This website (“www.TexasObserver.org“) is owned by The Texas Democracy Foundation dba The Texas Observer. It is our policy to protect your personal information and to use it in accordance with this PrivacyPolicy. Please take a few moments to review our Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

The Texas Observer asks you to provide certain personally identifiable information in order to use certain “password required” features and functions of the website. By providing such information, you consent to our collection and use of it, as described in this Privacy Policy.

The information you provide may include information provided during the registration process: such as your name, address and email address, and financial information, such as a credit card number, if you donate, join, or order subscriptions or merchandise through the website. This information will be used to process your order and, if necessary, to contact you regarding the status of your order.

Information that you provide is the property of The Texas Observer. All of the information that you provide may be used by The Texas Observer to better serve you. The Texas Observer may also use this information to contact you about news, donation solicitations, events, and other opportunities. Ways we use information include:

The Texas Observer may use your contact information to get in touch with you regarding the status of your registration or any contributions or orders you may place. You may also be contacted by us regarding contribution receipts, additional solicitations or subscription specials, or requesting your feedback about your experience with TexasObserver.org.

The personally identifiable information that you provide to us and information about your order may be combined with other personally identifiable information (such as demographic information and past purchase history) available from our records and other sources. This information will be used to make our future marketing efforts more efficient. This information may also be shared with our third party service providers that assist us with our marketing efforts and with other marketers whose products or services we feel maybe of interest to you. If you prefer that we do not share your name and address with other marketers, please email us at [email protected].

TexasObserver.org may provide you with comment sections, personal blogs, or message boards for your use. In the event you voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information using such services, that information, along with any content in your communication or post, can be collected, correlated and used by third parties. This may result in unsolicited messages from third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of The Texas Observer. The Texas Observer does not assume any duty to monitor or review the contents of any comments or personal blogs.

Where technically feasible, the domain names of visitors to TexasObserver.org are automatically recognized by our server. The Texas Observer may use this information to track the number of visitors to the TexasObserver.org website and to see which pages and services on TexasObserver.org are visited most often.

The Texas Observer may provide links on TexasObserver.org to other sites of interest. The Texas Observer does not review or endorse the content of these sites or guarantee that they will abide by this Privacy Policy. Your use of such linked sites is subject to the terms, conditions and privacy policies of the providers of those sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy statements of each website that collects identifying information.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements when you visit our website(s). These companies may use aggregated information about your visits to this website in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to you.

Please note that your use of the TexasObserver.org website and services is subject to TexasObserver.org’sTerms and Conditions.

Sharing Your Information

BY WEBSITE OR PRINT

The Texas Democracy Foundation may publicly acknowledge donors by name and/or description of donation, unless the donor requests in writing that the donor does not wish to be publicly acknowledged. Donations may be acknowledged in the print magazine or on TexasObserver.org. If a donor choosesto opt out of any acknowledgment listings in printed material or on TexasObserver.org, please email [email protected], mark your public acknowledgment preferences on the on the donation returnpaperwork, call 800-939-6620 to request that your donation remain anonymous.

BY E-MAIL

Your privacy is important to us! Your email address will only be used by The Texas Observer. Youremail address will not be shared with any third parties although we reserve the right to present you withadvertisements on their behalf. TexasObserver.org collects emails so that we can send news alerts, donation solicitations, and event invitations and other opportunities that Texas Observer readers may findinteresting. You may unsubscribe to The Texas Observer email list at the bottom of Texas Observer emailsor email [email protected] to request to unsubscribe.

BY MAIL

The Texas Observer recognizes that readers may be interested in publications or organizations other thanthe The Texas Observer. Therefore, from time to time, The Texas Observer may make postal addresses available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. Please remember that, although The Texas Observer endeavors to select only reputable organizations who share our commitment to customer privacy, we are in no way responsible for the actions or policies of these other organizations. If you do not want to share your postal address with such other companies, call us at 1-800-939-6620 to speak to a customer service representative, email us at [email protected] or send a post card to:

The Texas Observer
Attn: Do Not Trade
P.O. Box #6421 Austin TX 78762
Be sure to include your own mailing address on your post card or email.

Other Uses of Information

The only other instances in which The Texas Observer may disclose your identifying information to third parties are: when it is required by law; when it is necessary to distribute materials that you request; andwhen you expressly request that your information be disclosed.

Agents

We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfillingorders, delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customerlists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, processing credit card payments, and providingcustomer service. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but arecontractually prohibited from using it for other purposes.

Major Business Transactions

In the event of a major business transaction, our customer information may be one of the transferredbusiness assets.

Use of Cookies

The use of cookies enables The Texas Observer to enhance your visits to the TexasObserver.org website. Cookies enable TexasObserver.org systems to recognize your browser. We use cookies in a limited way toidentify unique browsers that visit us and to track usage throughout our site.

The information about readership and site usage that we collect through cookies is aggregated into generalreports about readership and not tied to individual identities, with one exception. TexasObserver.org savesusage information collected solely for the use of our customer support team to help resolve problemssubscribers and donors may have.

Letters to the editor

The Observer asks senders of letters to the editor to include a phone number so we can make an effortto verify their identity should we need to in connection with publication of a letter. We do not retain thisinformation for any other purpose, nor do we sell, trade or otherwise disclose it to third parties.

“E-mail to a friend” feature

“E-mail a friend about this story” is a mail service that individual visitors to TexasObserver.org make use of to send individual e-mails. While this tool cannot be used to send mass “spam” mailings, TexasObserver.org has no control over how our visitors use it, and any e-mail sent through it originates with, and is the responsibility of the sender, not TexasObserver.org. We do not store or save these addresses and you will not receive e-mail or other communications from The Observer as a result of having used this feature.

Traffic data

Each time a visitor comes to TexasObserver.org, our servers — like most on the Web — collect some basictechnical information, including, for example, the visitor’s domain name, referral data and browser andplatform type.

We also count, track and aggregate the visitor’s activity into our analysis of general traffic flows at our site (e.g. tracking where traffic comes from, how traffic flows within the TexasObserver.org sites, etc.). Tothese ends, we may merge information about visitors and visits into group data, which may then be sharedon an aggregated basis with our supporters; but we will not disclose your individual identity or personallyidentifiable data without your permission.

Surveys

TexasObserver.org will from time to time conduct voluntary surveys of visitors to the site to obtain aggregatedemographic information about them. Such information may be compiled and shared in the aggregatewith advertisers and other third parties, but no personal details will be traceable or associated with specificindividuals.

Accessing and Updating Your Information

You can always choose not to provide information, to opt out of receiving communications from us or toupdate your information at any time. TexasObserver.org gives users the following options:

  1. Click on the “Unsubscribe” link included at the bottom of each of our e-mails and follow theinstructions on the web page.
  2. Send an e-mail to our friendly Customer Service representatives at [email protected] with your name and address.
  3. Call our Customer Service representatives toll free at 1-800-939-66204. Send a post card or letter with your request, name, and address to: The Texas Observer 307 W. 7thSt., Austin, TX 78701

Security Measures

Our sites have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. We work hard to protect the security of your information by using Secure Socket Layer(SSL) technology, the current standard for secure transactions over the Internet. There are some simple measures that you can take to promote protection of your information. First, to help protect the security of your account, do not share your password with others. Also, remember to “log off” after using any of ouronline services when you have finished using the website. While The Texas Observer strives to protect your information by using SSL and through measures to protect our system, such security cannot be ensured. Consequently, The Texas Observer does not ensure or warrant the security of information you transmit, and you do so at your own risk.

Third Party Providers

We also make some content, products and services available through our Services through cooperative relationships with third parties, where the brands of such third party appear prominently on the Services. We may share with such third party any information you provide, or that is collected, in the course of visiting any pages that are made available in cooperation with such third party. In some cases, the third party may collect information from you directly, in which cases the privacy policy of such third party may apply to its use of your information. The privacy policy of third parties may differ from ours. If you have any questions regarding the privacy policy of a third party, you should contact the third party directly for more information.

Privacy Policy Changes

TexasObserver.org may update this Privacy Policy periodically to better serve you.

For Further Information

If you choose to visit TexasObserver.org, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Privacy Policy. If you have questions or comments concerning this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at:

The Texas Observer
307 W 7th Street

Austin, Texas 78701

1.800.939.6620
Email: