Privacy Policy
This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally identifiable information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.
Information that is gathered from visitors
In common with other websites, log files are stored on the web server saving details such as the visitor’s IP address, browser type, referring page, and time of visit.
Cookies may be used to remember your preferences when interacting with the website.
Where registration or purchase is required, your email, physical address, phone number, birthdate, credit card information, or username will be stored on the server. Credit Card information is stored as a token and remains securely encrypted. Houston Maritime does not have or retain access to your credit card data but can use the stored token to process payments with your direct permission.
How the Information is used
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
- To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
- To process and maintain your Membership Subscription to Houston Maritime.
- To quickly process your transactions.
- To send periodic emails regarding your order or other products and services.
How do we protect your information?
Houston Maritime complies with PCI standards, including storage of your personal information and credit card data. We preform regular Malware Scanning, use industry standard payment processors, and implement numerous security measures across our website.
Houston Maritime maintains an active SSL certificate to provide a secure payment option on our website.
Visitor Options
If you have subscribed to one of our services, you may unsubscribe by following the instructions which are included in e-mail that you receive.
You may be able to block cookies via your browser settings but this may prevent you from access to certain features of the website.
Cookies
Cookies are small digital signature files that are stored by your web browser that allow your preferences to be recorded when visiting the website. Also they may be used to track your return visits to the website.
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser’s Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.
If you disable cookies off, some features will be disabled It won’t affect the users experience that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly. However, you can still place orders.
Third Party Disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others’ rights, property, or safety.
However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third Party Links
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.
Google’s advertising requirements can be summed up by Google’s Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en
Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our site and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.
We have implemented the following:
- Demographics and Interests Reporting
We along with third-party vendors, such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions, and other ad service functions as they relate to our website.
Opting out
Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. Alternatively, you can opt out by visiting the Network Advertising initiative opt out page or permanently using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.
California Online Privacy Protection Act
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. – See more at: https://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf
According to CalOPPA we agree to the following:
- Users can visit our site anonymously
- Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.
- Our Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’, and can be easily be found on the page specified above.
Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes: On our Privacy Policy Page and via email notification.
Users are able to change their personal information: By logging in to their account
COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.
We do not specifically market to children under 13. All educational content for children is indented to be use with parental supervision.
Fair Information Practices
The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.
In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:
We will notify the users via email within 7 business days
We also agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
CAN SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
We collect your email address in order to:
To be in accordance with CANSPAM we agree to the following:
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at
and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.
Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.
HoustonMaritime.org
2940 Riverby Road
Houston, Texas 77020
United States
info@houstonmaritime.org
713-389-5055
Last Edited on 2023-10-06