Privacy and Security Policy

This page provides an overview about the types of information we may collect from viewers accessing our website. We are committed to the privacy of our users. We do not collect personal information about you when you visit our website, unless you choose to provide that information to us.

Information We Collect About Your Visit

When you visit our website to browse and read pages or download information, we gather and store certain information about your visit to help us make our site is more useful to our users—for example, to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technologies they use.

This information does not identify you personally. We collect and store information such as the following:

The Internet domain (for example, “xcompany.com” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you connect from a university’s domain).
The Internet Protocol address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website.
The type of browser and operating system used to access our website.
If you downloaded a report or publication from our site.
The date and time you access our site.
The URL of the referring page (if provided by the browser).
The Web pages you visit.

We use Google Analytics to collect this information from online visitors. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our website. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit this site, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google Analytics uses cookies to track user interactions. These cookies are used to store information, such as the time at which the visit occurred, whether the user has been to the site before, and what site referred the user to the Web page. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this website by disabling cookies on your browser.

Cookies

“Cookies” are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of a session (“session cookies”), or saved on a user’s hard drive, to identify that user or information about that user the next time the user logs on to a website (“persistent cookies”). When you visit the Marine Mammal Commission site, session cookies may be used to provide streamlined navigation. Session cookies are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after the browser is closed—they are deleted from the component’s server and information from them is not collected or saved. You are not required to accept any cookies to use or browse information on this website.

How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your Web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources that the Marine Mammal Commission website provides. Instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers are located here. Please note that by following the instructions to opt out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from our website.

Information That You Voluntarily Provide

We do not collect personally identifiable information unless you choose to provide it to us. In some instances, we may request personally identifiable information for specific purposes (e.g., workshop registrant information) through online forms and surveys. We may also collect personal information, such as your e-mail address, if you choose to subscribe to our electronic newsletter (see Electronic Newsletter section below).

In all instances, when we request any personal information from users, the information collected, its purpose, and how this information will be used and shared, will be clearly stated. Providing such information is optional. Submitting voluntary information constitutes your consent to the use of the information for the stated purpose. We do not collect or use information for commercial marketing.

How E-mail is Handled

By sending us an electronic mail message, you may be sending us personally identifying information, such as your name and address. We may retain the information as long as necessary to respond to your request or otherwise resolve the subject matter of your e-mail. Please be aware that e-mail is not necessarily secure from third party interception or misdirection. For your own protection, you may wish to communicate sensitive information using a method other than e-mail.

The Marine Mammal Commission manages a Twitter account to provide content and information in a different format that may be useful or interesting to you. The information we provide through Twitter is consistent with the intended purpose of our website. We do not collect personally identifiable information about you when you visit out Twitter account. We also use Constant Contact for managing and distributing our electronic newsletter (see Electronic Newsletter section below). Please be aware that the privacy protection provided on social media and third party sites that are not a part of the mmc.gov domain may not be the same as the privacy protection described here.

We use Constant Contact to maintain a list of subscribers who have expressed interest in receiving our periodic electronic newsletter. Our newsletter is sent directly to the e-mail addresses provided by subscribers. Any recipient of our e-newsletter may unsubscribe from future messages via a link at the bottom of each e-mail message. We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise disclose our list of subscribers to persons or organizations outside the Marine Mammal Commission. Messages sent to e-mail subscribers may include a tracking pixel to provide basic aggregate analytics, such as the percentage of recipients who opened an e-mail or clicked on a link in an e-mail. As a matter of policy and practice, these data are only viewed on an aggregate basis. For additional privacy and security information about Constant Contact e-newsletters, please visit the Constant Contact website.

Interaction With Children

This website may offer educational content to children under 13. No personally identifiable information is collected from children unless voluntarily submitted as a request for information or services. The information collected is used to respond to user inquiries or to provide services requested by our users.

Website Security

This site is maintained by the U.S. government. It is protected by federal laws. You can be arrested and prosecuted for violating these laws. Unauthorized attempts to upload information, change information, or otherwise cause damage to information or systems are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.

Your Rights Under the Privacy Act

More information about the Privacy Act can be found here.