Privacy Policy

Welcome to the Massachusetts250.org. We have created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy for our Web site users. Other Web sites operated by state agencies have different policies. We suggest that you read the privacy policies for each Commonwealth Web site that you visit, and any external site that you visit through a link appearing at this site. The privacy statement may change at any time; any changes will be posted on this page 30 days before they actually come in effect. The information collected prior to the time of such a change will be treated as stated in the policy in effect at the time of collection. The following paragraphs disclose our information-gathering and dissemination practices. If you do not agree with any term in this policy, please do not use this site.

A Privacy Partnership

At this Web site, we attempt to protect your privacy to the maximum extent possible. However, because some of the information we receive through this Web site is subject to Public Records Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66, Section 10, we cannot ensure absolute privacy. Information that you provide to us through this site may be made available to members of the public under the law. This policy informs you of the information that we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed choice about your use of this site. You can maximize the benefits of your privacy partnership with the Commonwealth by making informed choices about whether to share personally identifiable information with us through this site.

Personally Identifiable Information

We use the term “personally identifiable information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, e-mail address, Social Security number, birth date, bank account information, credit card information or any combination of information that could be used to identify you.

Information Voluntarily Provided by You

This site collects voluntary information from you only from the e-mails or online forms that you send through this site. These e-mails and online forms will contain personally identifiable information. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

Information Automatically Collected and Stored by this Site

We allow third-party companies to collect certain anonymous information when you visit our website. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date) during your visits to this website in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. Cookies are small files that a web server requests web browsers to store and send to the same web server in the future-usually to provide the web site visitor a “personalized” or “persistent” browsing experience. Cookies are not used to store personally identifiable information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.

Dissemination of Your Personally Identifiable Information

We do not sell any personally identifiable information collected through this Web site. However, once you voluntarily submit personally identifiable information to us through an e-mail or online form, its dissemination is governed by the Public Records Law, the Fair Information Practices Act (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66A), Executive Order 412 and other applicable laws and regulations. For this reason, part or all of the information you send us may be provided to a member of the public in response to public records request.

In addition, the information that you voluntarily submit will be disclosed only to Commonwealth employees or officials with a “need to know” for purposes of fulfilling their job responsibilities. They will only use the information to answer your questions, respond to any requests for assistance and fulfill the Commonwealth’s legal obligations. Where appropriate, we may provide the information submitted by you to the person or company that is the subject of your inquiry, or to a government agency responsible for the matters referred to in your communication.

Your Access and Opportunity to Correct

The Public Records Law and the Fair Information Practices Act provide you certain rights to get information about you that is in our records. To learn more about the circumstances under which you can get and correct this information, please click on the above references to these laws.

Security

Because this site does not encrypt incoming e-mail, you should not send information that you consider highly sensitive through this Web site. We use standard security measures to ensure that your personally identifiable information is not lost, misused, altered or unintentionally destroyed. We also use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Special Protections Against Misuse of Personally Identifiable Information within Commonwealth Offices

In 1999, then-Acting Governor Swift issued Executive Order 412, which enhanced the privacy protection given to any information about you as a named individual held by the Executive Department of state government. Executive Order 412 limits the collection and dissemination of personally identifiable information within the Executive Department. This site complies with Executive Order 412, so all of the personally identifiable information that you submit to this site is given the privacy protections set forth in Executive Order 412.

Contact Information

For questions about your privacy while using this Web site, please contact our Web Manager.

Definitions

Cookies are files that a Web site can place on your computer. A cookie file contains unique information that a Web site can use to track such things as your password, lists of Web pages you have visited, and the date when you last looked at a specific Web page, or to identify your session at a particular Web site. A cookie file allows the Web site to recognize you as you click through pages on the site and when you later revisit the site. A Web site can use cookies to “remember” your preferences, and to record your browsing behavior on the Web. Although you can prevent Web sites from placing cookies on your computer by using your browser’s preference menu, disabling cookies may affect your ability to view or interact with some Web sites.