Human Rights Watch Privacy Policy

Human Rights Watch is very concerned about protecting your online privacy. This is our policy about the privacy of information we collect on the Human Rights Watch websites.

• Anonymous Data
  
• Personal Information
  
• Opting Out
  
• Proceedings
  
• Deleting Information
  
• Revisions to Policy
  
• Leaving the Site
  
• Security
  
• Contact Information
  

We collect two types of information about people who visit our site: anonymous, and personal.

Anonymous data is collected automatically about site visitors, indicating their browser type, operating system, Internet service provider, or the site they clicked from. We use this data to determine the total number of site visits and the average time visitors spend at the site. We do not use cookies or similar tracking technologies to collect information about site visitors. This kind of anonymous data is collected in the aggregate and does not tell us any information about a visitor as an individual. We will not sell or voluntarily transfer this information to third parties.

We may also collect personal information about site visitors who give us such information voluntarily:

• If you buy publications or other products on our site, we may need to collect payment and shipping information from you. We will not release that information to third parties, except to fulfill your order. Email addresses provided by a customer will be used only to communicate about the customer's order. Customer postal addresses will never be exchanged with other not-for-profit organizations.

• If you use a credit card on our website, we will use that information only for that transaction. We will not store that information and will take industry-standard security measures to protect your data.

• When you make a contribution to Human Rights Watch online, we collect personal information on the contribution form. Your name, postal address, and email address may be exchanged or rented to other reputable and like-minded organizations, unless you choose to opt-out by checking the box on the contribution form. More information about our opt-out policy is provided below.

• If you join any Human Rights Watch listserv, you will automatically receive periodic bulletins about human rights from us via email. We may also send you email solicitations to support Human Rights Watch. We will not exchange or rent your email address to other organizations. The company that administers our listservs, Topica, also collects and stores the personal information that you provide us, such as your name and email. To learn more about their policy, please visit Topica Privacy Policy.

• We occasionally post user surveys on our site to help us improve our services to visitors. Participation in our user surveys is voluntary. We may use the information you give us in a survey to contact you regarding particular human rights issues, unless you check the "opt-out" box on the survey. We will not exchange or rent your information to other organizations.

• Signing petitions or participating in other activist functions on our site may require registration. The personal information we may collect as part of these functions will not be exchanged or rented to other organizations, but Human Rights Watch may send you emails or other solicitations unless you "opt-out" on the registration forms.

• We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 years old. If you are under 13 years old, please do not provide us with any such information.

Human Rights Watch does not currently combine data provided by our users - for example, your address when you're buying a book and your email address when subscribing to a listserv - into one master database.

Opting Out: You may opt-out of receiving solicitations from us, and from having us disclose your personal information to like-minded organizations for the purpose of contacting you. You may do this whenever you provide us with personal information by checking the appropriate box on the online form. You may also send a request by email to Opting out request or by letter to:

Human Rights Watch
Development Department
(Opting Out)
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299

Proceedings: It is possible that a government or other entity will try to compel us to disclose data. We will challenge any subpoena or other legal process seeking access to anonymous or personal data of users of our web site and mailing lists.

Deleting information: You may view, correct, or request the deletion of your contribution information by sending your request by letter to "Membership Department" at the address provided under "Contact Information" below. You may subscribe or unsubscribe to any of our mailing lists by visiting our Mailing List Services Page and subscribing or unsubscribing to each such list, as applicable. To correct or update information relating to your online publications purchases, please send your request by e-mail to Deleting information request or by letter to "HRW Publications Department" at the address provided under "Contact Information" below. To view, correct or request the deletion of any of your other preferences or personal information collected through the Site, please send your request by e-mail to webadmin@hrw.org or by letter to "HRW Online Programs" at the address provided under "Contact Information" below. If you request that we delete information from our databases, we will endeavor to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for record keeping purposes, and there may also be residual information that will remain within our databases and other records. We reserve the right to contact former site users from time to time.

Revisions to Policy. This privacy policy is valid as of the date at the top of the policy. Please note that, by using the site, you signify your agreement to this privacy policy. If you do not agree to this privacy policy, please do not use sections of our site requesting information from you. We reserve the right to revise this privacy policy from time to time. Your continued use of the site subsequent to changes to this privacy policy will mean that you accept such changes.

Leaving Site. Please note that third parties may collect information about you, through cookies or other technologies, when you link to their websites through our site. We do not monitor or control the information collection or privacy practices of these or any other third parties, and are not responsible for their practices or the content of their websites. You should review the privacy policies of such third parties to understand how they collect and use information.

Security. We use reasonable security methods to protect the data that resides on our servers. But because no security system is impenetrable, we cannot guarantee the security of our servers. It is also possible that information you supply us will be intercepted during transmission.

Contact Information. If you have any questions about this privacy policy or the site, please send an email to webadmin@hrw.org or a letter to "Web Co-ordinator" at the following address:

Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299

The Site and this Privacy Policy, © 2001 Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved.

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