KNOWLAND PRIVACY AND COOKIE POLICY
Last Updated:  May 16, 2022

INTRODUCTION

The Knowland Group (“KNOWLAND™”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy and cookie policy (“Policy”) describes how “KNOWLAND,” “we,” and “our” collects, uses and shares personal data when using this website https://knowland.com (the “Site”) and/or subscribe to our services, or from telephone calls from Knowland in connection with our data collection, (together the “Services”).   Please read the following information carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.  If you are based in the European Union or another jurisdiction with a data protection law, see Section 14 in regards to the processing of personal data.

We will post any modifications or changes to the Policy on our Site. We reserve the right to modify the Policy at any time, so we encourage you to review it frequently. The “Last Updated” legend above indicates when this Policy was last changed. If we make any material change(s) to the Policy, we will notify you by email. 

1. Purposes of Processing

Why do we need your personal data?

We collect information about you in a range of forms, including personal data.  We will only process your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws.

What personal data do we collect?

Knowland collects information about three general categories of individuals: customers, potential customers, and meeting planners.

Customers:

If you are a customer or an employee of a customer, we need certain personal data to provide you with access to the Site/Services.  If a user account was created for you, you have been asked to agree to provide this information to access our services/products or view our content. You maintain the right to withdraw your consent at any time. If you do not agree to our use of your personal data in line with this Policy, do not use our Site/ Services.

Knowland collects the following types of data from customers and their employees:

  • Registration information – We require some basic information when you register to use our Site/Services. When you create your own username and password, we ask you for your name, title, and a valid email address.
  • Billing information – When you make a purchase through our Site/Services we collect the necessary billing information to complete that purchase.  Any financial information we collect is used only to bill you for the Services you purchased and if you purchase by credit card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider.
  • Social Networking Sites – Our Site/Services include(s) interfaces that allow you to connect with social networking sites (each a “SNS”). If you connect to a SNS through our Site/Services, you authorize us to access, use and store the information that you agreed the SNS could provide to us based on your settings on that SNS. We will access, use and store that information in accordance with this Policy. You can revoke our access to the information you provide in this way at any time by amending the appropriate settings from within your account settings on the applicable SNS.
  • Support and account maintenance – We collect any personal data you provide when you contact us or report a problem with our Site/Services or when we provide you with customer support.   
  • Site usage information – We automatically log information about you and your computer or mobile device when you access our Site/Services. For example, when visiting our Site/Services, we log your computer or mobile device operating system name and version, manufacturer and model, browser type, browser language, screen resolution, the website you visited before browsing to our Site/ Services, pages you viewed, how long you spent on a page, access times and information about your use of and actions on our Site/ Services. We collect this information about you using cookies. Please refer to the sections on cookies, Flash Technology and Pixel Tags below.

Potential Customers:

If you are a potential customer who has requested information about the Services, we will collect contact information that you provide via the Site and use that data to contact you and provide you with information about industry trends, education and the Services.

Site usage information – We automatically log information about you and your computer or mobile device when you access our Site/Services. For example, when visiting our Site/Services, we log your computer or mobile device operating system name and version, manufacturer and model, browser type, browser language, screen resolution, the website you visited before browsing to our Site/ Services, pages you viewed, how long you spent on a page, access times and information about your use of and actions on our Site/ Services. We collect this information about you using cookies. Please refer to the sections on cookies, Flash Technology and Pixel Tags below.

Meeting Planners: If you are a meeting planner, a third-party service provider may have provided Knowland with information regarding a conference or meeting that you organized.  We collect the personal data you provide when speaking with a Knowland researcher: name, email, address, phone number, and buying preferences for groups. We only utilize information that you approve for our use.

How do we use your personal data?

Over the past 12 months we may have used your information for the following purposes:

Knowland Service Customers (and their employees):

  • We use your registration information to create your account, and to provide you with access to the Site/Services.
  • We use your billing information to provide you with access to the Site/Services, or any other Knowland paid service you request.
  • We use your user information, specifically your username, to identify you on our Site/Services.
  • We use your email to communicate with you. Through our preference center, you have the ability to select the type of communication you would like to receive including the ability to opt-out of non-account related communications. Please see our section on email communication for more information.
  • If you are a customer, you have the opportunity to opt-out of marketing emails. 
  • We use personal Information to respond to support requests.
  • We use usage information and device information to better understand how our users use our site and to improve our Website and Service.
  • We may use your personal information if it is necessary for security purposes or to investigate possible fraud or attempts to harm our users.
  • We may use your personal information to comply with our legal obligations, protect our intellectual property, and enforce our Terms of Service.
  • We limit our use of your personal Information to the purposes listed in this Privacy Statement. If we need to use your personal information for other purposes, we will ask your permission first. You can always see what information we have, how we’re using it, and what permissions you have given us in your user profile.

Potential Customers:

  • If you are a potential customer, we may send you marketing e-mails about upcoming promotions, and other news, including information about products and services offered by us and our affiliates. You may opt-out of receiving such information at any time: such marketing emails tell you how to “opt-out.” Please note, even if you opt out of receiving marketing emails, we may still send you non-marketing emails. Non-marketing emails include emails about your account with us (if you have one) and our business dealings with you.

Meeting Planners:

  • If you are a meeting planner, we provide your business contact information to our customer

If you are a child under the age of 13, you may not have an Account on Knowland. Knowland does not knowingly collect information from or direct any of our content specifically to children under 13. If we learn or have reason to suspect that you are a User who is under the age of 13, we will have to close your Account.

How do we share your personal data?

Over the past 12 months we may have shared your personal data as follows:

  • Third Parties Designated by You. We may share your personal data with third parties where you have provided your consent to do so.
  • Our Third-Party Service Providers. We may share your personal data with our third-party service providers who provide services such as, payment processing, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, auditing and other similar services. These third parties are only permitted to use your personal data to the extent necessary to enable them to provide their services to us. They are required to follow our express instructions and to comply with appropriate confidentiality provisions and security measures to protect your personal data.
  • Affiliates. We may share some or all of your personal data with our affiliates, in which case we will contractually require our affiliates to comply with this Policy. In particular, you may let us share personal data with our affiliates where you wish to receive marketing communications from them.

We may also share your personal data under the following circumstances:

  • Corporate Restructuring. We may share personal data when we do a business deal, or negotiate a business deal, involving the sale or transfer of all or a part of our business or assets. These deals can include but are not limited to any merger, financing, acquisition, or bankruptcy transaction or proceeding.
  • Other Disclosures. We may share personal data as we believe necessary or appropriate: (a) to comply with applicable laws; (b) to comply with lawful requests and legal process, including to respond to subpoenas or requests from public and government authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements; (c) to enforce our Policy; and (d) to protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of you or others.

3. COOKIES

What are cookies?

We may collect information using “cookies.” Cookies are small data files stored on the hard drive of your computer or mobile device by a website. We may use both session cookies (which expire once you close your web browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your computer or mobile device until you delete them) to provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on our Site/ Services.

We use two broad categories of cookies: (1) first party cookies, served directly by us to your computer or mobile device, which are used only by us to recognize your computer or mobile device when it revisits our Site/ Services; and (2) third party cookies, which are served by service providers on our Site/ Services, and can be used by such service providers to recognize your computer or mobile device when it visits other websites.

Cookies we use

Our Site/ Services use the following types of cookies for the purposes set out below:

Type of cookie

Purpose

Essential Cookies

These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through our Site/Service and to enable you to use some of its features. For example, they allow you to log in to secure areas of our Site/ Services and help the content of the pages you request load quickly.   Without these cookies, the services that you have asked for cannot be provided, and we only use these cookies to provide you with those services.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies allow our Site/ Services to remember choices you make when you use our Site/Services, such as remembering your login details. The purpose of these cookies is to provide you with a more personal experience and to avoid you having to re-enter your preferences every time you visit our Site/ Services.

These cookies also allow our Site to track visitor behavior on the site and to link a visitor to the recipient of an email marketing campaign, to measure campaign effectiveness. 

Analytics and Performance Cookies

These cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Site/ Services and how users use our Site/ Services. The information gathered does not identify any individual visitor. The information is aggregated and anonymous. It includes the number of visitors to our Site/ Services, the websites that referred them to our Site/ Services, the pages they visited on our Site/ Services, what time of day they visited our Site/ Services, whether they have visited our Site/ Service before, and other similar information.  We use this information to help operate our Site/ Services more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information and to monitor the level of activity on our Site/ Services.

We use Google Analytics for this purpose. Google Analytics uses its own cookies. It is only used to improve how our Site/ Service] work. You can find out more information about Google Analytics cookies here:  https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsCookies

You can find out more about how Google protects your data here: www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html.

You can prevent the use of Google Analytics relating to your use of [our Site/ Services] by downloading and installing the browser plugin available via this link:
http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en-GB

Advertising Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. These cookies do not directly store personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.

Disabling cookies

You can typically remove or reject cookies via your browser settings. In order to do this, follow the instructions provided by your browser (usually located within the “settings,” “help” “tools” or “edit” facility).  Many browsers are set to accept cookies until you change your settings.

Further information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set on your computer or mobile device and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.com/uk.

If you do not accept our cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our Site/Services. For example, we may not be able to recognize your computer or mobile device and you may need to log in every time you visit our Site/Services.

We currently do not process or respond to any web browser’s “do not track” signals or similar mechanisms that request us to take steps to disable online tracking.

4. PIXEL TAGS

We may also use pixel tags (which are also known as web beacons and clear GIFs) on our Site/Services to track the actions of users on our Site/Services. Unlike cookies, which are stored on the hard drive of your computer or mobile device by a website, pixel tags are embedded invisibly on webpages. Pixel tags measure the success of our marketing campaigns and compile statistics about usage of the Site/Services, so that we can manage our content more effectively. The information we collect using pixel tags is not linked to our users’ personal data.

5. Website Server Logs

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect information to administer the website and analyze its usage. Examples of information we may collect include:

  • Your Internet protocol address.
  • The kind of browser or computer you use.
  • Number of links you click within the website.
  • State or country from which you accessed the website.
  • Date and time of your visit.
  • Name of your Internet service provider.
  • Web page from which you linked to our website.
  • Pages you viewed on the website.

6. EMAIL

Email messages are not secure. We are not responsible for the security or confidentiality of communications sent to us via Internet email messages. Our security software does not encrypt email messages. Email messages traveling through the Internet are potentially subject to viewing, alteration and copying by anyone on the Internet. Be cautious when submitting personal or financial information via email. Send confidential information through the postal service or use the telephone to speak directly to our employees.

You should not respond to emails from anyone that request validation of personal information or link to websites requesting validation of personal information.

7. Anonymous Data

When we use the term “anonymous data,” we are referring to data and information that does not permit you to be identified or identifiable, either alone or when combined with any other information available to a third party.

We may create anonymous data from the personal data we receive about you and other individuals whose personal data we collect. Anonymous data might include analytics information and information collected by us using cookies.  We make personal data into anonymous data by excluding information (such as your name) that makes the data personally identifiable to you.  We use this anonymous data to analyses usage patterns in order to make improvements to our Site/Services.

8. Third Party Sites

Our Site/Services may contain links to third party websites and features. This Policy does not cover the privacy practices of such third parties. These third parties have their own privacy policies and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for their websites, features or policies.  Please read their privacy policies before you submit any data to them.

9. Security

We seek to use reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to protect personal data within our organization.   We maintain commercially reasonable physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to guard your nonpublic personal information. Our operational and data processing systems are contained in a secure environment and that environment is access-controlled.

To secure sensitive communications between your computer and our web servers, we have implemented digital certificates and encryption. We use secure sockets layer, SSL, security protocol to protect all exchanges of information via our website pages that are considered private or confidential.

We use various authentication technologies, including passwords, to authenticate visitors to the portions of our website that may allow access to private or confidential information. We have implemented other security controls such as firewalls, and intrusion prevention to protect our systems and networks and your information.

Unfortunately, no transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of any account you might have with us has been compromised), please immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us using the details in Section 15 below.

10. Retention

Knowland Service Users: We will only retain your personal data as long as reasonably required for business purposes or legal obligations.

11. Sensitive Personal Data

Subject to the following paragraph, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive personal data (e.g., social security numbers, information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, biometrics or genetic characteristics, criminal background or trade union membership) on or through the Site/Services or otherwise to us.

If you send or disclose any sensitive personal data to us when you submit user generated content to our Site/Services, you consent to our processing and use of such sensitive personal data in accordance with this Policy. If you do not consent to our processing and use of such sensitive personal data, you must not submit such user generated content to our Site/Services.

12. Your Rights

  • Opt-out. You may contact us anytime to opt-out of: (i) direct marketing communications;  (ii) our collection of sensitive personal data; or (iii) the transfer of your personal data outside the EEA. Please note that your use of some of the Site/Services may be impossible upon opt-out. If you do not wish to have your contact information used by KNOWLAND™ you can opt-out by sending us an email stating your request to clientcare@knowland.com. If we have sent you a promotional email, the email will have an “unsubscribe” feature that will allow you to opt-out of receiving future email distributions.

Access. If you are a Customer, you may review the information we hold about you at any time by contacting us directly. If you are a Prospective Customer or Meeting Planner, you can review the information we hold about you by sending an email to clientcare@knowland.com.

  • You can also contact us to update or correct any inaccuracies in your personal data.
  • Your personal data is portable – i.e. you have the flexibility to move your data to other service providers as you wish.
  • Erase and forget. In certain situations, for example when the information we hold about you is no longer relevant or is incorrect, you can request that we erase your data.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 15 below. In your request, please make clear: (i) what personal data is concerned; and (ii) which of the above rights you would like to exercise.  For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to the personal data associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event, within one month of your request. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting such change or deletion.

If you are a California resident, California law permits you to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to clientcare@knowland.com.

13. Complaints

We are committed to resolve any complaints about our collection or use of your personal data. If you would like to make a complaint regarding this Policy or our practices in relation to your personal data, please contact our Director of Data Operations at: dataops@knowland.com.

We will reply to your complaint as soon as we can and in any event, within 45 days. We hope to resolve any complaint brought to our attention, however if you feel that your complaint has not been adequately resolved, you reserve the right to contact your local data protection supervisory authority.

14. COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE DATA PROTECTION LAWS. This section provides additional information applicable to the processing of personal data of individuals in the European Union, California, Virginia, Colorado, and other jurisdictions with data protection laws.

  1. Who we are: For the purpose of applicable data protection law, the data controller of your personal data is Knowland of 1735 N. Lynn St, Arlington, VA 22209. Our data protection officer is our Director of Data Operations (dataops@knowland.com).
  2. PERSONAL DATA. As used in this Policy, “personal data” is as defined in the applicable data protection laws, this includes any information which, either alone or in combination with other information we hold about you, identifies you as an individual, including, for example, your name, postal address, email address and telephone number.
  3. International Data Transfer. Your information, including personal data that we collect from you, may be transferred to, stored at and processed by us and our affiliates and other third parties outside the country in which you reside, including, but not limited to the United States, where data protection and privacy regulations may not offer the same level of protection as in other parts of the world. By using our Site/Services, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.  We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy.
  4. OTHER PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT. If you are contacted by Knowland in connection with our data collection process, we collect certain personal information, after you’ve consented to us doing so.  Upon your consent, we may share that information with customers by including your information in certain Knowland products and services.   
  5. YOUR CHOICES UNDER APPLICABLE DATA PROTECTION LAWS. To the extent that Knowland acts as the controller (or equivalent) for your personal information, the applicable data protection law may provide you with the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information.  See Section 12 for a more detailed description of these rights.  To exercise these rights, email clientcare@knowland.com.  Please note that to the extent that Knowland processes your data on behalf of your employer, you may need to exercise these rights via a request to your employer. 

15. Contact Information

We welcome your comments or questions about this Policy.   If you have questions regarding our Policy or its implementation, please contact us at clientcare@knowland.com or send your comments to:

Knowland
Attention: Policy Personnel
1735 N Lynn St, Suite 600
Arlington, VA  22209

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The Knowland Group (“KNOWLAND™”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Statement describes our privacy practices with regard to the information we collect when you visit our website or subscribe to our services (collectively, our “Services”). 

Please read this Privacy Statement carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will process it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use our Services. By accessing or using our Services, you agree to this Privacy Statement. This Privacy Statement may be updated from time to time. Your continued use of our Services after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check this Privacy Statement periodically for updates.

PARTICIPATING MERCHANT POLICIES

Related services and offerings with links from this website, including vendor websites, have their own privacy statements that can be viewed by clicking on the corresponding links within each respective website. Online merchants and others who participate in KNOWLAND™ services are encouraged to participate in industry privacy initiatives and to take a responsible attitude towards consumer privacy. However, since we do not have direct control over the policies or practices of participating merchants and other third parties, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or contents of those websites. We recommend and encourage that you always review the privacy policies of merchants and other third parties before you provide any personal information or complete any transactions with such parties.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

KNOWLAND™ collects certain information from and about its users in three ways: (1) from our website server logs, (2) using cookies, and (3) as provided by users of Knowland™.

Website Server Logs
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect information to administer the website and analyze its usage. Examples of information we may colelct include:

  • Your Internet protocol address.
  • The kind of browser or computer you use.
  • Number of links you click within the website.
  • State or country from which you accessed the website.
  • Date and time of your visit.
  • Name of your Internet service provider.
  • Web page from which you linked to our website.
  • Pages you viewed on the website.

Use of Cookies

KNOWLAND™ may use cookies to personalize or enhance your user experience. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a website, a cookie helps the website to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. Hence, this simplifies the process of delivering relevant content and eases website navigation by providing and saving your preferences and login information as well as providing personalized functionality.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you reject cookies by changing your browser settings, be aware that this may disable some of the functionality on our website.

Personal Information Provided by Users

If you register to receive our Services, either online of by signing a Service Order with us, we will request personal information such as name, address, email, telephone number or facsimile number, account number, and other relevant information. If you are purchasing our Services, we will also request financial information. Any financial information we collect is used only to bill you for the Services you purchased. If you purchase by credit card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider. For other types of registrations, we will ask for the relevant information. You may also be asked to disclose personal information to us so that we can provide assistance and information to you. For example, such data may be warranted in order to provide online technical support and troubleshooting.

We will only use your personal information to provide the Services to you, and to inform you about other products and services that may be of interest to you. We will not disclose your personal information to third parties without your permission except:

  • To fulfill your requests for Services.
  • To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
  • To protect ourselves from liability.
  • To respond to legal process or comply with law.
  • In connection with a merger, acquisition, or liquidation of KNOWLAND™.

We may disclose aggregated information about users of our Services, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.

YOUR CHOICES

If you do not wish to have your contact information used by KNOWLAND™ to promote our own or third parties’ products or services, you can opt-out by sending us an email stating your request to clientcare@knowland.com. If we have sent you a promotional email, the email will have an “unsubscribe” feature that will allow you to opt-out of receiving future email distributions.
If you are a California resident, California law permits you to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to clientcare@knowland.com.

SECURITY

We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to guard your nonpublic personal information. Our operational and data processing systems are contained in a secure environment and that environment is access-controlled.
To secure sensitive communications between your computer and our web servers, we have implemented digital certificates and encryption. We use secure sockets layer, SSL, security protocol to protect all exchanges of information via our website pages that are considered private or confidential.
We use various authentication technologies, including passwords, to authenticate visitors to the portions of our website that may allow access to private or confidential information. We have implemented other security controls such as firewalls, intrusion detection and intrusion prevention to protect our systems and networks and your information. Our security systems constantly monitor the website server to ensure your accounts are safe and secure.

USE OF WEB BEACONS OR GIF FILES

KNOWLAND™ website pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons – sometimes also called single-pixel gifs – that allow KNOWLAND™ to count users who have visited those pages and to deliver co-branded services. KNOWLAND™ may include web beacons in promotional email messages or newsletters in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.

Some of these web beacons may be placed by third party service providers to help determine the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns or email communications. These web beacons may be used by these service providers to place a persistent cookie on your computer. This allows the service provider to recognize your computer each time you visit certain pages or emails and compile anonymous information in relation to those page views, which in turn enables us and our service providers to learn which advertisements and emails bring you to our website and how you use the site. KNOWLAND™ prohibits web beacons from being used to collect or access your personal information.

ACCESSING ACCOUNT INFORMATION

We will provide you with the means to ensure that personal information in your account file is correct and current. You may review this information by contacting us by sending an email to clientcare@knowland.com.

EMAIL

Email messages are not secure. We are not responsible for the security or confidentiality of communications sent to us via Internet email messages. Our security software does not encrypt email messages. Email messages traveling through the Internet are potentially subject to viewing, alteration and copying by anyone on the Internet. Be cautious when submitting personal or financial information via email. Send confidential information through the postal service or use the telephone to speak directly to our employees.

You should not respond to emails from anyone that request validation of personal information or link to websites requesting validation of personal information.

CONTACTING US

If you have questions regarding our Privacy Statement or its implementation, please contact us at clientcare@knowland.com or send your comments to:

Knowland Group
Attention: Privacy Statement Personnel
PO Box 476
Lewes, DE 19958

Updated: July 19, 2015