This Privacy and Security Statement outlines the policies and practices of The Freedom Institute regarding the collection and use of your Personal Data and Non-Personal Data (collectively “Data”) when you visit The Freedom Institute website or use The Freedom Institute internet services. The Freedom Institute’s internet services include, but are not limited to, The Freedom Institute educational resources, newsletters, directories as well as other internet-based features.
The Freedom Institute created this Privacy and Security Statement to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining the privacy of all users of our internet services.
The Freedom Institute may offer you the ability to connect with The Freedom Institute services and tools using a mobile device via a mobile optimized website. The provisions of this Privacy and Security Statement apply to all access provided through the use of mobile devices. This Privacy and Security Statement will be referenced by all such mobile applications or mobile optimized websites. By using The Freedom Institute websites or internet services you consent to the terms and conditions of this Privacy and Security Statement and to The Freedom Institute processing your Data for the purposes stated herein. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy and Security Statement, your use of The Freedom Institute’s websites or internet services may not be optimized, and, in some instances, you may be denied access to services that require The Freedom Institute to verify you as an authorized user.
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Notice to Minors – The Freedom Institute does not knowingly offer or sell products or services to children. If you are under eighteen years of age, you may not purchase products or services from, and you should not provide information to The Freedom Institute without the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian.
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Changes to this Statement – The Freedom Institute reserves the right to amend this Privacy and Security Statement at any time without prior notice. This Privacy and Security Statement occasionally will be updated to reflect new features and services or new privacy practices. The latest version will be posted on The Freedom Institute website. The Privacy and Security Statement was last updated on 6/11/2024.
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Data We May Collect – As described below, The Freedom Institute collects personal information that you provide (“Personal Data”) as well as general information about the use of its website (“Non-Personal Data”). “Personal Data” includes any information that identifies you directly, such as your name, mailing address, email address, telephone numbers, date and/or place of birth, payment and billing information, professional certifications or licenses, and government-issued identification numbers. Personal Data may also include sensitive information such as racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability status, or religious preferences. The Personal Data we collect depends on how you choose to use our website and our services. The Freedom Institute will not distribute Personal Data in a manner inconsistent with this Privacy and Security Statement unless required to do so by law, or in good faith belief that such action is permitted by law and is necessary to comply with a legal requirement or process such as civil and criminal subpoenas and court orders, to protect and defend the rights or property of The Freedom Institute, or to protect the personal safety of The Freedom Institute personnel or the general public. “Non-Personal Data” includes any information that does not identify you directly, such as your geolocation, browsing history, type and industry of employment, internet protocol address, and information automatically collected through the use of internet cookies.
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How We May Use or Share Your Personal Data a. Information Collected to Process Payment Transactions – When users of our website or our internet services apply for or renew membership, order products, register for events or sign up for services, they will be required to provide information where we will acquire Personal Data necessary to process the transaction. This may include your name, address, telephone and fax numbers, email address, and credit card number or other payment information. Payment information, such as credit card details, is only collected to process a transaction, using a secure transmission method, and it is stored in an encrypted format. Reasonable measures are taken while processing transactions to ensure that payment information is not vulnerable to theft or interception. The Freedom Institute will not store or distribute your payment information in any manner that is not necessary to process a transaction. We employ third parties to assist us in fulfilling orders and other transactions involving payment. Those third parties will have access to certain Personal Data to the extent necessary to perform those services for us. We limit the use of all such Personal Data by these third parties to the performance of such services. We take reasonable steps to obligate these third parties to handle Personal Data appropriately and confidentially. However, The Freedom Institute cannot give absolute assurance that information intended to be maintained as private, whether transmitted via the internet or otherwise, cannot be accessed inappropriately or unlawfully by third parties. Please see the section “Users’ Information” below for details about how The Freedom Institute may use Personal Data collected.
b. Email Addresses – When contacting The Freedom Institute at any of the email addresses used for member and non-member customer assistance, we may ask for certain Personal Data, such as your member ID number, name, email address, telephone number, or fax number. When collected for this purpose, the information is used to verify identity and to provide the assistance you are requesting. The Freedom Institute does not distribute or sell the email addresses to any unaffiliated third party but may use email addresses or disclose email addresses to The Freedom Institute contractors to carry out the operations of The Freedom Institute and to provide services.
c. User Information – Personal Data may be used by The Freedom Institute to distribute marketing materials to users by mail, fax or email. Users can elect not to receive certain printed mailings, faxes or email notices from The Freedom Institute.
Additionally, The Freedom Institute may utilize visitor data to match against existing advertising network profiles enabling the ability to target The Freedom Institute members as a group, with programmatic banner advertising. No Personal Data is shared with advertisers and all matched profiles are anonymous. This service is only utilized for The Freedom Institute members geolocated within the United States of America. The Freedom Institute collects and stores aggregate demographic information to track the organization’s diversity. Such de-identified demographic information may be shared with The Freedom Institute leadership groups. Users can opt to not share this information with The Freedom Institute leadership groups. If you wish to elect to not be included in any of these communications, please contact us using the methods listed at the end of this document.
d. Electronic Publications – The Freedom Institute collects and uses the email addresses of users when they subscribe to our electronic publications for the purposes of sending the email messages that comprise these services. We may occasionally send email messages with surveys regarding these services or promote other The Freedom Institute products or services to subscribers. The Freedom Institute will not share the email addresses with any third party not associated with the support or delivery of this service.
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How We May Use or Share Your Non-Personal Data a. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies – Several portions of The Freedom Institute website use cookies or other tracking technologies. Cookies are small data files that are sent by a website and stored on your computer. Cookies are used by most websites and can contain information about your use of our site. Additionally, The Freedom Institute uses anonymous list matching and website tracking pixels to better align marketing and advertising of The Freedom Institute/Partner products and services with your interests via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, HubSpot, and other ad networks/exchanges. When retargeting pixels are used for advertising, the pixel will provide an anonymous retargeting cookie to website visitors that The Freedom Institute/Partners may then target to website visitors when those website visitors visit websites that participate in online ad exchanges. Most Web browsers have a setting to turn off the automatic acceptance of cookies. If you do not want to accept cookies from our website, use the internet Options or Preferences menu items in your browser to turn cookies off or receive warnings when cookies are sent to your computer. However, you should be aware that significant portions of our website will not function properly if you do not accept cookies. You are accepting cookies for this site.
b. General Website Usage Information – To monitor site usage and improve the quality of our website, The Freedom Institute gathers general information about the use of our website. We use web server logs and industry-standard website statistics software to count the number of visitors to our website, the number of views of particular pages, and to track other general statistics. From time to time, The Freedom Institute may share with third parties the aggregate, anonymous information about overall usage of our website and other internet services that we collect in order to sell advertising, solicit sponsorships or to pursue other legitimate business purposes.
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Your Rights Regarding Personal Data a. Personal Data Retention – We keep your Personal Data for as long as you are a The Freedom Institute client or as long as your relationship with The Freedom Institute continues and as required by law. We retain your Personal Data while your membership is active or as necessary to continue to provide internet or mobile-based services. This includes Personal Data you provided to us and Personal Data obtained from your use of our services. There may be some instances where we retain Non-Personal Data in a depersonalized or aggregate form.
b. Right to Access and Control Your Personal Data – You can access, update or delete your Personal Data by emailing us at info@thefreedominstitute.net.
For Personal Data that we have about you: Delete: You may ask us to erase or delete all or some of your Personal Data, and we will work hard to honor all requests in a timely manner. In some instances, we may not be able to delete your Personal Data in order to comply with applicable financial transaction laws or other laws. Change or Correct: You may ask us to change, update or fix your data in certain cases, particularly if it’s inaccurate. Object to, Limit or Restrict: You may ask us to stop using all or some of your Personal Data. Right to Access: You have the right to see your Personal Data and take it with you. We will work with you to be sure we can provide the most complete set of your Personal Data and a secure way to transfer your Personal