Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is a part of the Terms & Conditions of the Peter Benchley website (the “Website”) and is binding on all Website users.

We respect and wish to protect your privacy.  We therefore exercise precautions to maintain the confidentiality of information that you provide to us.

We may gather certain types of personally identifiable information, such as your name, e-mail address, street address or other postal mailing address, and telephone number(s) (collectively, “Personal Information”).  It is therefore important for you to know how we collect, use, disclose, manage, and store the Personal Information that you may voluntarily provide to us, as well as the information that is collected passively on the Website.

This Privacy Policy sets forth our current policies and practices with respect to Personal Information of Website users.  Your continued participation on this Website indicates your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and of the collection, use, disclosure, management and storage of your Personal Information as described below.

If you have any objections to this Privacy Policy,
you should immediately discontinue use of the Website.

Collection and Use of Information

We may collect and use aggregate information to analyze trends.  Aggregated information is not covered by this policy because it does not identify any individuals.

You may browse the Website without providing any Personal Information.

We do not collect Personal Information about you except when you provide it, such as when you:

  • click "Sign Up Now" to receive e-mails  and/or other communications from  the Website
  • post on our blog page

When you engage in any of the activities listed above, you will be asked to submit certain Personal Information, including your full name and mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number.  We may use your Personal Information to notify you about programs and events that we think may be of interest to you, and to respond to your suggestions and questions.

Please let us know when your Personal Information changes.

We may also use your Personal Information for operational and business purposes, or to find out how we can improve the Website.  We use aggregate Personal Information collected directly and via “cookies” to help us evaluate and modify the Website.

Cookies

This Website uses “cookies” to obtain non-Personal Information from online visitors in order to improve their online experience and facilitate their visit within the Website.  A cookie is a 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.  The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page – this can save you time.

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 prefer.  If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Website.

Disclosure of Information

We may share Personal Information with third parties with whom we collaborate on ocean conservation projects.

You may always “opt- out” if you do not wish to allow your Personal Information to be shared as described.  (See below)

Moreover, we may disclose Personal Information in special cases: (1) when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be intentionally or unintentionally: (a) causing injury to another person; (b) interfering with our rights or the rights of another party; and/or (c) threatening the physical safety of any person; or (2) when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, such as to comply with a court order, subpoena or warrant.

Procedures to Review Your Personal Information and to Opt-Out

You can always contact us if you wish to review any Personal Information we may have about you.  If we have Personal Information about you, we will provide you with a readable copy of such Personal Information at no charge.  Factual errors in your Personal Information, including out-of-date information, can be corrected by sending us a request that credibly shows our error.  To protect your privacy and security, we take commercially reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access to Personal Information or making corrections.

Also, you may “opt-out” of receiving further communications from us.  If you are receiving e-mail messages from us and do not wish to receive any more, use the links on the bottom of the e-mail message to “unsubscribe” or make changes to your e-mail preferences.  When we receive your notification that you want to opt-out, we will process your request promptly.

Please note, however, that as a result, you may not receive further information about special programs or events.

Further, if you do not want your Personal Information to be shared with third parties in the manner discussed in the sections above entitled “Collection and Use of Information” and “Disclosure of Information,” please contact us by email at  wbenchley@gmail.com

Security of Information

The Personal Information collected through the Website is maintained in a manner consistent with current industry standards.  Your Personal Information is protected in several ways.  Your Personal Information resides on servers that are protected by physical and electronic safeguards. Certain payment information and other Personal Information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing such information when it is transmitted to us.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  As a result, while we strive to protect your Personal Information, you acknowledge that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control; (b) the security, integrity, and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through the Website cannot be guaranteed; (c) any such information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party; and (d) WHEN YOU TRANSFER ANY INFORMATION TO US, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Links to Third Party Websites

The Website may contain links to the websites of third parties.  You understand, acknowledge and agree that these links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by the Website of the content, advertising or business practices.  We are NOT responsible for the privacy practices or the content on any of these other websites, including any websites that may indicate that they are “Partners” and/or have a special relationship with us.  The linked websites may collect Personal Information from you when you link to their websites.  This collection of information is not subject to our control.  To ensure protection of your privacy, always review the privacy policies of the websites you visit by linking from the Website.

International Users

The Website is hosted in the United States and intended for use in the U.S.  If you are accessing the Website from a location outside the U.S. and that location has laws or regulations regarding the collection, use and/or disclosure of Personal Information that is different than U.S. laws and regulations, please be advised that your continued use of the Website, which is governed by U.S. law (as stated in the Terms & Conditions), indicates your consent to the transfer of your Personal Information to the U.S.

Our Commitment to Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important.  We never collect or maintain information at the Website from persons we know to be under age 13 without parental consent, and our Website is not designed to attract anyone under age 13.  Please do not communicate with or contact us if you are under age 13.  By your participation in our Website activities, you certify that you are at least 13 years of age and meet any other eligibility requirements of the Website.  If we learn that Personal Information relating to someone under the age of 13 has been collected on the Website, we will take appropriate steps to delete such information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy over time as new features are added to the Website or as Internet law and standards evolve, and this will be reflected by the "Last Modified" notice below.  We will post those changes prominently but we do recommend that you read this Privacy Policy periodically when you visit the Website.  Changes will not apply retroactively to Personal Information that was collected before the changes to the Privacy Policy, except as may be required by law.

Last Modified:  August 9, 2012