Web Site Policies
Posted: October 10, 2018
Effective: October 10, 2018
The AAAS and Science Websites are maintained by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005.
AAAS is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. We strive to provide a safe, secure user experience.
About Our Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy sets forth the online data collection and usage policies and practices that apply to the AAAS websites and the Science family of websites (referred to collectively as “AAAS and Science Websites”), currently including AAAS.org, Science (online version), Science Advances, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, Science Robotics, News from Science, Science Careers, Science Classic, and SAGE KE. It also includes the order forms and member services accessible from those websites. The AAAS and Science Websites contain links to other websites over which we have no control. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of other websites that you visit through a link on the AAAS and Science Websites.
This Policy provides information required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including:
- Personal Data we collect
- How Personal Data will be processed and the legal basis for processing
- With whom Personal Data will be shared
- Retention of your Personal Data
- What safeguards are in place to protect your Personal Data
- The transfer of your Personal Data outside the EEA
- Your rights with regards to your Personal Data
- Where to address your questions or complaints
Policy Details
What is Personal Data?
Personal Data (also referred to in this policy as Personal Information) means any information relating to a natural person who can be identified by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that person.
Personal Information We Collect
When you visit the AAAS and Science Websites, there are four types of information you might provide to us: contact information you knowingly choose to disclose; billing information when you join, subscribe, or make a purchase; demographic or other information about you; and technical information collected by us as you interact with our websites.
Contact Information
In some areas of the AAAS and Science Websites, we request or may request that you provide personal information, including your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
Purchaser Information
In some areas of the AAAS and Science Websites, we request or may request that you provide your credit card number, contact information, and billing information.
Demographic Information
In other areas, we collect or may collect demographic information such as your age, career focus and discipline, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, interests, and household income range. Sometimes, we collect or may collect a combination of information types. Examples of areas on the AAAS and Science Websites where we collect or may collect personal or combined personal and demographic data are pages where you can sign up to use a service, post a resume, enter a contest, or purchase a product.
Technical Information
We also gather or may gather certain information about your use of our site, such as what areas you visit and what services you access. Moreover, there is information about your computer hardware and software that we collect or may collect. This information can include, without limitation, your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. Some of this information is collected through the use of cookies (described below).
Use of Personal Information
The information collected may be used by AAAS for the purpose of providing you with the content you request, operating and improving the AAAS and Science Websites, fostering a positive user experience, and delivering the products and services that we offer.
We may also use the information we gather to inform you of other products or services available from the AAAS and Science Websites or to contact you about your opinion of current products and services or potential new products and services that may be offered.
We may use your contact information in order to send you e-mail, postal mail, or other communications regarding updates at the AAAS and Science Websites, such as Job Alerts, newsletters, new opportunities, and additional listings which may be of interest to you. We may also use it to send you information about third-party products and services that match your interests and preferences, if you opt in for this communication. The nature and frequency of these messages will vary depending upon the information we have about you. In addition, at the time of registration for certain services, such as Science Careers Job Alerts, or free partial access to any of the AAAS and Science Websites, you have the option to elect to receive additional communications, information, newsletters, and promotions relating to topics that may be of special interest to you.
If in the future we intend to process your Personal Data for a purpose other than that for which it was collected, we will provide you with information on that purpose and any other relevant information.
For EU-based visitors and subscribers, the following table provides information required by the GDPR relating to our use of your personal information.
Personal Information |
Legal Basis for Processing |
Contact information, including name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. |
Consent to provide you with the content you request, as necessary for the performance of a contract. |
Purchaser information, including credit card number, contact information, and billing information. |
Necessary to provide you with the content you request. |
Demographic information, including age, career focus and discipline, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, interests, and household income range. |
Legitimate purpose of providing tailored content to you. |
Technical information, including your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. |
Legitimate purpose of authenticating subscribers and optimizing website performance. |
Retention of Personal Information
We retain indefinitely all the personal information we gather about visitors or subscribers as necessary to fulfill our contract with you. We retain indefinitely certain anonymized information we gather about visitors or subscribers for the legitimate purpose of performing website analytics and providing use of our website to all visitors in an efficient, practical, and relevant way. If there is no legal basis or other requirement for keeping your data AND after there has been no activity from you for twenty-six (26) months, your data that is no longer required will be purged.
Sharing of Personal Data
We do not share or disclose your personal information to third parties except as set forth below:
Personal Information |
Purpose of Sharing |
Technical information |
With AAAS business partners for the legitimate purpose of understanding usage patterns for AAAS and Science Websites and those of our partners. |
Technical information |
With web hosting and other technical service providers for the legitimate purpose of hosting our web servers and ensuring information security for our networks. |
Contact information |
With consultants and vendors for the legitimate purpose of providing customer support and marketing assistance. |
Credit card information |
With credit card processors for purposes of processing credit card transactions in connection with the subscriber’s contract with the AAAS and Science websites. |
Contact information |
With our business partners, with your consent, for the purposes of providing you with products or services tailored to your interests and preferences. |
- In addition, we disclose personal information if legally required to do so, if requested to do so by a governmental entity, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of AAAS; (c) prevent a crime or protect national security; or (d) protect the personal safety of users or the public.
- In the event any one or all of the AAAS and Science Websites become the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding, whether voluntary or involuntary, the AAAS or its trustee in bankruptcy may sell, license, or otherwise dispose of such information in a transaction approved by the bankruptcy court as is legally required.
- In the event the AAAS or the Science business is acquired in whole or part by a third party by way of merger, consolidation, or purchase, we will disclose and transfer such information to the third party.
- The AAAS may also share aggregated anonymous information about visitors to AAAS and Science Websites with its clients, partners, and other third parties so that they may understand the kinds of visitors to the AAAS and Science Websites and how those visitors use the site.
Transfer of Personal Data Outside the EEA
Personal Data captured on this website may be transferred to, and stored or otherwise processed at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (hereinafter "EEA"), including destinations that are not subject to Data Privacy Provisions equivalent to those in the EEA countries in which you provided your Personal Data. We transfer your data to the US with your consent or where necessary to provide you with the services you have requested. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your Personal Data is processed safely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Your Rights under the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data
Under the GDPR, EU-based visitors and subscribers have the rights to request from us access to Personal Data we store about you, to amend (or rectify) this data, to restrict our processing of the Personal Data, to erase the data, and to receive a copy of the data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format (data portability). If you wish to invoke a right under the GDPR, you may contact us at dataprotectionoffice@aaas.org. Please use the subject line “GDPR query” in the subject line. Your e- mail should include a sufficiently detailed description of the GDPR right with which you seek assistance. We may need to contact you for further information and reserve the right to charge a fee for certain requests. AAAS will notify you if your request has been granted or declined, or if exemptions apply.
If you have provided consent for the processing of your data, you have the right (in certain circumstances) to withdraw that consent at any time, which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn.
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data.
Information You Post
If you post any personal information in public and/or social network areas of the AAAS and Science Websites, e.g., in online forums or chat rooms, the information disclosed may be displayed to other users of these services and may be collected and used by others over whom we have no control. AAAS is not responsible for the use made by third parties of information you post or otherwise make available in public areas of the AAAS and Science Websites. If you remove information that you have made public on AAAS and Science Websites, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the AAAS and Science Websites or if others have copied or saved that information.
Opt-In and Opt-Out Choices
The registration forms and other sections of the AAAS and Science Websites where we collect your information provide you with relevant opt-in and opt-out choices regarding promotional activity and other communications with you.
E-mail to Members: AAAS members may opt in for first- or third-party informational e-mails or opt out of all e-mail communication, except transactional emails, such as subscription renewal and association election information. Members can manage their email preferences by logging into My Profile and going to the Edit My Contact Information section, or by contacting AAAS MemberCentral Support at membership@aaas.org.
E-mail to Subscribers: Paid subscribers to AAAS publications, including Science, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics, may also opt in for first- or third-party informational e-mails or opt out of all e-mail communication (with the exception of subscription renewal information) by contacting AAAS MemberCentral Support at membership@aaas.org.
E-mail to Users of Free Services and Products:
- Where permitted by law, users of free online services provided by AAAS, such as free partial access to content from the Science family of journals, access to News from Science, or e-mail alerting services/newsletters or Science Careers, or who seek other free online services provided by AAAS are agreeing that AAAS may contact them by e-mail in exchange for these free services. Users who fall under the CASL and GDPR regulations who use free online services may opt in to e-mails from AAAS and Science. Users can also opt in for third-party informational e-mails.
- Where permitted by law, users who do not wish to receive e-mail alerting services or newsletters may cancel such services by following the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of any e-mail message from AAAS.
- Users who do not wish to receive e-mail may follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of any e-mail message from AAAS.
- Science Careers registrants can change their communication options by going to the job board at jobs.sciencecareers.org, logging in, and clicking on the settings icon to access their account preferences.
The above are examples of opt-in/opt-out options and are not intended to describe every option on the AAAS and Science websites.
Cookies
A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard drive by a webpage server. We use cookies to deliver faster and more accurate results and a more personalized site experience. We also use cookies to track clickstreams, for load balancing, and for analytic purposes.
We use AdWords Remarketing, a remarketing and behavioral targeting service provided by Google. We also use Google and Adobe Analytics data and the DoubleClick cookie to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to our website.
We also use a Google-provided tool called reCAPTCHA, which, on some form submissions, is intended to distinguish humans from robots in order to prevent spam and abuse of those forms.