Privacy Policy

Effective: December 1, 2018

We understand and respect your concerns about privacy. This notice describes the Privacy Policy of Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (“SOCCA” or “we”) that applies when you visit our website (the “Website”), when you use the software or software applications made available through the Website or when you otherwise communicate with us. We want you to understand what types of information we collect and what may happen to that information.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, you should contact us at info@socca.org.

USER ACCOUNTS, REGISTRATION AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

You are not required to create a user account or provide any personal information in order to visit our Website. If you are required to create a user account (or otherwise provide personal information), however, to download software or software applications then during registration, you will be asked to provide certain categories of personally identifiable information, such as your name and email address. If you choose to subscribe to our paid membership service, you will be asked to provide credit card or other payment information. This information may be transmitted to a third party payment processor to enable us to process your payments. Such third party processors’ use of your personal information is governed by their respective privacy policies which may or may not contain privacy protections as protective as this privacy policy. We also collect information if you contact us for support or help or otherwise communicate with us.

PASSIVE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

In addition to the information that you provide to us discussed above, SOCCA collects information about how you interact with our Website. The types of passive information we collect include your IP address, which type of browser you are using, where you go on the Website and other information related to your Website use and traffic patterns. This passive information does not identify you to SOCCA by name, and SOCCA does not link your IP address to your personally identifiable information. SOCCA compiles aggregated data by combining information from many users, without including any information that could be used to identify you or anyone else by name.

We also, with respect to users using SOCCA software, may collect information regarding the use of such software and we associate this information collected with the applicable user so that we can deliver, operate and improve our software services. In this regard, we may collect information about your use of our software, such as what path you took to arrive at the software, what parts of the software you used the most, your performance metrics in the software, and other information related to your use of the software.

In addition to the methods described above, we may also collect information using cookies, web beacons or other technologies. Cookies are small files placed on your hard drive that assist us in providing customized services; for example, the use of cookies allows us to reduce the frequency with which you will need to enter your password on password-protected areas of the Website. Additionally, in some cases, certain functionalities are only feasible through the use of a cookie. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although in that case you may not be able to use certain features on the Website, you may be required to enter your password more frequently during a session, and you may be unable to install or use certain SOCCA software. Cookies and other technologies make our Website, software and services easier to use and help us customize and personalize your experience on such platforms.

Under California law, website and online service operators are required to disclose how they respond to web browser “do not track” signals or other similar mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personal information about a consumer’s online activities over time and across third party websites, to the extent the operator engages in that collection. We do not track our users’ personal information over time and across third-party websites and therefore this requirement does not apply to us. California law also requires website and online service operators to disclose whether third parties may collect personal information about their consumer’s online activities over time and across different sites when the consumers use the operator’s website or service. We do not knowingly permit any third parties to collect any personal information about our users over time and across different sites.

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION FROM CHILDREN

We comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires us to notify and obtain consent from a parent or guardian before we collect, use and disclose the personal information of anyone under 13 years of age. SOCCA will not knowingly collect any personal information from young people under the age of 18, unless SOCCA provides notice that such information is being collected and obtains verifiable parental consent.

USE OF INFORMATION

SOCCA uses the information you provide to deliver, operate and improve our Website, software and services. We may also use your contact information to respond to your inquiries, to provide customer support and to supply any products or services you have requested. If you choose to receive email messages related to the products or services available through the Website, the information you provide will be used for those purposes. If you download software, we may contact you to inform you that updates are available or with other pertinent information.
Because we use the information we collect to measure and improve our Website, products, software and services, we may also contact you occasionally to obtain feedback from you through customer surveys, but you are not obligated to participate in such surveys if you do not wish to do so.

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

We may participate in joint marketing, strategic partnerships, and other service offerings with non-affiliated third parties. Our Website may contain links to third-party sites, and third parties may provide you with an opportunity to install our software, from or through their websites. These third parties may also collect information from you in connection with your use of our software or otherwise.

Except as otherwise expressly included in this Privacy Policy, this document only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. To the extent that you disclose your information to other parties, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control, or to people that we do not employ or manage. Please check the privacy policy at each site you visit.

SHARING OF INFORMATION

We will not share your contact information with any third parties unless you ask us to do so or provide consent for the disclosure. SOCCA may share aggregated data and related usage information with third parties, but this aggregate information does not contain any personal information which can identify you or any other individual user. We do not control how third parties disclose or use the information we share with them.

We may also work with third parties that we refer to as internal service providers to facilitate or outsource one or more aspects of the business, product and service operations that we provide to you, and we may provide some of your personal information directly to these internal service providers. The internal service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements with us and other legal restrictions that prohibit their use of the information we provide to them for any other purpose except to facilitate the specific outsourced operation, unless you have explicitly agreed or given your prior permission to them for additional uses. If you provide additional information to an internal service provider directly, then their use of your personal information is governed by their applicable privacy policy.

While SOCCA strives to protect the personal information of our users, SOCCA will release personal information if required by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary. Due to the existing regulatory environment, we cannot ensure that all of your private communications and other personal information will never be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this Privacy Policy. By way of example (without limiting the foregoing), we may be forced to disclose personal information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, or users may abuse or misuse your personal information that they collect as a result of your use of our Website, products, software or services. Therefore, although we use industry standard practices to protect your privacy, we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information or private communications will always remain private.

SECURITY

SOCCA has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and/or unauthorized alteration of the information under our control or under the control of our service providers. Your personally identifiable information is protected by utilizing both online and offline security methods, including firewalls, passwords and restricted physical access to the places where your information is stored. Your user account information is kept on a secured server behind a firewall. Our staff is trained to comply with our security procedures, and our security procedures are regularly reviewed and revised, if necessary.

EMAIL OPT-OUT

If you have consented to our disclosure of your personally identifiable information to third parties as set forth above, but later wish to opt out and withdraw such consent, you may do so by contacting us at info@socca.org. However, if you wish to stop receiving communications from a third party to whom we provided your information prior to your withdrawal of consent, you must contact that third party directly, as we have no control over their communications or use of your information. Please take this into consideration before consenting to our disclosure of your information to such third parties.

AMENDMENTS

Please note this Privacy Policy will change from time to time. We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the amended terms on the Website. All amended terms shall automatically be effective 30 days after they are initially posted on the Website. If we make any material changes to our Privacy Policy that affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Website notifying users that our Privacy Policy has changed. Our use of your personally identifiable information shall be governed by the terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy in effect at the time of such use.

This Privacy Policy is effective upon acceptance in registration for new registering users, and is otherwise effective on the date first set forth above for all users.

If you have questions about any of the provisions described above, please contact us at info@socca.org or via the other contact information listed above.