Scope:
This privacy statement applies to Web sites operated by or on behalf of the
West Virginia Development Office.
Privacy Statement:
The West Virginia Development Office (WVDO) operates the following Web sites:
www.wvdo.org
www.wvopenforbusiness.com, www.openforbusiness.org
www.AutomotiveWV.com, www.automotivewv.org
www.BusinessServicesWV.com,
www.businessserviceswv.org
www.ChemicalsWV.com, www.chemicalswv.org
www.PlasticsWV.com, www.plasticswv.org
www.PolymersWV.com, www.polymerswv.org
www.EnergyWV.com, www.energywv.org
www.HardwoodsWV.com, www.hardwoodswv.org
www.MetalsWV.com, www.metalswv.org
www.HighTechWV.com, www.hightechwv.org
www.InfoTechWV.com, www.infotechwv.org
www.BiotechWV.com, www.biotechwv.org
www.AerospaceWV.com, www.aerospacewv.org
www.DistributionWV.com, www.distributionwv.org
www.FoodProcessingWV.com, www.foodprocessingwv.org
www.PrintingWV.com, www.printingwv.org
www.DestinationWV.com, www.DestinationWV.org
www.ElectricalWV.com, www.ElectricalWV.org
www.InstrumentationWV.com, www.InstrumentationWV.org
WVDO regards the privacy and security of user information as a critical component of the service that we offer to our users. The privacy policy explains how the WVDO collects and uses information from these sites. The privacy policy also describes how your information is protected.
Personal Information:
Personal information will be collected from you at the time you register with
the WVDO through any of the Web sites the WVDO operates. You can register by
either responding to a message or registering online. Once your registration
becomes active on the site, you will begin to receive e-mail updates on WVDO
news, such as the Monthly Open for Business Report. At the time of registration,
you will be prompted by one of our online forms to provide personal information
to us including your name, e-mail address, postal address, etc. You may decline
to share personal information with us.
Your personal information is collected through opt-in requests for e-mails, brochures or other information. The WVDO also provides an opportunity for you to suggest individuals who would also like to receive information from the WVDO through the “sign up a friend” option. Personal information may also be acquired if you sign up to receive information from the WVDO at a trade show or other function. The WVDO may also receive personal information from purchased lists, magazine or trade show lists, survey cards, or other third party sources. If you have received communications from the WVDO, no matter how your personal information was acquired, you may opt-out as indicated below.
Use of Personal Information:
The WVDO uses personal information to send you information and to keep you informed.
The WVDO uses personal information, such as demographic and profile information,
to tailor your experience at our sites, to help develop content that we think
you might be interested in as well as displaying the content according to your
preferences. You may choose to stop receiving future communications from us.
Please see the Opt-Out and Discontinue Section below.
THE WVDO may ask you to provide information about your interests. This information will be used to tailor your experience at the Web sites. You may decline to give this information. This information may also be used in a broader application to provide content of interest to users. You will not be identified personally if the interest data is used in the broader application.
Non-Personal Information:
Your IP address is a number that is used by computers on the network to identify
your computer. IP addresses are automatically collected by our Web server as
part of demographic and profile data known as "traffic data" so that
data (such as the Web pages you request) can be sent to you. The WVDO will not
use your IP address to attempt to identify your personal information.
A Referrer is the information passed along by a Web browser that references the Web URL you linked from, and is automatically collected by our Web server as "traffic data." System information we collect as part of "traffic data" includes time, the type of Web browser being used, plug-in programs available and the operating system/platform. The WVDO uses traffic data to credit your referral to a partner or affiliate who referred you to our Web site. This information may also be used by WVDO to identify broad demographic trends that may be used to provide information tailored to your interests and also may be used to provide information appropriate for your computer system. You will not be personally identified from this information. Additional activity on the WVDO Web sites will be monitored, including clicked links and click stream data.
The WVDO network uses “cookie” technology and users’ IP addresses to customize and enhance your technical experience. Cookies are pieces of information transferred to your hard drive when you visit our sites that automatically identify your browser to our server when you interact with our site. Cookies are a common feature on Web sites and are utilized by the WVDO to provide Website services to you. The WVDO may combine the information received from cookies with a unique ID number that we have assigned to you. You may adjust your browser setting of your computer to notify you when a cookie is sent or to refuse cookies altogether. Please consult your browser for instructions on such adjustments.
We may obtain additional information about you, such as demographic information, from commercially available sources.
Transfer of Personal Information:
In the event that the WVDO is merged with another state entity or otherwise
renamed or altered, the personal information collected may be transferred to
the new state agency.
Newsgroups/Forums:
Any groups or forums on WVDO Web sites are public. Please consider this before
posting information on these areas.
Sharing of Information:
The WVDO does not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for
marketing purposes. We may share your personal information with other state
agencies for the limited purposes of data processing or storage.
The WVDO may also share your personal information with authorized third party agents or contractors in order to provide a requested service or transaction. For example, if the WVDO mails a package to you, your personal information must be shared with the shipping company. The WVDO will share the minimum amount of personal information necessary to complete the requested service or transaction.
The WVDO may occasionally hire third party companies to provide limited services on our behalf, including customer service, hosting Web sites, processing transactions, or performing statistical analysis of our services or data. In those instances, the third party companies will be contractually obligated to safeguard your personal information and prohibited from using your personal information in any manner other than the purpose for which the third party company was retained.
The WVDO may respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes by disclosing personal information and other related information. The WVDO reserves the right to establish and exercise our legal rights and to defend against legal claims.
We may collect and potentially share personal information and any other additional
information available to us in order to investigate, prevent, or take action
regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential
threats to the physical safety of any persons, violations of the WVDO’s
terms of use, potential threats to national security, or as otherwise required
by law.
Some of your non-personal information may be shared on an aggregate basis only,
as a part of a larger set of statistics.
The WVDO will ask for your opt-in consent to share your personal information with a third party for any other reason.
Security:
Information collected by WVDO is stored in secure operating environments that
are not available to the public. All of our employees are dedicated to maintaining
and upholding your privacy and security and are aware of our privacy and security
policies. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed
100 percent secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information
within our systems, WVDO cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information
you transmit to us. The WVDO recommends that you take every precaution in protecting
your personal information when you utilize the Internet. Examples of precautions
include using a combination of letters and numbers in creating passwords, changing
your passwords often, and using a secure browser.
Children’s Privacy:
The WVDO does not knowingly solicit any personal information from children under
the age of thirteen. The WVDO does not knowingly obtain, retain, or use information
from anyone under the age of thirteen. If the WVDO learns that it has collected
personal information on a child under the age of thirteen we will delete the
data from our systems.
The WVDO may solicit from time to time your opinion or invite you to participate in surveys to determine your preferences and dislikes in order to provide you with a better product or offering. These surveys are optional, and you may always choose not to participate in them.
Other Web Sites and Links:
The WVDO Web sites may contain links to other Web sites that are third-party
Web sites not operated by the WVDO, including Web sites operated by WVDO’s,
partners and affiliates. Please note that the privacy practices of those other
Web sites and of our partners and affiliates are not covered by this Privacy
Policy, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content
of such Web sites, partners, or affiliates. You should be careful to review
any privacy policies of such Web sites, partners, or affiliates.
Update your Personal Information:
To update your personal information, please send us an e-mail at WebOptOut@commercewv.org
indicating that you wish to update your personal information, and providing
us with that new information.
Opt-Out and Discontinue:
Subscribers may elect to opt-out and to discontinue receiving future communications
from WVDO by sending us an e-mail at WebOptOut@commercewv.org indicating your
name and e-mail address and requesting to opt-out and discontinue future communications.
As an opt-in subscriber, you are required to confirm your subscription by automated
e-mail in order to begin receiving information or updates from WVDO. An automated
opt-out e-mail will then be provided to you. You may also avoid future communications
from WVDO.
Modification of Privacy Policy by WVDO:
WVDO reserves the right to change or update this Privacy Policy at any time.
The changes to the privacy policy will be posted on this site, so check the
privacy policy frequently to stay informed.
WVDO Anti-Spam Policy:
The WVDO prohibits the use of the WVDO’s services, directly or indirectly,
for the transmission, distribution, or delivery of any unsolicited or bulk or
unsolicited commercial e-mail (“Spam”). You may not use any WVDO
services to send Spam. You may not deliver Spam or cause Spam to be to be delivered
to any of WVDO’s Services or WVDO registered users.
In addition, e-mail sent, or caused to be sent, to or through the WVDO Services
may not:
The WVDO does not authorize the harvesting, mining, or collection of e-mail addresses or other information from or through the WVDO Services.
Nothing in this policy is intended to grant any right to transmit or send
e-mail to, or through, the WVDO Services. Failure to enforce this policy in
every instance does not amount to a waiver of the WVDO’s rights.
Unauthorized use of the WVDO Services in connection with the transmission of
unsolicited e-mail, including the transmission of e-mail in violation of this
policy, may result in civil, criminal, or administrative penalties against the
sender and those assisting the sender.