Privacy Policy

General Privacy Policy Statement and Practices

Society for Science & the Public (“SSP”) is concerned about the privacy of subscribers, members, donors, volunteers, and others.  This Policy is intended to clearly outline our current privacy policy and practices.

Please read this Policy carefully before providing personal information to SSP.

Privacy Policy Updates

SSP will occasionally update this Policy. Any changes to this Policy will be posted on each of SSP’s websites (collectively, the “Websites”) to help ensure that users are aware of what information we gather, how we might use that information, and whether we will disclose it to anyone.  The terms “You” and “User” are used to refer to anyone who is accessing the Websites.

Please address Privacy Policy inquiries to SSP by e-mailing privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, ATTN: Customer Service,PO Box 1674Williamsport,PA17703.

Scope of Privacy Policy & Terms and Conditions

This Policy is intended to cover all programs and publications of Society for Science & the Public including, but not limited to, the Intel Science Talent Search (known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search until 1998), Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (also known as “Intel ISEF,” or “ISEF”), the Broadcom MASTERS (known as the SSP Middle School Program or Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge), SSP Fellows Program, SSP’s Alumni and Membership Programs, and  SSP publications Science News and Science News for Kids.

From time to time, SSP may apply a more stringent version of this Policy for an individual program, including those referenced above. Please refer to the specific privacy information related to those programs.

This Policy also applies to each of the Websites on which it is posted: www.societyforscience.org, www.sciencenews.org, and www.sciencenewsforkids.org.

Collected Information

There are many instances where an individual may provide SSP with personal information. These include but are not limited to:  students applying to participate in an education program (e.g. Intel Science Talent Search), an individual subscribing to one of our publications (e.g. Science News), or an individual interested in volunteering. The following guidelines set forth our practices for handling such information.

Education Program Applicants, Entrants, and Finalists

SSP currently administers programs that engage students in grades 6-12. Any student providing information as part of an application will have their information used only for consideration of entry to the program. Any entrant not selected for participation will have their information purged from our database within a reasonable amount of time from the closing of the selection process.

Applicants selected to participate in an SSP program will have their applicant information  transferred to an Alumni Database following program participation.  Those individuals may be contacted by SSP’s alumni program staff for participation in additional alumni activity. Alumni may also be encouraged to participate in other programs or to receive SSP publications.

Science News subscribers, members, donors, and other commercial activity

Address and other personally identifiable information will be stored as necessary to process an individual’s gift, membership, subscription, or other commercial transaction. This information may be shared with other programs and publications of SSP or as otherwise described elsewhere in this Policy.

From time to time, SSP may rent subscriber information to third party organizations.  If you would like us to remove your name from such lists, please contact us via mail, telephone or email address as provided for in the Third-Party Disclosure of Information found elsewhere in this policy.

Other “Friends” of SSP

Many individuals provide information in order to volunteer with SSP, receive the SSP Newsletter, or otherwise participate in or learn more about SSP programs and publications. In general, an individual’s information will – by default – be shared among SSP programs and publications, unless otherwise directed by the individual, or as otherwise described elsewhere in this Policy.

Parent’s Right to Review or Delete Information

A parent may review the information a child has submitted to SSP by e-mailing SSP a written request addressed to privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, ATTN: Customer Service,PO Box 1674Williamsport,PA17703­­­­­­­­.  The request must include the name and address of the child, and any other information that will allow SSP to verify that the writer is the parent of the child whose information is being requested.

In addition, a parent can instruct SSP to delete a child’s information at any time and can also instruct SSP not to collect any more personal information from the child by e-mailing SSP a written request addressed to privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, ATTN: Customer Service,PO Box 1674Williamsport,PA17703.  Parents should be advised that a deletion request may prevent the child from participating in certain activities.

Third-Party Disclosure of Information

SSP contracts with third-party companies to provide certain services on a User’s behalf. These services include credit card processing, mail distribution and processing, and other customer support services. Information provided to third-party service providers is strictly limited to the services required or as required by law.

SSP may share  a User’s personally identifiable information with third-party companies to provide the User with promotional information about programs, services, events and publications offered by SSP or select third-parties. SSP closely reviews every request for information by third-parties to help ensure they are trustworthy and reputable. A User may opt-out of such sharing with third-party organizations or modify User’s communication preferences at any time by emailing privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, PO Box 1674 Williamsport, PA 17703.

SSP may also use aggregate data that is not personally identifiable in discussions, presentations, or reports to current or potential grantors. This data may include demographic, geographic or other broadly representative data.

SSP will divulge any information collected from a User on the Websites when required to do so by law.

Your California Privacy Rights

In addition to the Privacy Rights provided for generally in these policies, California residents have the right to request in a mail, electronic mail or telephone communication, that SSP disclose for the immediately preceding calendar year the categories of your personal information shared with third parties, and the names and addresses of such third parties including the nature of the third-parties business.  Please see the mail, electronic mail and telephone contact information under Third-Party Disclosures of Information above.

Web-Specific Privacy Policy Statement and Practices

SSP collects information about the Users of the Websites in order to assist in determining which parts of the Websites visitors find most valuable. This allows SSP to continually improve the services it provides. For example, SSP may track the URL that Users visited before Users came to the Websites, the URL to which Users next go, as well as Users’ IP addresses. SSP uses Users’ IP addresses to help diagnose problems with SSP’s servers and to administer the Websites.

Users may use the Websites without registering, but registration must occur in order to use any of the personalized web services. The Websites’ registration form requires specific contact information, including, but not limited to, name and e-mail address. The customer contact information is used to learn more about our users and to contact users when necessary. Unique identifiers are collected to verify User’s identity and for use as account numbers in our record system.

Users may also be prompted for address information in order to subscribe to SSP publications, including, but not limited to, the SSP Newsletter and Science News. SSP may send solicitation and/or subscription offers along with these communications, subject to User’s opt out selection described below.

Opt Out

SSP provides users with an opportunity to opt out of receiving web-based communications from SSP at the point where they are asked to provide personal information.  An individual may opt-out of these communications by emailing privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, ATTN: Customer Service,PO Box 1674Williamsport,PA17703.

Security

The Websites have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information that is under the control of SSP.

Child Privacy Policy and Parental Consent Statement

SSP wants to protect the safety of children using the Websites.  To the extent necessary, SSP complies with applicable laws and regulations, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which governs information gathering online from or about children under the age of 13. Verifiable consent from a child’s parent or guardian is required before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under the age of 13.  SSP does not:

1. Collect online contact information from children under the age of 13 without prior parental notification and consent, which includes an opportunity for the parent to prevent use of the information and the child’s participation in the related activity.  Without prior parental consent, online information will only be used to respond directly to a child’s request (i.e., subscription to a newsletter, however, parental consent is required prior to the second communication) and will not be used for other purposes.

2. Collect personally identifiable offline contact information of a child under age 13 without prior parental consent.
3. Provide any personally identifiable information, regardless of its source, to any third-party for any purpose whatsoever concerning our users under 13 years of age, unless otherwise disclosed to children and their parents during the information collection process.
4. Give children under age 13 the ability to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable contact information without prior parental consent.
5. Entice any child by the prospect of a special game, prize, or other activity, to divulge more information than is needed to participate in the activity.

When the Websites need to collect information about a child under 13 years old, COPPA required information and instructions will be provided by the specific web page that collects information about the child. The web page will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept.

There are several exceptions that permit collection of a child’s email address without receiving parental consent in advance:

• To provide the parents with notice and to seek consent for communications with the child. Note: this may require collection of the parent’s email address as well.
• To protect the safety of a child who is participating on the site; i.e., in a chat room.
• To protect the Websites or to respond to law enforcement; i.e., in the case of a Website compromise.

Personal information about your child will be destroyed immediately upon completion of its intended purpose. On rare occasions, it may be determined that a communication from a child under 13 years old should be maintained for historical purposes. Should such an occasion occur, SSP will obtain the necessary consent from the child’s parent.

Finally, we provide many on-line tools and services in support of SSP’s mission. A child under 13 years old may inadvertently provide personal information to one of these services. If this should happen, the information about the child will be deleted immediately upon discovery.

Cookies

Cookies are files that contain information created by a web server that can be stored on a User’s hard disk for use either during a particular session (“per-session” cookie) or for future use (“persistent” cookie). SSP uses cookies only to facilitate automated activity, store and track SSP ID numbers, session status, and navigation patterns. Cookies are not used to disseminate significant information about users over the Internet or to analyze any information that users have knowingly or unknowingly provided. When a User registers, the system will ask whether the user approves of the attachment of a cookie.

Users may instruct their Internet browsers to opt out of accepting a “persistent” cookie and rather accept only a “per-session” cookie, but will need to login each time they visit the Websites to enjoy the full benefits. If the User declines the attachment of any cookie, the User may not have access to the full benefits of the website. Registration enables the Websites to better determine a User’s interest areas and provide the most relevant information.

E-mail Communications

SSP sends email communications to current and past program participants, volunteers, subscribers, and other individuals or organizations upon request. Every bulk email includes an “unsubscribe” link that will allow the recipient to either modify the frequency or type of communication, or to decline all future email communication from SSP. Removal from all lists may take up to five business days to complete. Replying directly to the email, rather than using the unsubscribe form, may require additional time to process.

The only instance where an “unsubscribe” link would not be included in the bottom would be an email sent as direct correspondence from an SSP staff person. Please respond directly back to that individual staff person if you would prefer to be removed from future communication.

E-Commerce Security Practice

Maintaining the confidentiality of a User’s personal information is important to SSP. Credit card numbers are used for the limited purpose of processing your SSP subscription, registration, donation, membership, or other orders. When User’s credit card information is transmitted to SSP for validation, it is secured by encryption technology, which enables information to be sent over the Internet in an encrypted form to ensure protection against unauthorized access to your personal information.

Notwithstanding the above, SSP makes NO WARRANTY in respect of the strength or effectiveness of the encryption and SSP is not responsible for events arising from unauthorized access of the information you provide.

Third-Party Disclosure of Information

SSP contracts with third-party companies to provide certain services on a User’s behalf. These services include credit card processing, mail distribution and processing, and other customer support services. Information provided to third-party service providers is strictly limited to the services required or as required by law.

SSP may use a User’s personally identifiable information to provide the User with promotional information about programs, services, events and publications offered by SSP or select third-parties. SSP closely reviews every request for information by third-parties to help ensure they are trustworthy and reputable. A User may opt-out of such sharing with third-party organizations or modify User’s communication preferences at any time by emailing privacy@societyforscience.org, by calling (800) 552-4412, or by mailing Society for Science & the Public, PO Box 1674 Williamsport, PA 17703.

SSP may also use aggregate data that is not personally identifiable in discussions, presentations, or reports to current or potential grantors. This data may include demographic, geographic or other broadly representative data.

SSP will divulge any information collected from a User on the Websites when required to do so by law.

Your California Privacy Rights

In addition to the Privacy Rights provided for generally in these policies, California residents have the right to request in a mail, electronic mail or telephone communication, that SSP disclose for the immediately preceding calendar year the categories of your personal information shared with third parties, and the names and addresses of such third parties including the nature of the third-parties business.  Please see the mail, electronic mail and telephone contact information under Third-Party Disclosures of Information above/hereafter.