Personal Information and Choice
"Personal information" is information about a natural person that identifies
or describes an individual, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social
security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education,
financial matters, and medical or employment history, readily identifiable to that
specific individual. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal
information, however, it is considered "electronically collected personal information".
According to Government Code § 11015.5, "Electronically collected personal
information" means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies
or describes an individual user, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social
security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education,
financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address,
and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information
manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether electronically or in written
form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users, serving in a business
capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of
that business.
"Electronically collected personal information" we automatically collect
includes your domain name or Internet Protocol address, and statistical information
about which web pages you visit. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that
asks for specific information (i.e. completing a request for assistance, personalizing
the content of the web site, sending an e-mail or participating in a survey) more detailed
data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your
choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the web site.
If any type of personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by
the user, state law, including Information Practices Act of 1977, Government Code Section
11015.5, and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information
may be a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection
and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or state law.
Additionally, departments and agencies of the State of California are required to
adhere to the Privacy Policy which is also accessible on this website.
A Special Note About Minors
Minors (under the age of 18) are not eligible to use services that require
submission of personal information and we require that minors do not
submit any personal information to us. This includes submitting personal
information to the State as part of a user profile or personalization
profile. If you are a minor, you can use these services only if used
together with your parents or guardians. If you are a minor you should
seek guidance from your parents.
If the state decides to begin collecting personal information from
minors, it will notify parents that it is being requested, disclose the
reasons for collecting it, and disclose our intended use for it. The
state will seek parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable
information. If it does collect it, parents may request information on
the type of data being collected, view their child's information and,
if they choose, prohibit the state from making further use of their child's
information. The state will not provide personal information about children
to third parties.
Information Collected and How It Is Used
We do collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to use
some of our services. Collection of this information is required to deliver the specific
services, but use of these services is voluntary.
If you do nothing during your visit to the web site, but browse or download information,
we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:
- The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used but not the e-mail address.
- The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your
Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol
Address to direct Internet traffic to you and generate statistics used in the management
of this site;
- The type of browser and operating system you used;
- The date and time you visited this site;
- The web pages or services you accessed at this site;
- The web site you visited prior to coming to this web site;
- The web site you visit as you leave this web site;
- If you downloaded a form, the form that was downloaded.
The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of
our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This
information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering web site statistics.
The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps
us to analyze our web site to continually improve the value of the materials available.
Our web site logs do not identify a visitor by personal information, and we make no
attempt to link other web sites with the individuals that browse the State's web site.
Government Code § 11015.5 (6) prohibits all state agencies from distributing
or selling any electronically collected personal information as defined above, about
users to any third party without the permission of the user. The State does not sell
any "electronically collected personal information". Any distribution of "electronically
collected personal information" will be solely for the purposes for which it was
provided to us.
The State may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory
information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed
and all relevant legal protections still apply to the State's web sites.
What happens to information you submit to us?
If you choose to submit information to us the information will be transmitted through
secure lines to our departmental database. Any private information will only be used
for the purposes for which it was provided and will not be shared with another entity
except as prescribed by law. Please see our Privacy Policy for additional information.
Use of Internet Request for Assistance Form Information
Any information you provide to us will only be shared with entities involved in your
case as necessary. Information you provide may be included with other consumers' information
to be used for statistical reporting, trending data, and/or investigative actions.
For example, we may need to retain information that becomes part of an enforcement
action or consumer complaint case for a period of time after the closing date of the
case.
If you provide us with information regarding an issue that does not fall within our
regulatory jurisdiction, we may refer your information to the appropriate local, state,
or federal agency on your behalf.
Surveys
If during your visit to the State's web site you participate in a survey or send an
e-mail, the following additional information will be collected:
- The email address and contents of the email; and
- Information volunteered in response to the survey.
The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio,
video, and graphic information formats you send us. The information is retained in
accordance with Government Code §11015.5.
If You Send Us Email
You may choose to provide us with personal information, as in email with a comment
or question. We use the information to improve our service to you or to respond to
your request. Sometimes we forward your email to other State employees who may be
better able to help you, and this staff may be employed by a different agency within
the State. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law,
we do not share our e-mail with any other organizations.
We use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address
issues you identify, to further improve our web site, or to forward the e-mail to another
agency for appropriate action.
Order Forms
If you place an order with us, we request information from the user on our order form.
A user must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial
information (like credit card number, expiration date]. This information is used for
billing purposes and to fill your order/request. If we have trouble processing an order,
this contact information is used to get in touch with you.
Pupblic Disclosure
In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that
the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state
government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access
public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy
of individuals. Both state and federal laws provide exceptions.
All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to
inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event
of a conflict between this Use Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices
Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information
Practices Act or other applicable law will control.
Personal Information
Under Government Code §11015.5, if you choose you may have any personal information
collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution, provided we are contacted
in a timely fashion.
Automatic Collection of Information/Cookies
Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. The main
State portal does not use cookies to maintain personalization, however some departmental
applications may.
The State makes every attempt to avoid the use of cookies. When needed to maintain
the functionality of an application, unlike the common usage of cookies, the State
only uses cookies during the session in which you access our interactive applications.
Cookies created on your computer by using this web site do not contain "personal
information" and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie
feature only to store a randomly generated identifying temporary tag on your computer.
You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any
of the widely available methods. However, if you turn your cookie option off you may
not be able to access some of the features in our interactive applications.
Security
The State, as developer and manager of this web site, has taken several steps to safeguard
the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but
not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures
have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the
entire State operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management.
This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other
advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via the State's
supported web site. The technical standards governing security are enforced by the
Department of Information Technology.
Links to Other Sites
Our web site has links to sites we felt might be useful to you and which may provide
services. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject
to the privacy policy of the new site.
This web site and the information it contains are provided as a public service by
the State of California. This system is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify
the functioning of applicable security features, and for comparable purposes. Anyone
using this system expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify
any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or
to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may
result in criminal prosecution.
Limitation of Liability
The State attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its web site. Any
errors, or omissions should be reported for investigation.
The State makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness,
or adequacy of the contents of this web site and expressly disclaims liability for
errors and omissions in the contents of this web site. No warranty of any kind, implied,
expressed or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement
of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and
freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this web site
or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference in this web site to any specific
commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation
name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute
endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of California, or their employees
or agents.
This Use Policy is subject to change without notice.
Ownership
In general, information presented on this web site, unless otherwise indicated, is
considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law.
However, the State does make use of copyrighted data (e.g., photographs) which may
require additional permissions prior to your use. Furthermore, the unique branding
of the site and various official seals and marks may not be used without permission
of the State. In order to use any information on this web site not owned or created
by the State you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources.
The State shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge,
all information submitted via this site except those submissions made under separate
legal contract. The State shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts,
or techniques contained in information provided through this site.