1. Introduction
We are committed to the principles of privacy and security on the Internet. We want you to enjoy the SMS, Inc. High Speed Internet SM service (the “Service”) with the confidence that comes from knowing the practices that we follow regarding the treatment of personal information we collect through the Service. That is why we have created this Online Privacy Policy (“Policy”) to inform those who subscribe (“Subscribers”) to the Service, as well as those who visit (“Visitors”) SMS, Inc. Web sites (collectively, “Customers”), of the ways we collect, use, safeguard and disclose of information we obtain from them through the Service and at SMS, Inc. Web sites.
This Policy should be read in conjunction with our other Internet service related legal agreements and policies. We request that you read this Policy thoroughly, and contact us with any questions or comments you may have.
2. Information We Collect
When you register for the Service, you provide us with Personally Identifiable Information. “Personally Identifiable Information” or “PII” means any information that is associated with your personal identity, such as your name, service address, telephone number(s), social security number or driver’s license number, premium service subscription information, user IDs, passwords, email address, billing and payment information, customer correspondence and communications records, maintenance and repairs, and other service-related information. At the time of initial provisioning, we also collect information about your computer (to assist us in configuring it for our Service), as well as your service choices. We may also collect Personally Identifiable Information from Customers who respond to email surveys or register at our Web sites for information. In these instances, our Customers are notified before any PII is collected and may elect not to provide their PII.
We also collect Aggregate Information about usage from our Customers, such as the Internet Protocol addresses assigned to them (Note: We do not link Internet Protocol addresses to Personally Identifiable Information), bandwidth utilization, and Internet resource requests (e.g. requests to view a web page). “Aggregate Information” is information Cox collects that is devoid of all Personally Identifiable Information relating to our Customers (i.e., it is anonymous; it does not reveal a Customer’s name and address in connection with his/her general viewing or usage habits or any other transactions made using our Service that are personally identifiable to the Customer) and instead consists of data relating to the use of Video on Demand, Interactive Television, Internet access or other services by groups of customers.
We do not read your email messages, instant messages, online chats, or the content of other online communications that reside on or pass through our Service. We may however, retain and provide such communications if we are legally required to do so. In addition, please be aware that once your communications leave our network and enter the public Internet on their way to their recipient, your communications may be monitored or intercepted by third parties or other Internet service providers over which we do not have control. Moreover, since we cannot control Web sites or Internet services operated by third parties, we recommend that you review the terms of service and privacy policies of those Web sites and services.
3. How We Use It
Generally, we use Personally Identifiable Information to manage our Service, such as, to verify billing accuracy, to communicate with our Customers about service-related issues, for abuse management, to collect past due bills, and to maintain financial, tax and legal records. We may make Personally Identifiable Information of Customers available to our employees, agents and contractors for our internal business purposes, as well as to our outside auditors, attorneys and accountants, potential and actual purchasers of our business, and local franchise authorities. The frequency of any such information disclosure will vary in accordance with our business needs.
Aggregate Information is used for network management, maintenance, performance evaluation and security. We may also transfer the Aggregate Information we collect in connection with the sale, merger, or transition of our system to a third-party.
We may send you marketing and informational materials from us or on behalf of our business affiliates or partners.
4. Whom We Share It With
Generally, we do not disclose Personally Identifiable Information to third parties without your consent or as otherwise permitted under the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 USC § 551, including but not limited to, in order to render, or conduct a legitimate business activity related to a cable service or other service provided by us to you. We may disclose names and addresses of Subscribers if (i) we have provided the Subscriber with the opportunity to prohibit or limit such disclosure, and (ii) the disclosure does not reveal, directly or indirectly, the extent of any viewing or other use by a Subscriber of our cable service or other service provided by us, or the nature of any transaction made by a Subscriber over our cable system. It is our policy not to provide PII (other than names and addresses) to any third party for its use in connection with mailing lists or marketing purposes, other than those parties that we retain to conduct our mailings, surveys, contests, or marketing campaigns, or who act on our behalf. (See “Choice” below for information on how to limit the transfer of PII.).
In addition, third parties to whom we may disclose PII to perform activities on our behalf (e.g., executing e-mail communications or collecting past due bills) are obligated to maintain the privacy of the PII we provide them. We require those third parties to use PII only for the limited purposes for which the disclosure is made and in accordance with this Policy.
Under special circumstances we may disclose PII without your consent if we believe, in our sole discretion, it is reasonable to do so to: satisfy laws (such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, as amended) or government regulations; comply with legal process or law enforcement requests; commence legal actions for violation of our AUP or Subscriber Agreement; or protect the rights or property of the Service.
5. Access To It
Upon written request delivered to [email protected], we will make Personally Identifiable Information about you contained in our business records available to you within ten (10) days of our receipt of your written request to examine such information. You may only inspect records containing information about you. You are responsible for the cost of copying any documents you request. We will make this information available during normal business hours at our office listed on the front cover of your billing invoice, and we will give you an opportunity to correct any error in the information we maintain.
6. Retention Of It
We maintain Personally Identifiable Information in our regular business records as long as you are a Subscriber and for a longer time if necessary for our business purposes. Unless a court has asked us for access to this information, we will destroy it once it is no longer necessary for our business purposes.
7. Choice
You may choose not to receive marketing communications from us and to limit our disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information we have collected from you. Upon such choice, we (i) will not contact you directly with marketing communications about our Service, and (ii) will not use Personally Identifiable Information obtained from you through registration with the Service to contact you with marketing communications about any other Cox products or services. Please note, however, that we may still be required to communicate with you if necessary to render or conduct a legitimate business activity related to the Service, and to disclose Personally Identifiable Information if required to do so by law. In order to make this choice you must notify us in writing at [email protected], and include your name, address, account number, and the information that you do not wish to be disclosed.
8. Security
We secure the Personally Identifiable Information we maintain about you on computer servers in an appropriately controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure, and have in place appropriate policy guidelines to safeguard this information. We also use encryption technology when collecting sensitive information such as a credit card number. While we attempt to ensure the integrity and security of our network and systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent third-party “hackers” from illegally obtaining this information.
9. Cookies
“Cookies” are small data files sent to your browser and stored on your hard drive. We use cookies to offer customized services and collect information on Internet usage. These files do not collect Personally Identifiable Information about you. Rather, they operate by identifying your browser, saving information regarding your use of a Web site, and providing you with personalized services. For example, a cookie can remember your password for logon procedures, save your preferences for a personalized home page and remember items you have selected for purchase during a visit to an online store. The result is a more personalized and enjoyable experience. Third party advertisements displayed on Web site(s) operated by SMS, Inc. may also contain cookies. SMS, Inc. does not control these advertiser cookies and Customers should check the privacy policy of the advertiser to see whether and how it uses cookies. You can set your browser to disable cookies, but by doing so, you may not be able to enjoy the personalized features offered by our Web sites. If you are concerned about cookies you may opt out of major advertising networks’ use of cookies at http://www.networkadvertising.org/optout_nonppii.asp.
10. Modifications To This Policy
We may change this Policy from time to time to take into account new or changing circumstances. Any changes to this Policy will be prospective and will therefore not change the way we use information collected prior to the changed policy.
11. How To Contact Us
For any questions regarding this Policy, please contact us here.