Here
Media Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 21, 2009
We at Here Media Inc. (including our subsidiaries,
"Here Media") are committed to protecting the privacy of our users.
We have prepared this privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") to inform you
how we handle the information that we collect about you or that you choose to
submit to us.
Unless a specific privacy policy resides at a particular property, this Privacy
Policy applies to all of Here Media's properties, including heremedia.com, gay.com,
out.com and advocate.com or any versions thereof (collectively, the
"Network"). Because the Network is global, information about you that
we collect or that you submit may be transferred to, processed in, and held in
countries other than the one in which you reside. By using the Network, you
explicitly consent to such use of your information.
This Privacy Policy complies with the Safe Harbor Principles of the European
Commission's Directive on Data Protection.
Your California Privacy Rights
Under California Civil Code section 1798.83, a California resident has the
right to request and obtain either (1) information about certain companies'
disclosures of personal information to third parties for direct marketing
purposes, or (2) access to a cost-free means of preventing such disclosures. As
more fully described in this Privacy Policy, you may request that Here Media
Inc. not disclose your personal information to third parties. You may do so
either at the time you register, by following the instructions below in the
"Modifications and Deactivations" section, or by contacting us by
mail at 10990 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse, Los Angeles,
CA 90024.
Notice - Information We Automatically Collect
We automatically collect certain information to help us understand how our
users use the Network (which we will refer to in this Privacy Policy
collectively as "Usage Data"). For example, each time you visit the
Network we may automatically collect your IP address, browser and computer
type, access times, the web page from which you came, and the web page(s) you
access. In addition, we use technologies called "cookies" and
"tracking pixels" that allow us to enhance your experience on the
Network (for example, to keep track of your purchases, to allow you to see
information you've previously entered (like responses to member polls), to
deliver content specific to your interests, and, if you tell us to do so, to
save your member name and password so that you do not have to re-enter it each
time you visit the Network or access an area of the Network that requires you
to log in). We use cookies to deliver advertisements that are most likely to
interest you, based on the areas of the Network you visit, and the products,
features and services you select on the Network. We also may use cookies or
tracking pixels to track information related to your searching and browsing of
member profiles, such as which profiles you browse or respond to, search
parameters of searches you conduct, the number of results returned by your
searches, how you review, rank and respond to search results, and how often
your profile is searched or browsed. We may use such information to improve the
functionality of the Network and to offer additional services, such as enhanced
searching or automated user matching. In addition, third parties who place
advertisements on the Network may also collect information through cookies or
tracking pixels to ensure that their advertising systems and technologies work
properly and to allow them to track responses to their advertisements. Cookies
or tracking pixels set by these third parties are governed by the privacy
policies set by those third parties. In addition, third-party partners,
advertisers, and other web sites you may access via the Network have different
privacy policies and are not subject to this Privacy Policy. We recommend that
you read the privacy statement of each web site to find out how your personal
information is protected. If you would like more information about these
practices and to know your choices about not having this information used by
these companies, click here: networkadvertising.org/consumer/opt_out.asp.
From time to time we may share Usage Data with third parties. We do so,
however, only in the aggregate and not in a manner that will enable the
recipient to personally identify you, unless you have given us permission to do
so. In addition, we may combine Usage Data with Personal Information (as
defined below) in a manner that enables us to trace Usage Data to an individual
user. We do so, however, only for our own internal purposes and will not share
such combined data with third parties unless you have given us permission to do
so or we are required to do so by law.
Information You Choose To Submit
When you register to become a Network member or when you participate in certain
Network activities (e.g., contests or surveys), we may ask that you provide us
with demographic information (e.g., gender, age, zip code) and with information
through which you could be contacted (e.g., your full name, postal or e-mail
address, or phone number) (which we will refer to in this Privacy Policy
collectively as "Personal Information"). Except for aggregate
demographic information that we may share with third parties in a manner that
does not link such information to any individual, we will not share your
Personal Information with third parties unless you have given us permission to
do so. In addition, when you order products or services through the Network, we
may ask that you provide us with information (e.g., credit card number,
billing, and shipping information) we will need to enable us to provide you
with the requested product or service. We will share such information (e.g., to
our billing vendors) with third parties to the extent necessary to fulfill your
order or to complete the Network activity.
Other Authorized Disclosures
Notwithstanding anything in this Privacy Policy to the contrary, we may share
any information we have collected about you or that you have submitted: (1) in
response to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish,
protect, or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims or
demands; (2) if we believe it is necessary in order to investigate, prevent, or
take action regarding illegal activities, fraud, or situations involving
potential threats to the safety of any person; (3) if we believe it is
necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding situations that
involve abuse of our Network infrastructure or the Internet in general (such as
voluminous spamming, denial of service attacks, or attempts to compromise the
security of the Network infrastructure); (4) to a parent company, subsidiaries,
joint ventures, or other companies under common control with Here Media (in
which case we will require such entities to honor this Privacy Policy); and (5)
if Here Media is acquired by or merged with another entity (in which case we
will require such entity to assume our obligations under this Privacy Policy).
Public Areas
Your use of areas of the Network that are intended for interaction with other
users (e.g., personal ads, chat rooms, online polls, and message boards) may
reveal your member name and e-mail address and may allow you to publish certain
personal information about you. By choosing to use these areas, you understand
and agree that anyone may access and forward any information about you that is
contained in or that you post to those areas. While chat, e-mail, and instant
message-like conversations pass through our servers, our practice is not to
store contents of such communications. We do, however, temporarily store logs
of certain data related to such communications, such as the length and
frequency of messaging and the Network member with whom communications are
exchanged. We may use such data to improve the functionality of the Network and
to offer additional services, such as enhanced searching or automated user
matching.
Data Integrity and Security
We take reasonable precautions to protect Personal Information from loss,
misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We
also take reasonable steps to ensure that Personal Information is relevant for
the purposes for which it is to be used and that the Usage Data is reliable for
its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.
Modifications and Deactivations
If you would like to modify any Personal Information you previously submitted
through the Network, visit your account information section for each Network
property to which you made the submission. If you have agreed to receive
communications from us or to permit us to share your Personal Information with
third parties, you may request that, in the future, we not send you
communications or share your Personal Information by writing to our Customer
Member Care center at our corporate address below or by visiting your account
information section for each Network property. Please note, however, that we
reserve the right to send you administrative messages relating to the Network
(e.g., about changes to this Privacy Policy). If at any time you would like us
to deactivate your member profile and remove it from public and member viewing
on the Network, please write to us at our corporate address or visit your
account information section for each Network property. Please note that (1) we
will retain your Personal Information in back-up storage after deactivation,
and (2) we are not responsible for removing information about you from the
database of any third parties to whom you previously authorized us to share
your Personal Information.
As more fully described in this Privacy Policy, you may request that Here Media
Inc. not disclose your personal information to third parties. You may do so
either at the time you register or by contacting us by mail at Here Media Inc.,
Attention: Customer Member Care, 10990 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse, Los Angeles,
CA 90024.
Changes to Policy
Due to changes in legislation, best practices, or enhancements to functionality
and content, we may make changes to our Privacy Policy and will reflect those
changes in this statement. We may update this policy from time to time. If we
make any significant changes to the way in which we treat Personal Information
about you, we will inform you of such changes via e-mail or by posting a notice
on relevant areas of the Network. If you have any questions about this Privacy
Policy, please feel free to write to us at the address given above.