The Citizens and Technology Lab (CAT Lab) at Cornell University is committed to protecting the privacy of viewers of its website as well as participants in its studies. This privacy policy applies to information collected from all visitors to the citizensandtech.org domain (the “website”), including participants in any studies hosted on the domain. This policy does not cover studies administered elsewhere.

What Information We Collect

We only collect information necessary for our research and for the operation of this website. The information we collect generally falls into two categories:

  • Information that you provide to us as part of a study. This includes, but is not limited to, your responses to prompts for information and any reports or further information that you send us as part of a study.
  • Information that your browser sends automatically when you use this website, such as IP address, pages visited on this site, and user-agent (browser identity and operating system).

If you arrived at our website through a partner website, we may have received additional information from that partner. This privacy policy applies equally to information we received in this manner.

What We Do with Your Information

Any information we collect will only be used for the purpose specified at the time of collection. Specifically:

  • Information collected for a study will only be used for the purposes of the study, as described in the consent form for that study.
  • Information collected from your use of our website will only be used for site administration, which includes identifying and responding to malicious behavior, determining the popularity of pages on this website, and improving the functionality of the website.

Information provided by partners will be used for the same purposes as information we collect. Information provided by partners may also be used to connect you with relevant opportunities to join our studies.

If we ever collect information for purposes other than those described above, we will inform you of the specific purpose before collecting that information.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We will retain your information for the period necessary to accomplish the objectives described above:

  • We will retain information related to a study for the duration specified in the consent form for that study.
  • We will retain information related to the use of this website for seven days.

If we ever collect information for purposes other than those described above, we will inform you of the retention period before collecting that information.

Steps We Take to Protect Your Information

We are committed to protecting information you choose to share with us. Steps we take to protect your information include:

  • Submitting all study plans and consent forms to an Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) to assess the risk associated with collecting information. All study participants will be provided with information for making enquiries and complaints to the IRB and to an independent liaison organization.
  • Anonymizing all information provided by study participants prior to publication.
  • Using locally hosted website analytics software so your information is not transmitted to third-party services. Our website analytics software does not collect personal information and does not use cookies.

Who Else Might Have Access to Information You Provide

We may share your information with other parties in certain circumstances:

  • We use Qualtrics Survey Tool to help us conduct our surveys. Any information provided to Qualtrics or its subsidiaries through this relationship will be subject to the Qualtrics Privacy Statement. Information will not be shared with these parties for other purposes.
  • We will provide data to law enforcement when required by law. When possible, we will give notice to individuals if data specific to them is requested by law enforcement.
  • We may provide your information to other parties during our research. For example, we might share information with researchers at another university who are collaborators on the study. We will always obtain your consent before sharing information in this way. Information shared with another party will be subject to that party’s privacy policy.
  • We may publish your information as part of the studies that we are conducting. The consent form for each individual study will discuss what form that publication might take.

We will never sell your information to another party.

Privacy Policies for Specific Groups

Children

You must be 18 years old or older to participate in a study through the website. If you are under the age of 18, do not submit information through the website.

California Residents

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) provides California residents certain rights relating to their personal information. While CAT Lab, as a nonprofit organization, is not subject to the CCPA, we are nonetheless committed to compliance with its requirements.

The CCPA provides California residents with the following rights:

  • The right to know, with respect to your personal information for the past 12 months:
    • the categories of personal information we collected, used, disclosed, or sold.
    • the sources from which this personal information was collected.
    • our purposes for collecting or disclosing this personal information.
    • the categories of third parties with whom personal information is shared.
    • the categories of personal information about you that we disclosed for business purposes; and
    • the categories of personal information about you that we sold.
  • The right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to some exceptions.
  • The right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information.
  • The right to nondiscriminatory treatment if you exercise any of these rights.

To make a request regarding the use or deletion of your personal information under the CCPA, please email the address below with the subject line “CCPA Request”:

CAT Lab Research Director

research@citizensandtech.org

European Union Residents

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) provides European Union residents certain rights relating to how their personal data is collected, processed, and used. The following describes our lawful basis for collecting information, including personal data, and what you can request of us under the GDPR.

Lawful basis for collecting information

We collect information:

  • To conduct our public-interest research.
    • The only nonpublic information we collect for our research is that which is provided by participants who agree to take part.
    • We will only collect public information in connection to our research when there is minimal privacy risk to individuals or with the informed consent of affected individuals.
  • As necessary to further our legitimate interests in website administration and security as described on this page.
  • With your explicit consent, when you provide us with information for the purposes of participating in a study.

Requests regarding your information

Upon reasonable request, we will:

  • Provide you with copies of the personal data belonging to you that we have collected.
  • Correct information we have about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Under certain conditions, erase any of your personal data that we hold.
  • Under certain conditions, refrain from processing your personal data.

To make a request regarding the processing or deletion your personal data under the GDPR, please email the address below with the subject line “GDPR Request”:

CAT Lab Research Director

research@citizensandtech.org

Other Websites’ Privacy Policies

This website features links to other websites. If you follow a link to another website, the privacy policy of that website will govern that website’s data collection and use. This privacy policy only applies to CAT Lab and citizensandtech.org.

Updates or Modifications to this Policy

We may change this policy periodically. You can always find the current version at https://citizensandtech.org/privacy-policy/.

This document was last modified July 24, 2024

Contact for Information Regarding Our Privacy Policy

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:

CAT Lab Research Director

research@citizensandtech.org