Privacy Policy

State of Nevada Online Privacy Policy – Effective Date 11/25/02 | 3.03 B.

1. PURPOSE

The State of Nevada is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our websites. This policy defines the minimum online privacy requirements for State of Nevada executive branch organizations. Any executive branch organization may augment this policy with information that pertaining to services offered on their specific website.

2. SCOPE

All Nevada state executive branch organizations must adhere to the policy in this document to the extent of the governor’s authority. This policy applies to all state Internet sites but does not apply to state Intranet sites.

3. EFFECTIVE DATES

The requirements of this policy are effective 90 days after sign-off by the Governor or his designee.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES

Heads of all Nevada state executive branch organizations are responsible for their organization’s compliance with the requirements of this policy and all applicable laws of the United States and the State of Nevada. They are also responsible for any information captured from users who access their websites (see section 6. 5 of this policy

All Nevada state executive branch organizations must publish a link to this policy on the homepage of their websites. A link to this privacy policy and any additional agency-specific privacy policy is also required on every page of a web site that collects personal information or incorporates an e-mail or other form where users may submit questions or comments.

5. RELATED DOCUMENTS

State of Nevada Security Policies

6. POLICY

6.1 Personal Information

6.1.1 When Information is Collected

The state does not collect or retain personally identifiable information unless a person voluntarily:

• Participates in an activity that asks for information (i.e. sending an email, participating in a survey or filling in an online form). This information will only be used to respond to the person’s request and to analyze trends. A message may be redirected to another government agency or person who is in a better position to respond.
• Uses an online service or transaction that requires collection of personally identifiable information.

Choosing not to participate in an activity or service that requests personal information will in no way effect a visitor’s ability to access any other feature of the State of Nevada website.

If personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once it is provided, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001

Nevada websites directed to children under 13, that knowingly collect information from children, must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001. However, visitors are cautioned that the state has no way of determining the age of a person volunteering personally identifiable information online or by email. As such, this information will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access.

6.1.3 Password Information

User names and passwords or PINs may be required to access an online service offered by a Nevada state executive branch organization. No representative of the state of Nevada will ever request a user to reveal their username, password or PIN. Under no circumstances should this information be shared with or disclosed to any other person. However, online systems may offer the built-in capability to securely assist users who have lost or forgotten their PIN or password.

6.1.4 Correcting Personal Information

Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, an individual may request correction of personally identifiable information. Persons concerned about information contained in their personal records should contact the custodian of that record, which is typically the organization that has collected the information

6.1.5 Public Disclosure of Information

It is important to understand that under applicable state and federal law, various forms of correspondence and other communications may be subject to public disclosure.

6.2. Automatic Information

6.2.1 What is Captured

The Nevada state web portal utilizes server logs and log analysis tools to create summary statistics about the use of the portal. These logs collect the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address of all computers accessing the portal, and may collect other similar information about the computer’s network. Summary statistics are used for various purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest to users, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.

This data is not reported or used in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information, and will not be released to any outside parties unless legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings.

6.2.2 Cookies

The Nevada state web portal does use cookies to collect information used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering web statistics only. Executive branch organizations are not prohibited from using cookies. If cookies are used, the organization must disclose the specific information regarding the use of the cookie as part of their privacy statement.

6.3 Link Disclaimer

In order to make information available to visitors, the Nevada state web portal provides links to web sites of other governmental agencies and other non-government organizations. A link does not constitute an endorsement of the content, viewpoint, policies, products or services of that web site. Once you link to another web site, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that web site, including but not limited to its privacy policy.

6.4 Information Disclaimer

Information provided on state of Nevada web sites is intended to provide immediate access to public information. While all attempts are made to provide accurate, current and reliable information we recognize the possibility of human and/or mechanical error. Therefore, the State of Nevada, its employees, officers, and agencies expressly deny any warranty of the accuracy; reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Any person who relies upon such information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.

7. EXCEPTIONS/OTHER ISSUES

Any exception to this policy must be approved by organization management, the e-government Steering Committee and by the Nevada State CIO or his designee.

8. DEFINITIONS/BACKGROUND

Base URL String – Also known as the root URL or Domain Name. The nomenclature, which identifies the address of a web site. The base string means the root URL. Example: www.microsoft.com is a root or base URL that takes a user to the first page of Microsoft’s web site.

Cookies – A “cookie” is a small text file that a website can place on your computer’s hard drive in order, for example, to collect information about your activities on the site or to make it possible for you to use an online “shopping cart” to keep track of items you wish to purchase. The cookie transmits this information back to the Web site’s computer which, generally speaking, is the only computer that can read it. Most consumers do not know that “cookies” are being placed on their computers when they visit websites. If you want to know when this happens, or to prevent it from happening, you can set your browser to warn you when a website attempts to place a “cookie” on your computer.

Executive Branch Organizations – Includes departments, divisions, agencies, units, commissions, boards or institutions.

Home Page – The first page a user will encounter when visiting a web site for the first time through the base URL string.

Internet – Worldwide network of networks and computers that are interconnected to communicate with each other through web pages, e-mail and many other services.

Intranet – An internal, restricted private network in which access is restricted to those within a company or organization. Intranets provide many of the same services as the Internet including websites and e-mail, but access is allowed only to approve individuals within an organization.

Links – Also known as hyper-links. Used to connect one web page to another web page via some form of Hyper-Text Markup Language, whether graphical or text in nature.

Personal Information – Examples of personally identifiable information include:

• Name
• Address
• E-mail address
• Social Security number
• Password
• Bank account information
• Credit/debit card information
• Any combination of data that could be used to identify you such as your birth date, zip code, ethnicity or gender.

Portal – A website serving as a common entry point and frequent gateway to information and services.

Web Page – Any page located on a web site

Web Site – Public set of documents, called pages, developed using some form of Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML).

URL – Universal Resource Locator