PRIVACY STATEMENT
Effective April 2021
We know that you care how information about you is used and shared and we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Statement (“Privacy Statement”) sets forth our policy with respect to the collection, use, and dissemination of information we obtain from you through our website PTC.ORG.
The following terms in this Privacy Statement have the indicated meanings:
- “Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;
- “Registered User” means a person who has registered on behalf of his/herself and the company that he/she represents in order to access and use content provided only to Registered Users via the website;
- “User Information” means, individually or collectively, registration information, tracking information, cookie data, and any other information that you provide to us via the website;
- “Visitor” means a person, other than a Registered User, who accesses any portion of the PTC website (“Site”) that is accessible without entering a username and password;
- “we,” “us,” “our,” “Pacific Telecommunications Council,” and “PTC” means Pacific Telecommunications Council; and
- “you” and “your” means a Visitor or a Registered User, as applicable.
Information Collected
In order to provide you with the best services, we may collect several types of personal information about you, as described below:
- Information We Collect Automatically. We may collect your IP address, location information, and information about how you use our Services. If you sign into our website, we may also collect information regarding your account access.
- Other Information You Provide to Us. When completing forms on our website or receiving customer service or support, we may ask for information including, but not limited to, your name, job title, employer, address, country of residence, email address, telephone number, industry category, interests, and payment information so we may provide the best customer service possible.
- Information from Third Parties. At times, we may use third-party products and/or services to collect information about you. For instance, we may use analytics and marketing automation software to learn about how you use our Services. As another example, we may collect information you choose to share with us via email, survey and data collection software, etc. If you choose to opt-in to use services, such as our event meeting and messaging systems or online conferencing platforms, we may collect information about who you communicate and/or meet with and what you communicate about via the systems.
Finally, we may collect data that is not Personal Data. We may use and distribute any such data at our discretion, unless it is combined with Personal Data, in which case we will treat it as Personal Data subject to this Privacy Statement.
Use of Collected Information
We primarily use Personal Data collected through the Services for the following purposes:
- Providing services such as reports, event registrations, information you request via this website or other channels, access to event meeting and messaging systems or online conferencing platforms, and customer service or support;
- Customer service and support to work through an issue and provide you with appropriate assistance;
- Business operations to improve our products and services and to customize your experience with us;
- Marketing and communications to share newsletters, reports, promote events, and keep you informed about opportunities to engage or participate with PTC; and
- Employment or other engagement for individuals applying for employment with PTC to process and evaluate your application and, if you are engaged (hired), in connection with your engagement.
When information is collected from you, the description of how we will use the Personal Data will be available to you at the time of collection through this Privacy Statement.
Sharing of Collected Information
Some of the above uses involve sharing collected Personal Data with third parties. We may share Personal Data with (i) visitors to our website through various directories, (ii) partners and vendors, and (iii) others who use our Services. For instance, if you are part of PTC’s leadership and/or speak at or otherwise participate in one of our events, we may share your name, job title, company name, country, photograph, and biography as part of our informational or promotional materials such as our online and/or printed programs, mobile apps, digital kiosks, and advertisements. If you register, RSVP, or attend one of our events, we may share your name, job title, company name, and country with other attendees as part of event attendee lists. We may also share your name, job title, company name, country, and email address with partners and vendors. If you are a member of the press attending one of our events, we may share your name, job title, company name, country, and email address with website visitors upon their request as part of the event press list. If you or your company is a PTC Member, we may share your name and country or your company’s name and country online and/or in print. We may also share your name, job title, company name, address (including country), phone number, email address, and website URL with other PTC Members via the PTC Member Directory online. If you are a researcher, we may share your name, job title, organization name, country, phone number, email address, biography, areas of expertise, and links to your curriculum vitae and recent publications with website visitors via our Researchers Directory and/or our ICT4D Directory.
With your consent and as necessary, we may share your Personal Data to complete a transaction or provide a service that you have requested or authorized. We may share your Personal Data for a variety of other purposes. For instance, if you opt in to use our event meeting and messaging systems or online conferencing platforms, we may share information such as your name, job title, employer, country, and email address with the service provider (“Provider”) and other users. We may also share information such as your name, job title, company name, mailing address, email address, and phone numbers with partners and vendors to provide you with goods and/or services such as payment processing, event meeting space (e.g., rooms, suites, cabanas) and function venues, hotel room drops, and exhibit and/or meeting cubicles. When you visit an exhibit or cubicle at an event, participate in a conference online or in person or otherwise interact with our event sponsors, partners, vendors or exhibitors, we may share your personal information with those event sponsors, partners, vendors or exhibitors.
We may share your Personal Data with Providers who require such information in order to provide services to you or to us. Examples of such Personal Data shared with Providers may include, but is not limited to your name, job title, company name, email address, industry category, primary interests, and other Personal Data provided by you.
We may share your Personal Data with sponsors, partners, or vendors who may contact you for their own purposes during the course of our business relationship with you, as permitted or required by law. We will access, transfer, disclose, and retain information about you if you direct us to do so, if we are required by law to do so, or in other legally limited circumstances (for example, as noted above, to protect your account from fraud, to enforce our and our Providers’ Terms of Use, or as we reasonably deem necessary to respond to requests from government agencies or law enforcement). In addition, if all or a part of PTC is sold or if management is transferred to another entity, we may transfer or replicate some or all of the Personal Data we have stored about you to our successor.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
“Cookies” are pieces of data sent from a web server to a web browser that help the web server to understand usage patterns on a website. We use cookies so that we can provide you with a better website experience. We use services like Google Analytics to help us analyze how our visitors use the site. If you choose to block cookies, some features and functions within the website may be impacted, including your ability to access and edit your account or register for events.
We may use the information you provide in your account to populate other databases maintained by us and our service providers, as applicable. By creating a user account, you are agreeing that we may use the Personal Data you provide for these purposes. You can view, update, or remove any Personal Data that you have provided to us for inclusion in your account by amending your account online or emailing privacy@ptc.org. If you subsequently elect to remove your account access, we will have the right to use any Personal Data previously provided by you for inclusion in your user account for record keeping and quality assurance purposes. If you choose not to create a user account, you can still use our websites to search for and access information.
Security of Collected Information
We maintain a risk-based approach for deploying physical, administrative, and technical security measures to protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of your Personal Data. However, it is important to note that no method of safeguarding information ensures complete security. While we endeavor to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee (or be accountable/liable) that such safeguards will eliminate all risk to the security of your Personal Data.
Your Rights Regarding Personal Data
Users of our Services, including you, have a variety of legal rights regarding the processing of Personal Data. These rights vary depending on applicable law, but may include by way of example:
- the right to know what Personal Data we maintain about you;
- the right to know with whom we have shared your Personal Data;
- the right to receive a copy of your Personal Data; and
- the right to access, correct, or delete your Personal Data.
You may exercise any rights you have under applicable law with respect to Personal Data by contacting us as described below. We may request additional information from you to authenticate any such requests. In addition, you may be able to view, access, correct, or delete some or all of the Personal Data through our Consent and User Account Update Protocol and Procedures.
Email, Opt-Out, and Marketing Communications
If you no longer wish to receive email communications from us, you may unsubscribe by referring to the instructions within the email or by contacting us at the address below. If you do business with us, you may not be able to opt out of certain automated notifications (e.g., confirmation, welcome, and post-departure emails) depending on the particular transaction.
Changes to Our Privacy Statement
We reserve the right, at any time, to add to, change, update, or modify this Privacy Statement so please review it frequently. When we update the Privacy Statement, we will revise the “Effective” date listed at the top of this page. If you do not agree with any changes or modifications to the Privacy Statement, please do not continue using our products and services. You will be deemed to have consented to any modification of the Privacy Statement when you use our products and services after the effective date of the modification.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, our privacy practices, or the processing of your Personal Data, please contact us. We welcome your questions and suggestions about our Privacy Statement and will use reasonable efforts to respond in a timely manner. Please email us at privacy@ptc.org or write to us using the address below:
- Attn: Privacy Office
- 914 Coolidge Street
- Honolulu, HI 96826-3085
- USA
Privacy Statement for Data Subjects Whose Personal Data May Be Collected in the European Union
EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (“GDPR”). PTC is a global brand and thus individuals from within the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may visit our website, attend one of our conferences, or subscribe to our publications. In order to serve these individuals, we may transfer Personal Data from the individuals (“Data Subjects”) located within the EEA. Personal Data that may be collected by us from a Data Subject in the EEA may include:
- name;
- job title;
- employer information;
- address;
- telephone number;
- email address;
- social media profile;
- biography; and
- payment information.
Because of PTC’s diversity of members and conference attendees, we must potentially deal with local supervisory authorities in all EU states where we have an existing business relationship with a Data Subject. Additionally, information that we collect may be transferred outside of the EEA, including to countries such as the United States, which have not been deemed as having “adequate” security measures by the European Commission. In these cases, your Personal Data will be transferred only after obtaining your consent.
LAWFUL GROUNDS TO PROCESS AND OBTAIN CONSENT. Data Subjects whose Personal Data is collected in the EEA may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis for processing their information. Should a Data Subject withdraw consent for processing or otherwise object to processing that impedes PTC’s ability to comply with applicable regulations, a Data Subject may be unable to avail him/herself of the services that PTC provides.
DATA SUBJECTS’ RIGHTS. Data Subjects in the EEA whose Personal Data is held by PTC have the right to:
- ask what information PTC holds about them and why;
- ask for a copy of such information or access to such information;
- be informed how to correct or keep that information up to date; and
- be informed on how PTC is meeting its data protection obligations.
Furthermore, for data collected in the EEA, Data Subjects have the right to:
- ask for a copy of such information to be sent to a third party;
- ask for data to be erased if possible and required under the GDPR;
- ask for processing of Personal Data to be restricted if possible and required under GDPR;
- object to processing of Personal Data if possible and required under GDPR;
- object to automated decision-making where applicable; and
- contact a supervisory authority in the EEA to lodge a complaint regarding PTC’s processing of your Personal Data
When handling a data access or correction request, we check the identity of the requesting party to ensure that he or she is the person legally entitled to make such request. Such requests are provided free of charge, however, a reasonable fee may be applied to cover our administrative costs incurred for requests that are manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive.
AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING. PTC does not engage in automated decision-making activities.
NON-DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. PTC does not share any Personal Data with any nonaffiliated third parties, except in the following circumstances:
- as necessary to provide the service that the customer has requested or authorized, or to maintain and service the customer’s account;
- as required by regulatory authorities or law enforcement officials who have jurisdiction over PTC and its affiliates or as otherwise required by any applicable law; and
- to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent fraud and unauthorized transactions.
PTC personnel are prohibited, either during or after termination of their employment, from disclosing Personal Data to any person or entity outside PTC, including family members, except under the circumstances described above. An employee is permitted to disclose Personal Data only to such other employees who need to have access to such information to deliver our services to the customer.
PTC CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PERSONS LOCATED WITHIN THE EEA. If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or Switzerland and have questions or concerns regarding the processing of your Personal Data, you may email us at privacy@ptc.org or write to us at:
- Attn: Privacy Office
- 914 Coolidge Street
- Honolulu, HI 96826-3085
- USA
If, as an EEA citizen, you believe that PTC has not adequately resolved any such issues, you have the right to contact the EU supervisory authority.
NOTE: We are currently working on updating our Privacy Statement. Please check back periodically to ensure you read the latest version.
Privacy Statement
The Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) takes privacy and data protection issues seriously. This Privacy Statement has been designed to explain how PTC handles personally identifiable information collected from members and others who register for services requiring the submission of information to PTC.
PTC has long recognized that individuals with whom it conducts business value their privacy. At the same time, in order to conduct global business in an increasingly electronic economy, the collection of personal information is often necessary and desirable for membership services, monetary transactions, and other uses in conjunction with the delivery of services. It is PTC’s goal to balance the benefits of e-commerce with the rights of individuals to prevent the misuse of their personal information.
Personal Information
In general, you can visit the PTC site without divulging any personal information. PTC will collect personal information from you, such as your name, e-mail address, company name, telephone number, and limited demographic data when its events and services are being purchased and for membership purposes. There are other instances, when using the site, where PTC may request this personal information (e.g., when viewing restricted online offerings available to members only). In these instances, your response to these inquiries is strictly voluntary. However, that portion of the site may not be available to those choosing not to reveal the personal information requested.
PTC may use this personal information for its business purposes, such as to alert you to its products and services, promoting event registration, assisting in online registration, etc. PTC uses the information collected to fulfill your requests for certain products and services, to process payment transactions, to facilitate membership invoicing, and to otherwise deliver services. PTC may also send members service announcements and newsletters.
PTC may share your information (with the exception of account, credit card, and ordering information) with third parties (e.g., specific sponsoring organizations, companies that can alert you about new products and services, and certain organizations) when PTC believes in good faith that their collaboration is to the benefit of PTC members through an established tradeout or barter agreement. Except as stated in this Privacy Statement, or as otherwise stated at the time personal information is gathered, PTC will not provide this information to third parties. You may opt-out of such distributions by informing the Secretariat.
Domain Information
PTC collects domain information as part of its analysis of the use of this site. This data enables PTC to become more familiar with visitation to the site, how often visits occur, and what parts of the site are visited most often. PTC uses this aggregated information to improve its web-based offerings. This information is collected automatically and requires no action on your part. At no time are individual uses or preferences identified as part of the aggregate statistics.
Use of Cookies
Some pages on this site use “cookies,” which are small files that the site places on your hard drive for identification purposes. These files are used for site registration and storing session information. You should note that cookies cannot read data off of your hard drive. Your Web browser may allow you to be notified when you are receiving a cookie, giving you the choice to accept it or not. By not accepting cookies, some pages may not fully function and you may not be able to access certain information on this site.
The Pacific Telecommunications Council reserves the right to change, modify, or update this Privacy Statement at any time without notice.
Questions about this Privacy Statement?
If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, please contact the Secretariat.