In compliance with our registration policy and the guidelines set forth by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), gscm.org is committed to protecting the privacy of each visitor who registers with us. Here is an explanation of our Data Collection process.
1. Obtaining Parental Consent. Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which went into effect on April, 21, 2000, gscm.org will require parental consent in order to keep in our records any registered user information from girls 12 or under. GSCM.org will not collect personal information directly from girls 12 or under. We ask parents to closely monitor the Internet activities of their children and become educated on the various Internet and software tools available to help ensure that their child has a fun and satisfying online experience.
2. What Information We Collect Via Registration. GSCM.org uses its best efforts to respect the privacy of its online visitors. All registration information is collected directly on a voluntary basis and also passively, through cookies (see below). We may ask registered users to tell us how they found out about gscm.org. We do not ask registered users for a real name or postal address.
3. How We Use the Registration Information. GSCM.org uses information from registered users to notify contest winners and to post nicknames next to game high scores and other child-driven creative material in our website (such as bulletin boards). Note that these nicknames are not personal information or e-mail addresses. No one can contact girls online or offline based on these nicknames and our editorial staff prescreens all material for bulletin boards. We also use registered user information to obtain a better understanding of our user profile and thus tailor our activities to meet the age and gender make-up of our visitors. This information also helps us study user patterns across the country. We make available our overall number of registered users in publicity documents.
4. Privacy. Under no circumstances do we share, rent or sell information about our registered users to any outside third party. All personally identifiable information is collected for our own purposes to help us better shape our content to meet the preferences of our audience.
5. Using "Cookie" Technology. We may use cookies to collect non-personal information about our visitors. Such information includes: type of browser software a visitor uses to access the Internet (i.e. Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape 4.0, etc.); type of operating system (i.e. Windows XP, Macintosh, etc.); or the domain name of the visitor's Internet service provider. We also count the number of visitors who come to our site each day in an aggregate form. Such information allows us to better assess which attractions are meeting our audience in all of the above practices. We also use cookies to track and provide visitor scores on designated contests and multi-player games. Again, solely gscm.org collects this personally identifiable information for internal purposes only. Finally, cookie technology frees visitors to enter gscm.org without having to remember and enter any special passwords. In all of the above practices, it is the intention of gscm.org to operate in full compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission. We also adhere to the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) guidelines on Internet advertising. For more information about the CARU, please contact: http://www.caru.org/.
7. Why Register. Visitors who register with gscm.org can use certain special technology features, and receive e-mail updates about our new activities and special services. If you would like us to stop sending e-mail updates or need more information about our privacy policy, please contact Webmaster at: webmaster@gscm.org.
8. Contests. Registered users of gscm.org are able to participate in ongoing contests in the website. No prizes are awarded to contest winners until off-line and verifiable parental approval, including the prize recipient’s mailing address, has been received. In addition, gscm.org is prohibited from conditioning a child’s participation in a contest or other activity based upon that child giving us more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in that activity.
9. Newsletters. Registered users of gscm.org may receive periodic updates on new features in the web site. Recipients may unsubscribe to these newsletters at any time. Only registered users can receive newsletters from the site. If a registered user 12 or under wishes to unsubscribe from our newsletters, we will immediately delete his or her e-mail address from our system.
Please send comments to:
Girl Scouts of Central Maryland
4806 Seton Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215
Phone: 410.358.9711 or toll free where available 800.492.2521
Attention: Webmaster, webmaster@gscm.org |
