Sample Language for Privacy Statements
Introduction:
Welcome to the City/Town of _________’s web site. Individuals who visit this site are important to us. Because visitors to our site are important, we do not capture personal information about them without their permission. We endeavor to collect only the minimum amount of information needed to [meet the purposes for which the site was created].
Public Disclosure:
All information collected on the _____ web site will be treated the same as any written communication and is subject to the confidentiality and public disclosure provisions of 1 MRSA Chapter 13.
Personal Information:
When you visit this web site, no information will be collected from you or about you.
OR
Personal information captured by our web site may Include:
(NOTE: The information below is included in the Citizen Comment Form)
name
street address
e-mail address
telephone number
(NOTE: The information captured below is included in the Recreation Registration Form)
child’s name
child’s age or birthdate
credit card information
(NOTE: The information below is included in the Volunteer Registration Form)
other personal data????
Personally identifiable information will not be collected unless you voluntarily send an e-mail message or fill out and send an online form . This information will not be any different from, nor treated any different from, the same information sent to the Town/City of [name]
E-commerce activities on this web site are voluntary. You may choose to submit personal information in a registration form or by paying for services on this web site. Personal financial iinformation will be held only for the time needed to process the payment and then the record will be destroyed. Personal financial information will be submitted via a secure socket layer and held only by [municipal officials/name].
We will not release or share information that is not required by 1 MRSA Chapter 13.
Your choice not to participate in these activities will not impair your ability to access certain information; however it may impair your ability to use some of the services offered on this web site.
Statistical Information:
We may collect some or all of the following information about visitors who view or download information from our web sites:
Information Definition
Date Date the visit occurred.
Time Time the visit occurred.
Client IP Unique Internet Protocol (IP) address of the web site visitor. The IP address recorded is normally that of the visitor’s Internet service provider, e.g., aol.com if the visitor connects from an America Online account.
Server IP Unique Internet Protocol (IP) address (web page) of the Town/City of [name]web server accessed.
HTTP Request URL Identifies the web page or file requested by the web site visitor.
Bytes Sent Amount of data sent from the web server to web site visitor during that connection.
Bytes Received Amount of data sent from web site visitor to the web server.
User Agent Type of web browser or other client software that made request to the web server.
Referrer Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that referred to the requested file.
Protocol Version Version of HTTP used by the visitor’s web browser software.
The information we collect is used to improve the content of our web services and help us understand how people are using our services. We analyze our web site logs to continually improve the value of the materials available on our site. The information in our web site logs is not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link it with the individuals that browse our web site.
E-Mail:
E-mail messages, sent to any municipal address, will be treated the same as any other written communication. They may be subject to public inspection or legal disclosure and may be saved for a period of time before they are destroyed. E-mail or other information requests sent to the municipality may be maintained in order to respond to the request, forward that request to the appropriate agency, or to provide the web designer with valuable customer feedback to assist in improving the site. E-mail addresses obtained as a result of a request to this web site will not be sold or given to private companies
Cookies:
Cookies are small text files that a web server may ask your web browser to store, and to send back to the web server when needed. Cookies may be used to store a transaction identifier or other information a user may provide. The “help” portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies or how to disable cookies altogether. You can refuse the cookies or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods. We do not use cookies in order to track your visit to our web site. In order to better serve you, we use cookies for [certain types] of online transactions. Cookies are [destroyed/kept on your browser].
[Sample language on possible uses of cookies is available in Townsman article listed in Resources.]
Changes to Policy/Statement:
We will post any substantive changes in this privacy policy at least ___ days prior to the change taking effect. Any information collected under this current policy will remain bound by the terms of this privacy statement. After the changes take effect, all new information collected, if any, will be subject to the revised privacy statement.
Contact:
If you have questions about our privacy procedures, please contact [e-mail address] or call [name] at [telephone number] or write to [name & address].
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