Effective Date:  October 16, 2018

  1. Introduction

    2. The American College of Cardiology and American College of Cardiology Foundation (collectively referred to herein as “ACC” or “we” or “us” or “our”) is committed to responsible information handling practices. This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use, share, and otherwise process the information we collect on the Sites (as defined herein). This Privacy Notice applies to the following: www.acc.org, www.ncdr.com, www.cardiosmart.org, www.onlinejacc.org, www.cvquality.acc.org, www.alm.acc.org (and each sub-domain associated with this URL) and all other websites, mobile websites, microsites, mobile applications, ACC profiles on ACC social media sites, and any other digital services and platforms officially operated by or used by ACC from time to time (collectively, the “Sites”).

  2. Changes to the Privacy Policy

    3. As ACC, its membership, products, and services change from time to time, this Privacy Notice is expected to change as well. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Notice at any time, for any reason. We will notify you as required by law, and indicate the date of the last revision to the Privacy Notice by the “Effective Date” at the top of this page.

  3. Collection of Information

    4. ACC collects information that enables ACC to identify or contact you (“Personal Information”) to carry out our business purposes. The Sites collect information for a variety of business reasons, including but not limited to, applying for membership, becoming a registered user on our Sites, registering for an ACC event or program, purchasing ACC products or services, subscribing to ACC publications, or otherwise interacting with ACC. The types of Personal Information we collect may include, but are not limited to:
    • General information (e.g., names, e-mail addresses, postal addresses, Internet protocol addresses, mobile/landline business/personal telephone numbers, and country of residence);
    • Professional information (e.g., medical licensure date and state(s), work setting, profession, and principal professional field);
    • Financial information for sales of products or services (e.g., credit and debit card numbers, billing address); and
    • Demographic information for diversity or accessibility purposes (e.g., racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, and disability data).

    Like most websites, our Sites collect information regarding your use of the Sites through the use of cookies. For information on our use of cookies, please see our Cookie Policy.

    We also collect non-personally identifiable information as you interact with our Sites including, but not limited to, site usage, products and services viewed, and internet service provider.

    The collection of Personal Information by ACC is also sometimes required by law and at other times is a result of a contractual requirement. You may be required to provide Personal Information, for example, in a case where we sign a contract with you, and not providing certain information could, in certain circumstances, prevent a transaction from being processed.

  4. Use of Information

    5. We use the Personal Information that you provide to us on the legal basis of ACC’s legitimate interests in providing our services and Sites and their functionality to you. In addition to the uses described above, we may use your Personal Information, sometimes combined with non-personally identifiable information, for the following purposes:

    • Processing and supporting the transaction or activity for which the information was provided, such as allowing access to or delivery of our products or services, fulfilling an order or subscription, registering you for programs or events, or providing service communications.
    • Responding to your emails or online requests or inquiries.
    • Administering the Sites and systems, such as for the technical support of the Sites and their respective computer systems, including processing account information, information used in the course of securing and maintaining the Sites, and verification of activity of the Sites by ACC or their respective agents.
    • Tailoring content, advertising, and marketing to you.
    • Research and development to enhance, evaluate, and improve the Sites and our services.
    • Creating a profile used to determine the habits, interests, or other characteristics of users for purposes of research, analysis, and anonymous reporting.
    • Communicating with you about changes or updates to the Sites or, with your consent, special offers or promotions.

    We do not use solely automated decision-making that has legal or similarly legal effects on you.

    Where we intend to process your Personal Information for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected, we will provide you with information regarding the purpose for the processing, as well as other relevant information, prior to processing your Personal Information for the new purpose.

    We use non-personally identifiable information as anonymous, aggregated user data for the purposes of site usage analysis, quality control, and to improve the Sites.

  5. Disclosure of Information

    6. Access to your Personal Information is restricted to use by ACC and entities acting as our agents, representatives, or collaborators. We may share Personal Information in a variety of ways including, but not limited to:

    • Sharing information with third parties when reasonably necessary to fulfill service requests and to perform business functions such as website and systems hosting, data storage; packaging, mailing, and delivering services; processing payment card transactions; customer support and consulting services; and event registrations;
    • Sharing information with third parties to protect ACC in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process served on ACC; (b) protect and defend ACC’s rights or property; (c) protect the personal safety of ACC personnel or members of the public in appropriate circumstances; or (d) enforce ACC’s Privacy Notice.
    • Sharing information with third parties to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, safety of person or property, violation of ACC policies, or as otherwise required by law.
    • With your consent, sharing information with third parties to offer you products and services that may be of interest to you. You can request that your information be removed from such lists by contacting us via the “Contact” section below.

  6. Access and Changes to Your Personal Information and Preferences

    7. The accuracy of your Personal Information is solely your responsibility. If you are a member, user of our Sites, subscriber to ACC publications, or purchaser of our products and services, you can review, update, and correct your information and communications preferences directly on the Sites or by contacting us via the “Contact” section below.

    If you wish to receive emails, alerts, news, special offers, or promotions from the Sites, you may indicate your preference when you register for personalized services or access or amend your preferences by logging in and clicking on the relevant link at any time. If you wish to cease receiving any of this information, you may amend your preferences either by logging in and clicking on the relevant link, by contacting us via the “Contact” section below, or by using the "opt-out" or unsubscribe option provided within the communications you receive. We reserve the right to notify you of changes or updates to the Sites whenever necessary.

    To help us make emails more useful and interesting for registered users, we may receive a confirmation when you open email from our Sites. We may also compare our registered user list to lists we receive from other companies in an effort to avoid sending unnecessary or duplicate messages to our registered users.

  7. European Privacy Rights

    8. This section applies to those individuals that visit our Sites from the European Union or are citizens of the European Union.

    1. Lawful Basis for Processing

      2. On certain occasions, we process your personal data when it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, such as to provide services to you that you have requested. We may also process your personal data in order to respond to your inquiries concerning our products and services.

      On other occasions, we process your personal data where required by law. We may also process your personal data if necessary to protect your interests or the interests of a third party.

      Additionally, we process your personal data when necessary to do so for direct marketing purposes and this interest is not overridden by your data protection rights. Where we process your personal data for this purpose, our legitimate interest is to carry out our activities in furtherance of the well-being of all our employees, members, and customers.

      If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no statutory basis for such processing, we will ask for your consent to process your personal data. You have the right to withdraw your consent to processing of personal data at any time. If you wish to exercise the right to withdraw consent, contact us via the “Contact” section below.

    2. Transfers of Personal Data

      3. Please be aware that the personal data we collect may be transferred to and maintained on servers or databases located outside your state, province, country, or other jurisdiction, where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your location. If you are located outside of the United States, please be advised that we process and store personal data in the United States.

    3. Your Rights

      4. You have a right to the following:
      • To request access to your personal data held by ACC;
      • To request that we correct or erase your personal data;
      • To request that we restrict or block the processing of your personal data;
      • Under certain circumstances, to receive your personal data held by ACC and have such data transmitted to a third party without hindrance from us, including requesting that we provide your personal data directly to another, i.e., a right to data portability; and
      • Where we previously obtained your consent, to withdraw consent to processing your personal data.

    To exercise these rights, contact us via the “Contact” section below. Please be aware that ACC may be unable to afford these rights to you under certain circumstances, such as if we are legally prevented from doing so. Additionally, you have the right to lodge a complaint against us. To do so, contact the supervisory authority in your country of residence.

  8. Retention of Personal Information

    9. We retain the Personal Information we collect from you for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the information was collected and as outlined in this Privacy Notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, or until you request that we remove the information by contacting us via the “Contact” section below. The criteria used to determine the period of storage of Personal Information is the respective statutory retention period or as set forth in ACC’s Document Retention Policy. After expiration of that period, the corresponding information is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, or process or enforce any of our agreements.

  9. Third-Party Advertisers

    10. We contract with third-party advertisers who post advertisements on the Sites, which may link to other websites that are not under our control. These third-party advertisers may use cookie technology to measure the effectiveness of their ads or may otherwise collect personally-identifiable information from you when you leave our Sites. We are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials offered from such third-party advertisers. Transactions that occur between you and the third-party are strictly between you and the third-party and are not our responsibility. You should review the privacy policy of any third-party advertiser, as its policy may differ from ours.

  10. Data Security

    11. We use commercially reasonable security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction of Personal Information. Furthermore, our internal practices help protect your privacy by limiting access to and use of Personal Information only to employees, agents, or third parties who need the data to operate, develop, or improve our services as set forth in this Privacy Notice.

    Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, despite our reasonable efforts to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, ACC cannot guarantee or warrant the security of the Personal Information you transmit to us, or to or from our online Sites.

    Certain areas of the Sites require the use of a user ID and password as an additional security measure that helps protect your Personal Information. To help you protect your privacy, these Sites have tools to help you log in and log out.

  11. Digital Advertising & Analytics

    12. We may partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers (“Advertising Providers”) that serve ads on our behalf and others’ on non-affiliated platforms. Some of those ads may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information Advertising Providers collect about your use of the Sites and other sites or apps over time, including information about relationships among different browsers and devices. This type of advertising is known as interest-based advertising.

    We adhere to the Digital Advertising Alliance ("DAA") Self-Regulatory Principles in connection with this interest-based advertising activity. You may visit www.aboutads.info to learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt-out of this advertising on websites by companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) self-regulatory program. If you delete your cookies or use a different browser or mobile device, you may need to renew your opt-out choices exercised through the DAA tool. Note that electing to opt-out will not stop advertising from appearing in your browser or applications. It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. Additionally, your browser may offer tools to limit the use of cookies or to delete cookies; however, if you use these tools, our Sites may not function as intended.

    We may also work with third parties that collect data about your use of the Sites over time for non-advertising purposes. We use Google Analytics and other third-party services to improve the performance of the Sites and for analytics and marketing purposes. For more information about how Google Analytics collects and uses data when you use our Sites, visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and to opt-out of Google Analytics, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.

    We may also use Mouseflow, a third-party analytics tool, on our Sites to track page content and click/touch, movement, scroll, and keystroke activity. You can opt-out at https://mouseflow.com/opt-out/.

  12. About This Privacy Notice

    13. This Privacy Notice applies solely to the information you provide while visiting our Sites. The terms of this Privacy Notice do not govern Personal Information furnished through any means other than the Sites (such as via telephone or postal mail).

    The Sites may contain links to other websites that are beyond our control. Other websites to which you link may contain privacy policies that are different from this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to check the privacy statements of these other websites, applications, or digital platforms you visit before submitting any information to them.

  13. Contact Us

    14. If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Notice, please contact the ACC Member Care, in our role as data controller, using the contact information detailed below:

    American College of Cardiology Foundation
    Member Care/Data Protection Officer
    2400 N Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20037
    Telephone (Toll free in US/Canada): (800) 253-4636 x5603
    Telephone (outside of US/Canada): (202) 375-6000 x5603
    privacy@acc.org

    If at any time you believe that we have not adhered to this Privacy Notice or you have a complaint regarding the way your Personal Information is being handled, please contact us. Disputes under this Privacy Notice will be resolved by ACC Member Care/Data Protection Officer, who will use reasonable efforts to promptly investigate and, if necessary, to correct any problem.