At the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), we know you care about your personal privacy and about the terms and conditions that govern the use of your information. Because we are dedicated to serving your needs and respecting your preferences, we have adopted the policies and practices described in this Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use. This Statement describes how we collect your information through membership and our web sites, the types of information we collect, what we do with that information, and your choices regarding that information. This statement applies to the use and collection of data by the AIAS web site, affiliated web sites, event registration, social media, and corporate and individual membership to the AIAS.

Our Collection and Use of Your Personally Identifiable Information 

In general, we collect and use information about you for membership, to deliver member benefits (e.g., our newsletter, voting rights, discounts) and to inform you of AIAS-related conferences, benefits and/or other opportunities. Except as described herein, we do not sell, rent or otherwise share or disclose your private, personally identifiable information to third parties.

The AIAS specifically collects information from you at several different points, including but not limited to the following:

(A) INFORMATION YOU OR YOUR EMPLOYER PROVIDES TO US

We collect the information you or your employer at the time of membership agreement voluntarily submits through online forms, surveys and event registrations on Our Site, such as your name, contact information, employment information, age, and other information.  We also collect the information that you or your employer provides to us about other people on certain parts of Our Site. For example, you may provide information about others when referring them for membership or registration. The AIAS primarily collects information in connection with AIAS membership, services, products and AIAS-related conference registrations. The AIAS will treat any information of its members and conference attendees as confidential and will not disclose it to any third party (other than in connection with AIAS co-sponsored conferences as described below) without consent. We do not rent, sell or otherwise disclose personal information for non-conference related mailings. If you do not wish to receive the AIAS newsletter or have specific contact preferences, you may express your preferences by sending a letter, calling or e-mailing the AIAS Administrative Offices at the contact information below informing us of your preferences.

The AIAS respects your privacy and does not intentionally collect information on race, ethnicity, religion, or other demographic information. However, the Participant Information you or your employer provides to AIAS may reveal your nationality, age, professional information, and other aspects of your life. By providing information to us, you expressly and voluntarily accept the terms and conditions of this Statement and AIAS’ Terms, including those governing AIAS use of your member Information. Providing your Information to AIAS is entirely voluntary. If you no longer wish to share Information supplied to AIAS for your member profile, you can revise your profile or close your account.

(i) Accessing and Changing Your Profile Information

You can review the information provided to the AIAS for your profile and make changes to that information, or to the settings for your member account, at any time by logging in to the account settings page on Our Site. After your change is processed, AIAS may retain residual copies of the old information in its backup and/or archival copies of its database.

(ii) Deactivating and Deleting Your Account

If you wish to close your account, you may do so by sending a letter, calling or e-mailing the AIAS Administrative Offices at the contact information below.

(B) CORRESPONDENCE

If you correspond with us via e-mail, the postal service, or other form of communication, we may retain such correspondence and the information contained therein and use such to respond to your inquiry and/or notify you of AIAS conferences, news or other AIAS-related opportunities. Importantly, e-mail and postal address information is never sold, given, or otherwise shared or disclosed to third parties except as set forth herein. If you do not wish to receive such notifications, you may express your preference to not be so contacted by sending a letter, calling or e-mailing the AIAS Administrative Offices at the contact information below informing us of your preference.

(C) INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES

We may receive information about you from other sources, such as our agents, vendors and service providers, and from publicly available sources. For example, sometimes we receive information from third parties when we process credit card payments made by you for conferences or membership.

(D) URL AND IP ADDRESS

Like many other Web sites, we collect information about our users’ utilization and navigation of our Site. This information helps us to design our Site to better suit our users’ needs. We may also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Site, analyze trends, track visitor movements, and gather broad demographic information that assists us in identifying visitor preferences.

(E) COOKIES AND WEB BEACONS

Cookies are pieces of data that a Web site transfers to a user’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Web beacons are transparent pixel images that are used in collecting information about website usage, e-mail response and tracking.

The Site uses cookies and Web beacons to provide enhanced functionality on the site (e.g., user ID and password prompts, and conference registration) and aggregate traffic data (e.g., what pages are the most popular). These cookies may be delivered in a first-party or third-party context. The AIAS may also use cookies and web beacons in association with e-mails delivered by the AIAS. Our Site also captures limited information (user-agent, HTTP referrer, last URL requested by the user, client-side and server-side clickstream) about visits to our Site; we may use this information to analyze general traffic patterns and to perform routine system maintenance. You have many choices with regards to the management of cookies on your computer. All major browsers allow you to block or delete cookies from your system. To learn more about your ability to manage cookies and web beacons, please consult the privacy features in your browser.

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Restrictions on Disclosing Information to Third Parties 

We may disclose all of the information (described above) that we collect, as stated above and in accordance with the terms set forth in this section. We do not reveal personally identifiable information about you to third-parties for their independent use unless: (1) you request or authorize; (2) in connection with AIAS-hosted and AIAS co-sponsored conferences as described above; (3) the information is provided to comply with the law (for example, to comply with a search warrant, subpoena or court order), enforce an agreement we have with you, or to protect our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of our employees or others; (4) the information is provided to our agents, vendors or service providers who perform functions on our behalf; (5) to address emergencies or acts of God or (6) to address disputes, claims, or to persons holding a legal or beneficial interest.

The AIAS website uses interfaces with social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. If you choose to “like” or share information from the AIAS website or from AIAS social media channels through these services, you should review the privacy policy of that service. If you are a member of a social media site, the interfaces may allow the social media site to connect your site visit to your personally identifiable information.

From time to time we may partner or enter into arrangements with another party to provide specific benefits and/or services to our members. We will provide to such partners the information that we believe is reasonably necessary for them to provide such benefits or services to you. If you do not wish to receive marketing communications from our partners or us, you may express your preference to not be so contacted by sending a letter, calling or e-mailing the AIAS Administrative Offices at the contact information below informing us of your preference.

Inapplicability of Privacy Statements of Any Linked Sites or Other Third Parties 

This Privacy Statement only addresses the AIAS’s use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information. As this Site may contain links to other Web sites, please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites, and we are not liable for their misuse of personally identifiable information. We encourage you to be aware that when you go to another Web site you should carefully read their privacy statement.

General Legal Notice and Disclaimer 

Access to the information contained on this Web site is provided by the AIAS to its members and nonmembers as a service to privacy professionals. References herein to any product, process or service do not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by the AIAS. While the AIAS makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information on this Site, the AIAS does not approve or certify such information nor does it guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, timeliness or correct sequencing of such information. Use of such information is voluntary and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its applicability, accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness with regard to the privacy professional’s specific needs and uses. The AIAS (including its Board members, employees and agents) is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance on the information available through this Site, affiliated web sites, AIAS directed events, or social media, . No approvals, recommendations, endorsements, guarantees or warranties, including, but not limited to, any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular use or purpose of products or services named on this Site are made by the AIAS.

Your Access to and Updating of Personal Information 

Reasonable access to personally identifiable information will be provided within 30 days at no cost to AIAS members, conference attendees and others upon request made to the AIAS at the contact information provided below. If access cannot be provided within that time frame, the AIAS will provide the requesting party a date when the information will be provided. If for some reason access is denied, the AIAS will provide an explanation as to why access has been denied.

Conditions of Use, Notices and Changes to Our Privacy Statement

By becoming a corporate member of the AIAS or using the AIAS Site, you agree to the terms and conditions contained in this Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use and/or any other agreement that we might have with you. You agree that any dispute over privacy or the terms contained in this Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use, or any other agreement we have with you, will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of California. You also agree to arbitrate such disputes in California, and to abide by any limitation on damages contained in any agreement we may have with you.

As our organization, membership and benefits change from time to time, this Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use is expected to change as well. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use at any time, for any reason, without notice to you, other than the posting of the amended Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use at this Site. We may e-mail periodic reminders of our notices and terms and conditions and will e-mail AIAS members of material changes thereto, but you should check our Site frequently to see the current Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use that is in effect and any changes that may have been made to it. The provisions contained herein supersede all previous notices or statements regarding our privacy practices and the terms and conditions that govern the use of this Site.

Questions Regarding the Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use 

If you have any questions about our Privacy Statement and Conditions of Use, or any concern about privacy at the AIAS or the use of this Site in general, please contact us by e-mail at [email protected].