PRIVACY
Thank you for visiting our web site and reviewing our privacy policy. We will collect no personally identifying information about you when you visit our Web site unless you choose to provide that information to us. The information we collect depends upon what you do when visiting our site.
If you visit our site to browse, read, or download:
We automatically collect and store only the following non-personally identifiable information about you:
We place cookies on Web site visitor’s computers to collect aggregate information for site traffic analysis, such as the number of visitors and the number of pages viewed. (Cookies are small files that are stored in a visitor’s browser.)
We use the information that we collect only to help us make our site more useful to visitors—to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits. We may compile and report aggregate statistics about our users—numbers, traffic patterns, and related site information—but these statistics will include no personally identifying information.
If you identify yourself by signing up through the email mailing list :
You may choose to provide us with personal information through the email mailing list sign up located on our site (for example, name, email address, contact type, etc), or by filling out a survey form with your personal information and submitting it to us through a survey we may send out on occasion. We use that information only to respond to your message and to help us provide you with the material you have requested.
SITE SECURITY
For Web site security purposes and to ensure that this Web site remains available to all users, the Department of State computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic in order to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on the Art in Embassies web site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law.
Visiting Other Websites
This site may have links to the websites of other federal agencies, international agencies, private organizations, and some commercial entities. Once you go to a site other than ours, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of the new site. It is always a good idea to read the privacy policy of any website that you visit. We do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained in a linked site. We also do not endorse the organizations or individuals maintaining sites that we link to, any views they express or any products/services they offer.
Interaction with Children Online
This website may offer educational content to children under 13 years old. If a Department website intends to collect information about children under 13 years old, we will provide information and instructions consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The web page will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept.
Cookies
“Cookies” are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of a session (session cookies) or saved on a user’s hard drive in order to identify that user or information about that user the next time she/he logs onto a website (persistent cookies). If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies stored on your machine, you can turn cookies off in your browser. You will still have access to all information and resources at our websites, but turning off cookies may affect the functioning of some websites. Be aware that disabling cookies in your browser will affect cookie usage at all other websites you visit as well.
AIE maintains official accounts on several third-party websites, including social media, in order to better engage with the American public and foreign constituencies to promote awareness of our activities, events, news, and information.
Your activity on these third-party sites is governed by the security and privacy policies of the third-party sites. We do not use third-party sites to solicit and collect personal information. Users of third-party sites are often sharing information with the general public, user community and/or the third-party operating the third-party site. You should review the privacy policies of third-party sites before using them to ensure that you understand how your information may be used. You should also adjust privacy settings on your account on any third-party site to match your preferences.
We take precautions to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the information we collect as directed by the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, and the Federal Records Act. Such measures include access controls designed to limit access to the information to those that need it. We also employ various security technologies to protect the information stored on our systems, and we routinely test our security measures to ensure that they remain operational and effective.
We hold our contractors and other third-party providers to the same high standards that we use to ensure the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information they may have access to in the course of their work completed on behalf of the Department.
We do not collect personally-identifiable information unless you choose to provide it to us. If you provide us with personally identifiable information (e.g., by sending an e-mail or by filling out a form and submitting it through our website), we use that information only to respond to your message and to help us provide you with the information and services that you request. Submitting voluntary information constitutes your consent to the use of the information for the stated purpose. If you choose to not provide certain information we may not be able to complete the requested service. When we do request information from you, we will explain why we need it and how we will use it in a separate “Privacy Notice.” We do not collect or use information for commercial marketing.
If you send us an email
If the AIE website allows you to send us an email, we will use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry. We will only send you general information via email. You should be aware that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. Therefore, we suggest that you do not send sensitive personal data (such as your Social Security number) to us via email. If your intended email communication is very sensitive, or includes information such as your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number, you should instead send it by U.S. mail. Another alternative may be submission of data through a secure web page, if available.
Electronic mail messages may be considered Federal records if they meet the definition of records in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). This means that emails you send us will be preserved and maintained for varying periods of time if those emails meet the definition of Federal records. Electronic messages that are not records are deleted when no longer needed.
How information is used
The information we collect is used for a variety of purposes. We make every effort to disclose clearly how information is used at the point where it is collected, so that our users can determine for themselves whether they wish to provide the information.
Sharing of your information
We may share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as responses to requests from Congress and private individuals, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit. Before you submit personally identifiable information you will be advised as to the purpose and how the information will be used.
You can learn more about how we share information on the Department of State Privacy Act Systems of Records Notices page.
Retaining information
We destroy the information we collect when the purpose for which it was provided has been fulfilled — unless we are required to keep it longer by statute or official policy. Electronically submitted information is maintained and destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act and the regulations and records schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. In some cases information submitted to us may become an agency record and, therefore, might be subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
