Last Updated: June 30, 2020

Your privacy is important to us. This privacy statement or "statement" explains how TownNews and our controlled affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, "TownNews," "us," "our," or "we") collect, use, and disclose personal data. References to "our sites" in this statement include our website, TownNews.com. This statement applies where we display or reference this statement. This statement does not apply to any websites, activities, services, or products where we display or reference a different privacy statement. This statement also does not apply to personal data we collect about end users of products and services that we may provide or operate on behalf of our business customers. You can jump to particular topics by going to the headings below:

PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT 

The personal data we collect depends on how you interact with us, the features of the sites you use, and the choices you make.

We collect information about you from different sources and in various ways when you interact with us and our sites, including information you provide directly, information collected automatically, third-party data sources, and data we infer or generate from other data.

Information you provide directly. We collect personal data you provide to us. For example, we collect your:

Contact Information. Name, email address, postal address, phone number, and fax number.

Employment Information. Demographics, employer, job title, location, and other information you provide us.

Purchase Information. Credit card numbers and other payment information (if you make a payment).

Information collected automatically. When you use our sites, some information is collected automatically, for example:

Device, system, and usage data. Your device's operating system, Internet Protocol (IP) address, access times, browser type and language, the website you visited before our site, and your activity on our sites.

Geolocation Data. Depending on your browser settings, we collect geolocation data when you visit our sites.

Cookies and Similar Technologies. As further described in the Cookies and Similar Technologies section below, our sites store and retrieve data using cookies set on your device.

Information obtained from third-party sources. We also obtain information from third parties. We protect information obtained from third parties according to the practices described in this statement, plus any additional restrictions imposed by the source of the information. These third-party sources include, for example:

  • Data brokers from which we obtain demographic data to supplement the data we collect;
  • Applications and services, such as social networks, that make users' data available to others;
  • Service providers that help us determine your device's location based on its IP address to customize our communications and services to your location;
  • Partners with which we offer co-branded services or engage in joint marketing and other activities, for example, if you sign up for one of our webinars through our partner's service they send us information about you; and
  • Publicly available sources, such as open government databases or other data in the public domain.

Information created or generated. We infer new information from other data we collect, including using automated means to generate information about your likely preferences or other characteristics. For example, we infer your city, state, and country location based on your IP address.

When you are asked to provide personal data, you may decline. And you may use browser controls to prevent certain types of automatic data collection. But if you choose not to provide or allow data that is necessary for certain products or features, those products or features may not be available or function correctly.

COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our sites and to help collect data. Cookies are small text files placed on your device to store data that can be recalled by a web server in the same domain that placed the cookie. The text in a cookie often consists of a string of numbers and letters that uniquely identifies your device, but it can contain other information as well.

We use cookies on our sites to store your preferences and settings, enable you to sign-in, combat fraud, analyze how our products perform, and fulfill other legitimate purposes.

Our web pages may also contain electronic images known as web beacons (also called single-pixel gifs) that we use to help deliver cookies on our sites, count users who have visited those sites, and gather usage and performance data. We also include web beacons in our promotional email messages or newsletters to determine whether you open and act on them.

Our sites may include web beacons and cookies from third-party service providers. In some cases, that is because we have hired the third party to provide services on our behalf, such as site analytics. In other cases, it is because our web pages contain web beacons from third parties used to track interaction with and effectiveness of content (such as videos, news content) and ads. Because your browser connects to those third parties' web servers to retrieve that content, those third parties are able to set or read their own cookies on your device and may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites or online services.

Our third-party analytics and ad providers include:

To opt-out from their collection or use of cookie data, and to learn more about their privacy practices, click on the links above.

We may also enable third parties to set and read their own cookies for advertising purposes. Many of these companies are members of associations, which provide a simple way to opt out of analytics and ad targeting, which you can access at:

Browser cookie controls. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can go to your browser settings to learn how to delete or reject cookies. If you choose to delete or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our site. If you choose to delete cookies, settings and preferences controlled by those cookies, including advertising preferences, may be deleted and may need to be recreated.

Do Not Track. Some browsers have incorporated "Do Not Track" (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal, our sites do not currently respond to browser DNT signals. Instead, you can use the range of other tools to control data collection and use, including the cookie controls and advertising controls described above.

Third Party Services. Our site uses YouTube. When customers use our platform to provide certain functionality as part of our services we also allow customers to use YouTube API services subject to our Agreements and YouTube's Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms), including to allow third parties to serve content and advertising on sites we manage for you (Customer Sites). The YouTube API service stores, accesses or collects (or allows third parties to do so) information directly or indirectly on or from the device and browser of personnel users of our customers and of visitors to Customer Sites, including by placing, accessing or recognizing cookies or similar technology on such devices or browsers. The YouTube API also collects analytics and reporting data, including number of views for a video, the number of channels for a subscriber, or the number of videos in a playlist. We may use this data for YouTube videos on our site and on behalf of our customers in connection with Customer Sites. Google may use this data in accordance with the privacy policy at Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy. We expect our customers to post a privacy notice to visitors of Customer Sites describing this data collection and use including a link to the Google Privacy Policy.

Additionally, for data collected and used by the YouTube API services, users can review and revoke access to their data via the Google security settings page at https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions. We also expect our customers to disclose this choice in their privacy notice to visitors of Customer Sites.

OUR USE OF PERSONAL DATA

We use personal data for purposes described in this privacy statement or otherwise disclosed to you. For example, we use personal data to:

  • Provide and deliver our sites, including securing, troubleshooting, improving, and personalizing those sites;
  • Operate our business, such as improving our internal operations, securing our systems, and detecting fraudulent or illegal activity;
  • Understand you and your preferences to enhance your experience and enjoyment using our Sites and services;
  • Provide customer support and respond to your questions;
  • Send you information, including confirmations, invoices, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
  • Communicate with you about our products and services and those of our selected partners, webinars, offers, promotions, rewards, contests, and upcoming events (see the Choice and Control section of this privacy statement for how to change your preferences for promotional communications); and
  • Display advertising to you (see the Cookies section of this privacy statement for information about your advertising choices)

In carrying out these purposes, we combine data we collect from different sources to give you a more seamless, consistent, and personalized experience.

OUR SHARING OF PERSONAL DATA

We share personal data with your consent or as necessary to complete your transactions or provide the information, products, or services you have requested or authorized. For example, when you provide payment data to make a purchase, we will share that data with banks and other entities as necessary for payment processing, fraud prevention, credit risk reduction, or other related financial services.

In addition, we share personal data as follows:

  • Our subsidiaries and affiliates share common data systems and process personal data as needed to provide our products and operate our business.
  • We share personal data with vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this statement. For example, companies we've hired to provide customer service support or assist in protecting and securing our systems and services may need access to personal data to provide those functions.
  • We may also disclose personal data as part of a corporate transaction or proceeding such as a merger, financing, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, or at transfer, divestiture, or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets.

We will also access, transfer, disclose, and preserve personal data when we believe that doing so is necessary to:

  • Comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agencies;
  • Protect our customers and others, for example to prevent spam or attempts to commit fraud, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone;
  • Operate and maintain the security of our products, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks; or
  • Protect the rights or property or ourselves or others, including enforcing our agreements, terms, and policies.

Finally, we may share de-identified information in accordance with applicable law.

Please note that some of our sites include references or links to products and services provided by third parties whose privacy practices differ from ours. If you provide personal data to any of those third parties, or consent to our sharing personal data with them, that data is governed by their privacy statements.

CHOICE AND CONTROL OF PERSONAL DATA

Access, correction, and deletion. If you wish to request access to, or correction or deletion of, personal data about you that we hold, you can do so at any time by contacting us by emailing privacy@townnews.com, using this request form or calling 1-800-293-9576.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right to charge a fee or decline requests that are unreasonable, excessive, or prohibited by law, could adversely affect the privacy or other rights of another person, or where we are unable to authenticate you as the person to whom the data relates.  

Communications preferences. You can choose whether to receive promotional communications from us by email, SMS, physical mail, and telephone. If you receive promotional email or SMS messages from us and would like to stop, you can do so by following the directions in that message or submit an email opt-out request to https://abuse.tn-cloud.net/ or email privacy@townnews.com. These choices do not apply to mandatory service emails that are part of certain of our services, or to surveys or other informational emails that may have their own unsubscribe method.

Choices for Cookies and Similar Technologies. See the Cookies section for choices about cookies and other analytics and advertising controls.

EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS

If you are a European resident and the processing of your personal data is subject to European Union data protection law, you may have certain rights with respect to that data:

  • You can request access to, and rectification or erasure of, personal data;
  • If any automated processing of personal data is based on your consent or a contract with you, you have a right to transfer or receive a copy of the personal data in a usable and portable format;
  • If the processing of personal data is based on your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time for future processing;
  • You can object to, or obtain a restriction of, the processing of personal data under certain circumstances; and
  • For residents of France, you can send us specific instructions regarding the use of your data after your death.

To make such requests, contact us at privacy@townnews.com, or submit this request form..  When we are processing data on behalf of one of our business customers, they are the "data controller," and you should direct your request to that party.  You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, but we encourage you to first contact us with any questions or concerns.

We rely on different lawful bases for collecting and processing personal data about you, for example, with your consent and/or as necessary to provide the products you use, operate our business, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect the security of our systems and our customers, or fulfil other legitimate interests. When we are processing data on behalf of one of our business customers, we use the information to perform services in accordance with the instructions of our business customers.  Our business customers, in turn, are expected to have a lawful purpose in processing such information.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

The following describes your rights regarding personal information we process about individuals covered by California laws. "Personal information" has the meaning as defined under such laws.

CCPA

If you are a California resident and the processing of personal information about you is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), beginning January 2020 you have certain rights with respect to that information.  In particular, you have a right to request that companies provide you with the following information:

  1. The categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
  2. The categories of sources from which we collect personal information.
  3. The purposes for collecting and using personal information.
  4. The categories of third parties with which we share personal information.
  5. For companies that disclose personal information for a business purpose, the categories of personal information disclosed about you for a business purpose

You can find a list of the categories of personal information that we collect and share here.

You also have a right to request that we delete personal information under certain circumstances, subject to a number of exceptions. Finally, you have a right to not be discriminated against for exercising rights set out in the CCPA.

To make requests to exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@townnews.com, submit this request form, or call +1-800-293-9576. 

To process your request, we must be able to verify your identity. We may conduct the verification process by email or phone using information that matches our records. The information you must provide as part of the verification process may include: name, contact information (email address or phone number), relationship with us, and residency. In some cases we may ask for additional information.

If you are submitting a request on behalf of another person, you may contact us at privacy@townnews.com, submit this request form, or call +1-800-293-9576. Please note, you must provide proof that you have been authorized by the individual to act on his or her behalf. In certain circumstances, we may ask the individual to verify his or her own identity directly with us. Please note, we may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been authorized to submit such request.

The following chart contains statistics about the number of access, deletion, and opt-out of sale requests we processed in 2019.

Data Subject Requests (2019)

Total Received Complied with in whole or in part Denied
Access Requests 0 0 0
Deletion Requests 0 0 0
Opt-out of Sale Requests 0 0 0
Median days responded N/A

Shine the Light. Additionally, under California Civil Code section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine the Light" law, California residents who have provided personal information to a business with which the individual has established a business relationship for personal, family, or household purposes ("California Customers") may request information about whether the business has disclosed personal information to any third parties for the third parties' direct marketing purposes. Please be aware that we do not disclose personal information to any third parties for their direct marketing purposes as defined by this law. California Customers may request further information about our compliance with this law by e-mailing privacy@townnews.com. Please note that businesses are required to respond to one request per California Customer each year and may not be required to respond to requests made by means other than through the designated e-mail address.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and other legitimate and lawful business purposes. Because these needs can vary for different data types in the context of different products, actual retention periods can vary significantly based on criteria such as user expectations or consent, the sensitivity of the data, the availability of automated controls that enable users to delete data, and our legal or contractual obligations.

LOCATION OF PERSONAL DATA PROCESSING

The personal data we collect may be stored and processed in your country or region, or in any other country where we or our affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Currently, we primarily use data centers in the U.S. The storage location(s) are chosen to operate efficiently and improve performance. We take steps designed to ensure that the data we collect under this statement is processed according to the provisions of this statement and applicable law wherever the data is located.

Location of Processing European Personal Data. We transfer personal data from the European Economic Area and Switzerland to other countries, some of which have not been determined by the European Commission to have an adequate level of data protection. When we do so, we use a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to help ensure your rights and protections. To learn more about the European Commission's decisions on the adequacy of personal data protections, please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en.

SECURITY OF PERSONAL DATA

We take reasonable and appropriate steps to help protect personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

To help us protect personal data, we request that you use a strong password and never share your password with anyone or use the same password with other sites or accounts. If we need, or are required, to contact you concerning any event that involves your personal data, we may do so by e-mail, telephone, or mail.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT

We may update this privacy statement from time to time when necessary to reflect changes in our products, how we use personal data, or the applicable law. When we make changes to the statement, they will become effective when posted, and we will change the "Last Updated" date at the top of the statement.  If we make material changes to the statement, we will provide notice or obtain consent regarding such changes as may be required by law.

HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have a privacy concern, complaint, request, or a question for TownNews, please contact us at privacy@townnews.com.

Our address is 1510 47th Avenue, Moline, IL, USA 61265. Telephone: +1-800-293-9576.