Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the United States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) website and reviewing our Privacy Policy. The Department is committed to protecting your privacy and securing the personal information made available to us when you access our public-facing websites and applications. This Privacy Policy describes what information is made available to the Department, what information the Department collects, how that information is used, and how information is stored when you visit the Department’s public-facing websites or official DOJ accounts on third-party websites and applications.
- Privacy Program
- Information Collected and Stored Automatically
- Personal Information That You Voluntarily Provide
- Children and Privacy on Justice.gov
- Website Measurement and Customization Technologies
- The Department’s Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications
- Email Subscriptions and Updates
- Links to External Sites
- Security
Privacy Program
The Department’s Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, in coordination with the Department’s Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties, manages and oversees the Department’s Privacy Program. The Department Privacy Program webpage can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/opcl.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
If you access information on our websites, the Department of Justice, or a contractor operating on behalf of the Department, will automatically collect and store the following basic information:
- The name of the internet domain (for example, “xcompany.com” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you are connecting from a university’s domain);
- The Internet Protocol (IP) address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you are using the Internet) from which you access our site;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
- The date and time you access our site;
- The internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site; and
- The pages you visit and the information you request.
The Department primarily collects this information for statistical analyses and technical improvements to the site. For example, the Department computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics that may be used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest to the public, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. Although the primary purpose of automatically collecting this kind of information is not to track individuals who visit this site, in certain circumstances and consistent with Federal law, the Department may take additional steps to identify you using this information and may share this information, including your identity, with other agencies.
Information Automatically Collected by a Third-Party Website or Application
The Department maintains official DOJ accounts on third-party websites and applications. These third-party website and application service providers may themselves automatically collect and store additional information about you, in accordance with their terms of service and privacy policies. The Department does not control what these third-parties service providers do with the information they collect. For information on the Department’s use of third-party websites and applications to engage with the public, please review the section below regarding the Department’s Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications.
Personal Information that You Voluntarily Provide
You are not required to provide any personal information to us to access information on our websites. If you choose to provide us with personal information, such as by sending a message to an email address on this website or by filling out and submitting a form through our website, we will use that information to respond to your message or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. Where feasible, the Department provides visitors with a notice at the point of collection when requesting personal information on Department websites that will include a brief description of the Department’s practices with respect to the collection, use, maintenance, or dissemination of personal information.
The Department maintains and disposes of personal information you provide according to the requirements of the Federal Records Act, Department policies, and the regulations and records schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. In some cases, the information you provide may be covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act), or subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A discussion of the FOIA can be found at Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act and a discussion about the Privacy Act can be found at Privacy Act of 1974.
Sharing Personal Information You Voluntarily Provide
The Department may share information you voluntarily provide it with other entities, consistent with the Privacy Act and other applicable laws. For example, information you voluntarily provide may be shared with contractors acting on the Department’s behalf, with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, with other agencies for a specific law enforcement purpose or to protect the Department’s websites from security threats, or when otherwise required by law.
If you provide comments in response to a request for public comments, we may make those comments, as well as your identity, available to the public in a publication or by posting them on our website.
Personal Information Voluntarily Provided as Part of a Search Request on DOJ Websites
The Department will collect information you voluntarily provide as part of a search request on a DOJ website. If you choose to provide personal information as part of a search request on a Department webpage, the Department and its service providers will use that information to facilitate your search request. The Department of Justice, or a contractor operating on behalf of the Department, may also automatically collect and store the information you provide as part of a search request as described in the section above regarding Information Collected and Stored Automatically. DOJ currently uses the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Search.gov (e.g., https://search.justice.gov) as its primary search engine tool for searching for information within DOJ websites. Upon entering search request information into search engines managed by Search.gov, GSA will collect and use certain information in accordance with the Search.gov Terms of Service.
Personal Information Voluntarily Provided to the Department on Third-Party Websites or Applications
The Department maintains official DOJ accounts on third-party websites and applications. When interacting with the public on third-party websites and applications, the Department may request that you voluntarily provide information to the Department (for example, the Department may request your information to register for an event hosted by the Department). These third-party website and application service providers may also collect the information you voluntarily provide, in accordance with their terms of service and privacy policies. The Department does not control what these third-parties service providers do with the information they collect. For information on the Department’s use of third-party websites and applications, please review the section below regarding Department’s Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications.
Commercial Marketing
The Department does not collect or use information for commercial marketing.
Use Caution When Voluntarily Providing Sensitive Information
Remember that internet communications are not necessarily secure from interception. If your communication is sensitive or includes personal information, you may prefer to send it to the Department by postal mail or other commercial carriers instead.
3rd Party Sharing
Personal information will NOT be released to third parties unless as described in this policy. There are no circumstances under. which we sell personal information to third parties.
We use credit card processing companies to bill you for services. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any other purposes. We also use Live Person to provide live customer support chat on our website. These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy or our use of your information, call our toll free number 800-514-0301 1-833-610-1264 (TTY) or email us on info@americandisabilityacts.com
SMS OPT-IN OR PHONE NUMBERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SMS ARE NOT BEING SHARED
