Please note that our Privacy Policy has been updated. Please click here to view the updates.
CK-12™ PRIVACY POLICY
Effective as of August 1, 2008 (last updated June 21, 2016)
This Privacy Policy constitutes an integral part of the Terms of Use for the CK-12 Platform (as defined in the Terms of Use). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein are as defined in the Terms of Use.
CK-12 Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to free educational content (“CK-12” or “we”) respects your online privacy. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you regarding:
(1) what information we may collect from or about you, and how we collect such information;
(2) how we use such information; and
(3) what rights and choices you have regarding such information.
PLEASE READ OUR ENTIRE PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE CK-12 PLATFORM.
By using the CK-12 Platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy in its entirety, and agree to be bound by its terms. If you do not agree to any of the terms contained in our Privacy Policy, please refrain from using the CK-12 Platform or disclosing personal information on the CK-12 Platform. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a minor (i.e., a person under the age of 18), you understand and acknowledge that use of the CK-12 Platform by such minor is subject to our Privacy Policy.
1. NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
Effective January 1, 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 requires that, if a business has an established business relationship with a California resident and has within the immediately preceding calendar year shared such resident’s personal information with any third party for such third party’s direct marketing purposes, then the business must disclose such information-sharing to the resident upon request, including what personal information was shared, and with whom it was shared. However, a business is deemed in compliance with the foregoing if: (1) it has a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer’s personal information with third parties for direct marketing purposes without the customer’s consent (either opt-in or opt-out); and (2) it provides the customer upon request with a notice of his/her choice to prevent such sharing and a cost-free means to exercise that choice. As a general matter, consent by “opt-in” means that a business will not share a customer’s personal information with third parties for their direct marketing use, unless the customer affirmatively consents to such sharing (e.g., by checking a box or clicking on a button to manifest consent). On the other hand, consent by “opt-out” means that a business may share a customer’s personal information with third parties for their direct marketing use, unless the customer expressly disallows or objects to such sharing (e.g., by checking a box or clicking on a button to manifest disallowance or objection).
As a non-profit, we DO NOT knowingly share your personal information with third parties for their direct marketing use. California residents may request an information-sharing disclosure from us by emailing your request to legal@ck12.org. Please note that, under the law, we are not required to respond to your request more than once in a calendar year, nor are we required to respond to any requests that are not sent to the above-designated email address.
2. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
We reserve the right to modify our Privacy Policy from time to time in our sole discretion. For example, we may amend our Privacy Policy in order to address new developments in federal and state consumer privacy laws, or to conform to changing industry practices. If we make changes to our Privacy Policy, we will announce and post such changes on the CK-12 Platform for the general public. If you are a Member, we may also notify you of the changes via email and may ask you to affirmatively consent to and accept the changes at the time of your next account login on the CK-12 Platform. By continuing to use the CK-12 Platform after such notice and consent, you are bound by our Privacy Policy as modified.
3. INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU
(1) Personal Information:
This refers to personally identifiable information about a User, such as first and last name, telephone number, email address, mailing address, birth date, profile photo, and account login information (i.e., username and password). It also includes information that may be uniquely linked to a User as a result of his/her visit to the CK-12 Platform, such as server log file data and session information (which is explained in more detail in subsection (d) below). Many areas and features on the CK-12 Platform are open to all Users, therefore, you may access them without having to disclose any personal information. However, access to certain areas and features on the CK-12 Platform will require registration, in which case you will be asked to provide certain personal information in order to complete the registration. The following describes the circumstances in which we may collect personal information from and about Users:
(a) Electronic Mailing Lists: We use electronic mailing lists to send news, updates, announcements, newsletters, and other CK-12 communications to Users via email. To join our electronic mailing lists, you will need to provide your email address. You may opt out of our mailing lists at any time. Once you opt out, we will not reuse your email address unless you rejoin our mailing lists or otherwise opt in to receive electronic communications from us (see Section 5 below for further information on opt-out).
(b) Survey and Feedback Forms: We may use online survey and feedback forms to gather opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the CK-12 Platform from our Users. Survey and feedback forms may be completed and submitted by Users anonymously without disclosing any personal information. However, should you choose to voluntarily disclose personal information to us, we will collect such information.
(c) Member Registration: Certain areas and features on the CK-12 Platform are accessible only to registered Members, such as the FlexBook Platform™. To register as a Member, you will be asked to provide your name, email address, birth date, and a password. We collect birth date information for age verification purposes. [NOTE: If you are under the age of 13, you will be asked to provide your name and your parent’s or teacher’s email address instead, and we will send a notification email to your parent or teacher so that he/she can create a CK-12 account for you.] Users who are 13 or older can also register on the CK-12 Platform through their Google, Facebook, Twitter or Microsoft accounts. When a user registers using a Google, Facebook, Twitter or Microsoft account, we will automatically receive that user’s name, email, gender, and profile photo from Google, Facebook, Twitter or Microsoft (as the case may be).
When registering, you may (optional) provide general information about yourself, such as occupation, professional experience, education, institution/school affiliations, and interests, and if you choose you may also include a profile photo of yourself. Please note that your first name and your general profile (including your profile photo) – but not your last name, email address, birth date, and your login password – will be “public” information, meaning that they will be viewable and accessible by others on the CK-12 Platform. Also, all User Postings made by you will automatically be linked to your username and profile, so they will be visible to others in connection with your postings. Note that your last name, email address, birth date, and your login password will be kept private by CK-12 and will not be published or shared with others by CK-12 (subject to limited exceptions specified in Section 4 below). Of course, if you choose to publish or otherwise share with others your personal information (e.g., disclosing your personal information in your User Postings), then others will have access to your personal information.
(d) Log Files and Cookies: Our web servers may automatically generate log files that contain data linked to individual Users, such as IP address, browser type, operating system, ISP domain name, referring/exit page, date/time stamp, clickstream data, etc. Also, the CK-12 Platform may use “cookies” to collect session information about individual Users’ visits to the CK-12 Platform (see Section 6 below for more information about cookies).
(2) Non-Personal Information:
This refers to any information that does not identify a User personally. For example, we may gather demographic and/or other aggregate data about our Users as a group. Also, we may use online survey and feedback forms to gather opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the CK-12 Platform on an anonymous basis from our Users; occasionally, we report quoted feedback from Users, but we do not attribute feedback to individual Users unless we have permission from a User to use his or her name along with the feedback. We collect and use non-personal information to administer and monitor the CK-12 Platform, to analyze CK-12 Platform traffic and usage patterns and trends, to improve the functionality of the CK-12 Platform, and to enable us to personalize and better Users’ experience on the CK-12 Platform. When we report information about the Site to our partners and investors, we report non-personal information only.
4. HOW WE USE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
(1) Use by CK-12. If you voluntarily disclose to us, we will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it is intended. For example: (a) if you join our electronic mailing lists, we will use your email address to send you news, updates, announcements, newsletters, and other electronic communications from CK-12 (including notices of any material change in our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, and notices of any actual or suspected security breach or compromise involving your personal information); (b) if you voluntarily include your name or email address when answering our survey or feedback forms, we may use your email to communicate with you regarding the feedback given by you and may, with your permission, attribute the feedback to you personally; (c) if you register as a Member, we will use your personal information for all purposes related to your membership and your use of the CK-12 Platform as a Member, including, without limitation: providing administrative, maintenance and support services to Member accounts; responding to Member inquiries, requests and complaints; providing Members with news, updates, announcements, newsletters, etc. about the CK-12 Platform and CK-12; and notifying Members of any material change in our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use as well as of any actual or suspected security breach or compromise involving Members’ personal information; and (d) we use log file data and cookie session information internally for the operation of the CK-12 Platform as well as to generate and analyze aggregate data about our Users as a group; when we report information about the CK-12 Platform to our partners and investors, we only report aggregate data and do not knowingly report log file data or cookie session information that is linked to individual Users.
(2) Sharing with Third Parties. Except in the limited circumstances specified below, we DO NOT knowingly share your personal information with third parties:
(a) We may share your personal information with our service providers who need to access such information in order to provide support, maintenance, or other services for the operation or improvement of the CK-12 Platform (“Service Providers”). We require that our Service Providers comply with this Privacy Policy and limit their use of your personal information solely to the purposes for which it was disclosed by CK-12, and that they maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of such information and not make any further disclosure to others.
(b) We may disclose your personal information to third parties if doing so is required by law or, in our good faith belief, is reasonably necessary to:
(i) comply with legal process;
(ii) enforce this Privacy Policy and/or the Terms of Use;
(iii) respond to claims that any User Postings violate the rights of third parties;
(iv) respond to an emergency; or
(v) protect the rights, property or safety of CK-12, its Users, and/or the public.
(c) Lastly, if CK-12 is acquired by or merged with or into another entity, or if all or substantially all of our assets are transferred to another entity, your personal information may be transferred to such entity as part of the transaction, and that entity and its affiliates may use your personal information under the terms of their own privacy policies which may differ from this Privacy Policy.
IN NO EVENT DO WE KNOWINGLY SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH OTHERS FOR THEIR DIRECT MARKETING USE.
5. USER CHOICES AND OPT-OUT
(1) Membership Cancellation. You may at any time request to cancel and have your membership account removed from the CK-12 Platform, provided that your request to cancel is in writing and sent to CK-12 via email support@ck12.org or via facsimile (650) 494-1313.
(2) Electronic Mailings. When you register as a Member, you may opt out of receiving electronic mailings from CK-12 by indicating your preference in your account settings. If you have previously opted in to receive electronic mailings from CK-12, you may at any time opt out of receiving further electronic mailings from CK-12 by using the “opt out” or “subscribe” means provided in the electronic mailings already received from CK-12, or by emailing us at support@ck12.org. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by registering as a Member, you expressly agree that CK-12 may provide security breach notices required by law as well as notices regarding material changes in our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, to you via email, and you specifically consent to continuing to receive such notices via email from CK-12 even after your opt-out, unless you choose to cancel your membership.
(3) Update and Correction. As a Member, you may log into your account at any time to modify, update and correct your account information. However, you understand and acknowledge that certain personal information (e.g., your name and email address) cannot be deleted without CK-12 having to cancel your membership account. Please refer to subsection (1) above regarding membership cancellation.
6. COOKIES
Cookies are small data files that websites and online services send to and store on your computer or mobile device through your web browser (if you allow). Cookies enable websites and online services to recognize your browser and record certain information about your visits. We use cookies on the CK-12 Platform to help us remember who you are, to enhance and personalize your experience, to understand and save your preferences for future visits, to compile information about our users, and to carry out other tasks relating to the operation or improvement of the CK-12 Platform. We may also use information collected from cookies together with other information we have collected from our users. We do not, however, use cookies to access information on your computer or mobile device. Most web browsers are initially set to accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to notify you when you are sent a cookie, giving you the ability to accept or reject it, or you can choose to routinely and manually delete cookies stored on your computer or mobile device. Each time you revisit the CK-12 Platform, your ability to restrict our use of cookies on that service is subject to your browser settings and limitations at the time. Please note that if you choose to disable or reject cookies from us, the CK-12 Platform or portions thereof may become inaccessible or may not function properly. For more information on how to manage cookies, visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/. To manage Adobe Local Shared Objects (also known as LSOs or Flash cookies), please visit http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html.
We may also use “web beacons” (also known as “clear GIFs,” “pixel tags,” etc.) – which are small bits of code embedded in web pages or in emails – to deliver or communicate with cookies, to count users who have visited a web page, and to understand usage patterns. We may include web beacons in emails to help us recognize activities such as when an email was opened, how many times an email was forwarded, which links in the email were clicked on, etc. Web beacons cannot be declined when delivered via a regular web page. However, web beacons can be refused when delivered via email. If you do not wish to receive web beacons via email, you will need to disable HTML images or refuse HTML (select Text only) emails via your email software.
In addition, we use Google Analytics to collect and analyze information about our users’ demographics and interests in order to measure and improve the CK-12 Platform.
7. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES
The CK-12 Platform may contain links to certain third-party websites, including the websites of third-party service providers who can help Members print and compile their FlexBook™ textbooks. CK-12 does not own, control or operate such linked sites, and is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of such linked sites. Privacy policies and practices for such linked sites may differ from our Privacy Policy and practices. You access and use such linked sites entirely and solely at your own risk. We urge you to read the privacy policies of such linked sites before disclosing your personal information on such sites.
8. SECURITY
We at CK-12 understand the importance of protecting the security and integrity of personal information that our Users have shared with us. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet and no data storage can be 100% secure. Consequently, while we will use reasonable efforts to safeguard your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure, we do not warrant or guarantee the security of any information you transmit to, from or on the CK-12 Platform. We will notify you in the event we become aware of a breach or suspected breach of the security of your personal information stored by us. We urge you to keep your account login information in a safe place and not to divulge it to anyone. Also, remember to sign off your account and close your browser window when you have finished your visit. This is to ensure that others cannot access your account, especially if you are sharing a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place such as a library or an Internet cafe.
9. CONTACT US
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
CK-12 Foundation
3430 W. Bayshore Rd., Suite 101
Palo Alto, CA 94303
USA
Tel: 650-494-1302
Fax: 650-494-1313
Email: legal@ck12.org
