MapLight.org Privacy Policy

Overview

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This Privacy Policy describes MapLight’s policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information about you in connection with your use of MapLight.org (the “Website”).

 

The terms “we”, “us”, and “MapLight” refers to MapLight, a California non-profit located in Berkeley, CA. 

 

When you use MapLight.org, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.

A link to a Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the policy can be found here: Privacy Policy.

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Information We Collect

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MapLight collects personal information to facilitate your use of the MapLight.org. “Personal information” means information that identifies or is reasonably capable of identifying an individual, directly or indirectly, and information that is being associated with an identified or reasonably identifiable individual.

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Personal Information That We Collect Directly From You

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The MapLight.org collects the following categories of information directly from you. When you use the MapLight.org website, the following information will enter MapLight’s databases.

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Information We Collect & Purpose of Collection

Name: When submitting information on the “Contact Us” page, you are asked to submit your name. You are voluntarily submitting this information.

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Email Address: When submitting information on the “Contact Us” page, you are asked to submit your email address. You are voluntarily submitting this information.

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Phone Number: When submitting information on the “Contact Us” page, you are asked to submit your phone number. You are voluntarily submitting this information.

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Message: When submitting a message on the “Contact Us” page, you are asked to provide content for your message. This message will be stored in MapLight’s database. You are voluntarily submitting this information.

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IP Address: Your IP Address will be stored in the MapLight.org database. Your “IP Address” is a designator that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet service provider (ISP). An IP Address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever you use our platform and services, along with the time of your visit and the specific page(s) that you visited.

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Accuracy and Retention of Personal Information

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MapLight takes reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that your Personal Information held by us is accurate with regard to the purposes for which it is to be used, and is not kept longer than is necessary for the fulfillment of the purpose for which it is to be used.

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How We Use the Information We Collect

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The Personal Information we collect and the practices described above are done in an effort to provide you with the best experience possible, protect you from risks related to improper use, and fraud, and help us maintain and improve the MapLight.org website. We may use your Personal Information to:

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• Provide you with the MapLight.org website. MapLight uses your Personal Information to provide you with the MapLight.org website pursuant to the terms of our Terms of Use.

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• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements. MapLight processes your Personal Information as required by applicable laws and regulations.

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• Protect the security and integrity of our services. MapLight uses your Personal Information to further enhance the security of the MapLight.org website and its supporting databases.

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• Provide you with customer support. MapLight processes your Personal Information anytime that you reach out to our team with issues arising from your use of the MapLight.org website.

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• Optimize and enhance the MapLight.org website. MapLight uses your Personal Information to understand how the MapLight.org website is being used to help us improve MapLight.org and further develop the website.

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• Other business purposes. MapLight may use your information for additional purposes if that purpose is disclosed to you before we collect the information or if we obtain your consent.

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How We Share the Information We Collect

MapLight will not share your Personal Information with third parties, except as described below.

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• Third-Party Service Providers. MapLight may share your Personal Information with third-party service providers for business or commercial purposes. Your Personal Information may be shared so that they can provide us with services, including identity verification, security threat detection, customer support, data analytics, Information Technology, data processing, network infrastructure, and storage. MapLight shares your Personal Information with these service providers only so that they can provide us with services, and we prohibit our service providers from using or disclosing your Personal Information for any other purpose. Our third-party service providers are subject to strict confidentiality obligations.

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• Research: Any research and analysis done or shared is solely with the intent to better the platform offerings.

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• Law Enforcement. MapLight may be compelled to share your Personal Information with law enforcement, government officials, and regulators.

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• Corporate Transactions. MapLight may disclose Personal Information in the event of a proposed or consummated merger, acquisition, reorganization, asset sale, or similar corporate transaction, or in the event of a bankruptcy or dissolution.

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• Professional Advisors. MapLight may share your Personal Information with our professional advisors, including legal, accounting, or other consulting services for purposes of audits or to comply with our legal obligations.

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• Consent. MapLight may share or disclose your information with your consent.

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If MapLight decides to modify the purpose for which your Personal Information is collected and used, we will amend this Privacy Policy.

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Cookie Policy

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What are cookies?

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A cookie is a small piece of text that allows a website to recognize your device and maintain a consistent, cohesive experience throughout multiple sessions. They are unique to your account or your browser. Session-based cookies last only while your browser is open and are automatically deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies last until you or your browser delete them or until they expire.

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Cookies may be used on our main site for MapLight or through the use of our tools.

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Essential Cookies

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Essential cookies are cookies that are those necessary for carrying out or facilitating the transmission of communication, and to move through the site and use its features. MapLight uses the following categories of cookies:

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Category of Uses

Authentication: We may use session cookies to store user information for the duration of the session.

 

Support: Should you need support, please email privacy@maplight.org.

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How do I restrict cookies?

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If you decide that you do not want cookies to be set on your device, you can adjust the settings on your Internet browser and choose from the available Cookies settings to best meet your preferences.

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While setting options may vary from browser to browser, you can generally choose to reject some or all cookies, or instead to receive a notification when a cookie is being placed on your device.

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For more information, please refer to the user help information for your browser of choice. Please keep in mind that cookies may be required for certain functionalities, and by blocking these cookies, you may limit your access to certain parts or features of our sites and platforms.

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Managing or Clearing Cookies in Chrome

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Managing or Clearing Cookies in Firefox

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Information for Nevada Residents

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Nevada law (SB 220) requires website operators to provide a way for Nevada consumers to opt out of the sale of certain information that the website operator may collect about them. MapLight does not sell your personal information to third parties as defined in Nevada law, and will not do so in the future without providing you with notice and an opportunity to opt-out of such sale as required by law. If you have any questions regarding our data privacy practices or our compliance with Nevada data privacy law, please contact us at privacy@maplight.org.

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Information for Subjects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and Brazil’s General Data Protection Law

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This website may be viewed by individuals of the European Union and Brazil, but is not targeted for use by EU or Brazil persons. If you are an EU or Brazil person, you should not provide any personal information to us through this website. This website is intended primarily for U.S. Internet users who are interested in the MapLight.org website.

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Children’s Privacy

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The Service is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children under 17. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 17. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us at privacy@maplight.org. If we become aware that a child under 17 has provided us with personal information without parental consent, MapLight takes steps to remove such information.

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Security

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MapLight seeks to use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect your information within our organization from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, and/or destruction. We take reasonable steps to ensure that all data we process is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete and current to the extent necessary for the purposes for which we use it. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us of the problem.

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Updates to This Privacy Policy

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MapLight may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the Privacy Policy will govern our collection, use, and disclosure of information about you and will be located here.

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If MapLight makes material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on our website prior to or on the effective date of the changes. By continuing to access or use the services after those changes become effective, you acknowledge the revised Privacy Policy.

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Contact Information

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If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy or our processing of your Personal Information, please feel free to contact MapLight through the following:

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Email: privacy@maplight.org

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Address:

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2150 Allston Way, Ste. 320

Berkeley, CA 94704