the Privacy Statement at the time of such use. The effective Privacy Statement will be posted on the website, and you should check upon every visit for any changes.
Sites Covered by this Privacy Statement
This Privacy Statement applies to all Rouses maintained websites, domains, information portals, registries and other online resources, and Rouses may from time to time require users of specific portals or other resources to agree to corresponding additional terms and conditions. If the terms of this Privacy Statement conflict with such other terms and conditions, such other terms and conditions shall govern to the extent necessary to resolve such conflicts.
Children’s Privacy
Rouses is committed to protecting the privacy of children, and we encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children’s online activities and interests. Rouses does not intentionally collect information from children under the age of 13, and Rouses does not target its website to children.
Links to Non-Rouses Websites
The Rouses website may provide links to third-party websites for the convenience of our users. If you access those links, you will leave the Rouses website. Rouses does not control these third-party websites and cannot represent that their policies and practices will be consistent with this Privacy Statement. For example, other websites may collect or use personal information about you in a manner different from that described in this document. Therefore, you should use other websites with caution, and you do so at your own risk. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website before submitting personal information.
TYPES OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT
Non-Personal Information
Non-personal information is data about usage and service operation that is not directly associated with a specific personal identity. Rouses may collect and analyze non-personal information to evaluate how visitors use the Rouses website.
Aggregate Information
The Rouses website may gather aggregate information, which refers to information your computer automatically provides to us and which cannot be tied back to you as a specific individual. Examples include referral data (the websites you visited just before and just after our site), the pages viewed, time spent on our website, and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet. For example, when you request a page from one of our sites, our servers log your IP address to create aggregate reports on user demographics and traffic patterns and for purposes of system administration.
Log Files
Every time you request or download a file from the website, Rouses may store data about these events and your IP address in a log file. Rouses may use this information to analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movements, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use or for other business purposes.
Cookies
Our site may use a feature of your browser to set a “cookie” on your computer. Cookies are small packets of information that a website’s computer stores on your computer. The Rouses website can then read the cookies whenever you visit our site. We may use cookies in a number of ways, such as to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site, to deliver content specific to your interests and to track the pages you’ve visited. These cookies allow us to use the information we collect to customize your Rouses experience so that your visit to our site is as relevant and as valuable to you as possible. Most browser software can be set up to deal with cookies. You may modify your browser preference to provide you with choices relating to cookies. You have the choice to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, certain functions and conveniences of our website may not work properly, and you may be unable to use those Rouses services that require registration in order to participate, or you will have to re-register each time you visit our site. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject cookies in the “Help” section of the toolbar. We do not link non-personal information from cookies to personally identifiable information without your permission.
Web Beacons
Our website also may use web beacons to collect non-personal information about your use of our website and the websites of selected sponsors and advertisers, your use of special promotions or newsletters, and other activities. The information collected by web beacons allows us to statistically monitor how many people are using our website and selected sponsors’ sites; how many people open our emails; and for what purposes these actions are being taken. Our web beacons are not used to track your activity outside of our website or those of our sponsors. We do not link non-personal information from web beacons to personally identifiable information without your permission.
Personal Information
Personal information is information that is associated with your name or personal identity. Rouses uses personal information to better understand your needs and interests and to provide you with better service. On some Rouses web pages, you may be able to request and/or download information or materials, subscribe to mailing lists, participate in online discussions, collaborate on documents, provide feedback, submit information into registries, register for events, apply for participation or membership, or join technical committees or working groups. The types of personal information you provide to us on these pages may include name, address, phone number, email address, user IDs, passwords, billing information, or other information.
Restricted Websites and Portals
Information you provide in connection with applying for participation or membership is used to create a corresponding participating organization or customer profile, and may be shared with other Rouses customer or participant representatives and organizations. Such information may be provided to other participants or customers on a secure website to encourage and facilitate collaboration, research, and the free exchange of information. Rouses participants and customers automatically are added to applicable Rouses mailing lists. From time to time, participant and customer information may be shared with event organizers and/or other organizations that provide additional benefits to Rouses participants or customers. By providing us with your personal information, you expressly consent to our storing, processing, and distributing such information for these purposes.
Company Information
Company information is information that is associated with the name and address of Rouses participant or customer organizations and may include data about usage and service operation. The primary representative of any such organization may request usage reports to gauge the extent of their employees’ involvement in consortium activities. You should be aware that information regarding your participation in technical committees or working groups, for example, may be made available to your company’s primary representative and to Rouses staff members.
HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We may use non-personal data that is aggregated for reporting about Rouses website usability, performance, and effectiveness. It may be used to improve the experience, usability, and content of the site. We may use personal information to offer or provide services that support its activities or those of Rouses participants or customers, and their collaboration with Rouses, or to provide you with electronic newsletters, announcements, surveys or other information. When accessing restricted Rouses web pages and portals, your personal user information may be tracked in order to support collaboration, ensure authorized access, and enable communication among participants or customers.
Information Sharing
We do not sell, rent, or lease any individual’s personal information or lists of email addresses to anyone for marketing purposes, and we take commercially reasonable steps to maintain the security of this information. However, we reserve the right to supply any such information to any organization into which Rouses may merge in the future or to which it may make any transfer in order to enable a third party to continue part or all of the Rouses mission. We also reserve the right to release personal information to protect our systems or business, when we reasonably believe you to be in violation of our Terms of Use or if we reasonably believe you to have initiated or participated in any illegal activity. In addition, please be aware that in certain circumstances, Rouses may be obligated to release your personal information pursuant to judicial or other government subpoenas, warrants, or other orders.
In keeping with our open process, Rouses may maintain publicly accessible archives for the vast majority of our activities. For example, posting an email message to any Rouses-hosted mail list or discussion forum, subscribing to any Rouses newsletter or registering for one of our public meetings may result in your email address becoming part of the publicly accessible archives. Please remember that any information (including personal information) that you disclose in public areas of our website, such as forums, message boards, and blogs, becomes public information that others may collect, circulate, and use. Because we cannot and do not control the acts of others, you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose information about yourself or others in public forums such as these. If you do not want your personal information collected and used by Rouses, please do not visit the Rouses website or apply for participation on our sites.
Access to and Accuracy of Information
We are committed to keeping the personal information of our participating and customer organizations accurate. All the information you have submitted to us can be verified and changed. We may provide participants and/or customers with online access to their own personal profiles, enabling them to update or delete information at any time. To protect your privacy and security, we also may take reasonable steps to verify identity, such as requiring a user ID and password, before granting access to modify personal profile data. Certain areas of the Rouses website may limit access to specific individuals through the use of passwords or other personal identifiers; a password prompt is your indication that a restricted resource is being accessed.
Security
We use a variety of means to protect personal information provided by users of the website, including using firewalls and other security measures on its servers. No server, however, is 100% secure, and you should take this into account when submitting personal or confidential information about yourself on any website, including this one. Much of the personal information is used in conjunction with participation and/or customer-level services such as collaboration and discussion, so some types of personal information such as your name, company affiliation, and email address will be visible to other Rouses participants or customers, and to the public. Rouses assumes no liability for the interception, alteration, use or misuse of the information you provide. You alone are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your personal information. Please use care when you access this website and provide personal information.
Opting Out
From time to time Rouses may email you electronic newsletters, announcements, surveys or other information. If you prefer not to receive any or all of these communications, you may opt out by following the directions provided within the electronic newsletters and announcements.
Contacting Us
Questions about this Privacy Statement can be directed to Rouses Markets.
