last updated: 9/22/09

Online Trust Alliance, (OTA, Inc) is committed to protecting your privacy.  By accessing the Site, you are consenting to the information collection and use practices described in this privacy statement.

Collecting Your Personal Information
We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you (personal information) or allows us to contact you to provide a service or carry out a transaction that you have requested such as requesting information about OTA, ordering e-mail newsletters, joining OTA, signing up for an event or training. The personal information we collect may include your name, title, company or organization name, work e-mail, work phone, work or home address, information about your job function, information about your company, and credit card information.
 
When you register for an event on our site you are asked for your name, email address and billing information (such as credit card number and expiration date).  Although the event registration page has the same look and feel as https://otalliance.org you may actually submitting registration information to our third party service provider who then shares the information back with https://otalliance.org in order to fulfill your event registration request.  Please note that our privacy statement does apply and that our service provider must treat your personal information in accordance with our privacy statement.   Your security is important to our third party service provider.  When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card number) on the event registration form, they encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

The Site may collect certain anonymous information about your visit, such as the name of the Internet service provider and the Internet Protocol (IP) address through which you access the Internet; the date and time you access the Site; the pages that you access while at the Site and the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site. This information is used to help improve the Site, analyze trends, and administer the Site.

Use of Your Personal Information
The personal information collected through our offline forms will be used to operate the Site and to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized.

In support of these uses, OTA may use personal information to provide you with more effective customer service, to improve the Site and any related OTA products or services.  We may use your personal information to provide you with important information about the product or service that you are using, including critical updates and notifications. OTA occasionally hires other companies, consultants and contractors to provide limited services on our behalf, such as Web site hosting, packaging, public relations, mailing and, answering customer questions about products and services, and sending information about our products, special offers, and other new services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.   OTA may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on OTA or the Site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of OTA or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of OTA employees or agents, users of OTA products or services, or members of the public.

Control of Your Personal Information
Except as otherwise described in this statement, personal information you provide on the Site will not be shared outside of OTA without your permission.

Access to Your Personal Information
You can review and edit the personal information and any contact preferences provided at the Site by sending e-mail to staff@otalliance.org or in writing to:

Online Trust Alliance (OTA)
9057 Points Drive NE
Clyde Hill WA, 98004-1611

Security of Your Personal Information
OTA is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities. Additionally, we use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol on our site to ensure further safety of the information being transmitted while logged into your Membership account.

Cookies
We use both session ID and persistent cookies.  We use session cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our site. A session ID cookie expires when you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file. Persistent cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site including access to our member’s only area.   We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site.

The use of cookies by our partners or service providers is not covered by our privacy statement.  We do not have access or control over these cookies.  Our partners and service providers may utilize session ID cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our site, in order for you to register for events, pay membership dues, etc.

Changes to This Privacy Statement
We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. For material changes to this privacy statement, we will notify you either by placing a prominent notice on the home page of our web site or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.

Contact Information
OTA welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you believe that OTA has not adhered to this privacy statement, please contact us by e-mail at staff@otalliance.org or via postal mail at the address provided below, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.

Online Trust Alliance (OTA)
9057 Points Drive NE
Clyde Hill WA, 98004-1611
 
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by emailing us at staff@otalliance.org  or you may contact us at our address above or by phone at 425-985-1421.  

Online Trust Alliance (OTA) is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program.  TRUSTe is an independent, organization whose mission is to build user’s trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices.  This privacy statement covers the Web site https://otalliance.org.  Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.   If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact the Privacy Officer at staff@otalliance.org.  If you do not receive acknowledgement of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php.   TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with us to resolve your concerns.