Home
> Privacy Policy
Content Updated December 9, 2003
Thank you for visiting the Department of Transportation’s
Web site. We are committed to respecting your right to privacy and will protect
it when you visit our Web site.
This Privacy Policy explains our online information practices
only, including how we collect and use your personal information. It covers information
collected on this Web site. Our Privacy Policy does not apply to third party Web
sites that you are able to reach from our Web site, nor does it cover practices
of other elements within the Department of Transportation. We encourage you to
read the Privacy Policies of those elements and third parties to learn how they
collect and use information about you.
To assist you with reading our Privacy Policy, we have provided
answers to the following questions you may find most important:
What information do we collect automatically online?
What additional information do we collect about you online?
Why do we collect your information online and how do we use it?
How, and with whom, do we share the information we collect online?
Do we give you choices on how we use the information you provide
us?
What are our information practices for children?
Do we use cookies or other tracking devices?
How do we secure your information we collect online?
What are your rights under the Privacy Act of 1974?
How do you find out more about, or comment on, our privacy practices?
What information do we collect automatically
online?
When you visit our Web site, we collect information about your visit that does
not identify you personally. We can tell the type of computer, browser, and Web
service you are using. We also know the date, time, and pages you visit. Collecting
this information helps us design the site to suit your needs.
What additional information do we collect
about you online?
When you visit our Web site, we may request and collect the following categories
of personal information from you:
- Contact information if you submit a question or comment
Why do we collect information online and
how do we use it?
Our principal purpose for collecting personal information online is to provide
you with the information you need and want, and to facilitate the use of our Web
site.
We will only use your information for the purposes for which you
have provided this information, or for the purposes required under the law. (In
order to learn more about how we provide choices to you regarding our use of your
information, visit the “Choices” section in this Privacy Policy.)
Generally, our uses of information collected online include:
- Responding to your complaints
- Replying to your “feedback comments”
How, and with whom, do we share the information
we collect online?
We may share personally identifiable information you provide to us online with
appropriate representatives within the Department of Transportation (see http://www.dot.gov/DOTagencies.htm
for information on DOT Operating Administrations and related entities), other
federal government agencies, or other designated representatives as needed to
facilitate your request or transaction.
Additionally, we may be required by law to share information we
collect with authorized law enforcement, homeland security, and national security
activities (See also the “What are your rights under the Privacy Act of
1974?” section in this Privacy Policy).
Do we give you choices on how we use the
information you provide us?
Throughout our Web site, we will let you know whether the information we ask you
to provide is voluntary or required. By providing personally identifiable information,
you are granting us consent to use this personally identifiable information for
the primary purpose for which you are providing it. Additionally, we will ask
for you to grant us consent before using your voluntarily provided information
for any secondary purposes, other than those required under the law.
What are our information practices for
children?
Our website does not intentionally collect information from children under the
age of 13. If we choose to collect personal information from children, we will
comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). To find
out more about COPPA, please click on the following link: www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html.
Do we use cookies or other tracking devices?
A “cookie” is a small text file that is stored on your computer and
makes it easy for you to move around a Web site without having to continually
re-enter your name, password, preferences, etc.
We use only “session” cookies; this means we store
the cookie on your computer only during each visit to our Web site. After you
turn off your computer or stop using the Internet, the cookie is erased and nothing
will be remembered the next time you visit our Web site.
How do we secure your information we collect
online?
We are committed to properly securing the information we collect online. To help
us accomplish this, we take the following steps:
- We employ internal access controls to ensure that the
only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform
their official duties;
- We train relevant personnel on our privacy and security
measures so that our personnel know what is required for compliance;
- We physically secure the areas where we hold hard copies
of the information we collect online;
- We regularly back up the information we collect online
to insure against loss;
- We use technical controls to secure the information we
collect online as appropriate, including but not limited to: Secure Socket Layer
(SSL), encryption, firewalls, password protections;
- We periodically test our security procedures to ensure
personnel and technical compliance; and
- We employ external access safeguards to identify and prevent
unauthorized attempts of outsiders to hack into, or cause harm to, the information
in our systems.
Tampering with the Department of Transportation’s Web site
is against the law. If anyone tries to tamper with it, they may be punished under
the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure
Protection Act.
What are your rights under the Privacy
Act of 1974?
The Privacy Act of 1974 protects the personal information the federal government
keeps on you in “systems of records (SOR)” (information an agency
controls that can be retrieved by name or some other personal identifier). The
Privacy Act regulates how the government can disclose, share, provide access to,
and maintain the personal information that it collects. Not all information collected
online is covered by the Privacy Act.
The Act’s major provisions require agencies to:
- Publish a Privacy Act Notice in the Federal Register explaining
the existence, character and uses of a new or revised SOR;
- Keep information about you accurate, relevant, timely, and complete
to assure fairness in dealing with you; and
- Allow you to, upon request, access and review your information
held in a SOR and request amendment of the information if you disagree with it.
When the Department of Transportation collects information from
you online that is subject to the Privacy Act (i.e., information to be kept in
a SOR), we will provide you, through a link on the Web page from which we collect
information, access to our Privacy Act Notice. This Privacy Act Notice
will inform you what portion of the information is maintained and retrieved by
your name or other personal identifier.
Each Privacy Act Notice will also notify you of the following:
- The authority for and purpose and use of the collection of information
subject to the Privacy Act;
- Whether providing the information is voluntary or mandatory;
and
- The effects on you if you do not provide any or all of the requested
information.
Click here to view our Privacy
Act Notices
Click here to view our Privacy Impact Assessments
How do you find out more about, or comment
on, our privacy practices?
For more information on our privacy practices, or for comments and concerns, please
contact our Privacy Officer at:
Email: Yvonne Coates
Phone: 202-366-6964
|