Privacy Policy

Effective Date:June 18, 2015

Introduction

Welcome! You have arrived at http://www.masscec.com and/or are otherwise interacting with our Service (defined below), which is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (“MassCEC” or “we,” “our” or “us”). Your privacy is one of our top priorities. This policy informs you of the information that we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed choice about your use of this site.

This “Privacy Policy” governs your use of any online service location (e.g., website) that posts a link to this Privacy Policy (each a “Site”), and also applies to your use of interactive features, widgets, plug-ins, applications, content, downloads and/or other services that we own and control and make available through a Site and/or that posts a link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Service”), regardless of how you access or use them, whether via personal computers, mobile devices or otherwise. This Privacy Policy does not apply to our data collection activities offline or otherwise outside of our Service (unless otherwise stated below), and does not govern the data practices of third parties that may interact with our Service.

To the extent we provide you notice on our Service of different or additional privacy policies or practices (e.g., at the point of our collection), those additional terms shall govern such data collection and use.

In addition, please review the Service’s Terms of U se, which governs your use of the Service. By using our Service, you consent to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and our collection, use and sharing of your information and data, and other activities, as described below.

Summary Table of Contents

It is important that you read and understand the entire Privacy Policy before using the Service. To ease review, each section below contains a brief introductory summary. Any capitalized terms that appear in but are not otherwise defined in the introduction have the meanings given to them elsewhere in the Privacy Policy.

1. What Information Does the Service Collect?

We collect and receive certain information about you as you interact with our Service, explained further in this section.

(a) Information You Provide to Us

We may collect certain Personal Information that you provide to us when you interact with the Service. For example, we may collect this information through various forms and in various places on the Service, including “contact us” forms, or when you otherwise interact with the Service.

(b) Information Collected and Stored As You Access and Use the Service

Certain information may be collected from you automatically when you access and use the Service.

(c) Information Third Parties Provide About You

We may obtain information about you from third parties, including from public records.

2. How Do We Use The Information Collected?

We use your Personal Information and Usage Information for a variety of purposes detailed in this section.

3. How and When Do We Share Information With Third Parties?

We may provide your information to third parties under various circumstances detailed in this section. These may include:

(a) When You Request Information From or Provide Information to Third Parties

If you request information from third parties, request that we send information to third parties, or interact with third-party services, content, or tools (including Facebook and other third party share functionality), we may share your information with such parties and/or they may collect your information directly.

(b) Third Parties Providing Services on Our Behalf

Our vendors may collect your information on our behalf or we may share it with them so that they may provide services to us and you. Some may offer you choices regarding the collection and use of your information.

(c) To Protect the Rights of MassCEC and Others

There are a variety of administrative and legal reasons for which we may share some or all of your information.

(d) Affiliated Organizations and Agencies

We may share your information with our affiliated organizations and agencies.

(e) Public Records Law

Some of the information that we receive through this website is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. Information that you provide to us through this site may be made available to members of the public under that law.

4. What About Information I Disclose Publicly or to Others?

(a) Information You Provide via Social Media

Information you provide to us on official MassCEC social media accounts is subject to the privacy policies of those third party social media websites except that such information may be considered a public record under Massachusetts Public Records Law.

5. Do Third-Party Content, Links to Third-Party Sites and/or Third-Party Apps Appear on the Service?

We may allow you to access third-party content on the Service, or to link to third-party applications and locations from the Service, but we are not responsible for your interaction with third-party content, apps, and locations.

6. How Do I Remove my Information from the Solar Map?

If you are the owner of a residential property, you may request that your information not appear on the public Solar Map.

7. What Should Parents Know About Children?

We do not intend to collect Personal Information from children. If you think we have, let us know.

8. What About Security?

No data security is absolute, but we endeavor to take reasonable steps to secure data appropriately.

9. What About Changes to the Privacy Policy?

We may change this Privacy Policy upon posting of a revised Privacy Policy. However, we will continue to treat your Personal Information under the terms of the privacy policy in effect when it was collected unless you otherwise consent.

The Full, Detailed Privacy Policy

1. What Information Does the Service Collect?

(a) Information You Provide to Us

Personal Information. On the Service, we may ask you to provide us with personally identifiable information, which is information that identifies you personally, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, and home address (“Personal Information”), except that Personal Information does not include information derived from public records. We may collect this information through various forms and in various places on the Service, including contact us forms, or when you otherwise interact with the Service.

(b) Information Collected or Stored As You Access and Use the Service

In addition to any Personal Information or other information that you choose to submit to us via our Service, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically (or passively) store or collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with the Service (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored or accessed using a variety of technologies that may be downloaded to your personal computer, browser, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device (a “Device”) whenever you visit or interact with our Service. To the extent we associate Usage Information with your Personal Information we collect directly from you on the Service, we will treat it as Personal Information.

This Usage Information may include:

certaom anonymous, aggregated usage statistics (including "page views" on this website);
demographic data in forms that do not reveal your identity or confidential information, except as required by law, as needed in connection with legal proceedings, or unless we have received your consent, or for overall statistical compilation regarding the aggregate use of our site properties;
your IP address, UDID or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”). A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access the Service, and our computers identify your Device by its Device Identifier;
your Device functionality (including browser, operating system, hardware, mobile network information);
the URL that referred you to our Service;
the areas within our Service that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
your Device location;
your Device characteristics; and
certain other Device data, including the time of day, among other information.

We may use various methods and technologies, including cookies, to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter or modify settings or configurations on your Device.

We use cookies on our Service. Cookies are small bits of information that a website transfers to the cookie file of the browser on your computer's hard disk so that the website can remember who you are when you return. Cookies remember information about your activities on the site and enable the operator of the site to make your visits more enjoyable or customize your experience. We may use cookies in a variety of ways, such as to collect information to help us learn things like what kinds of customers our site attracts, which of our products most interest our customers, and what kinds of offers our customers like to see. We do not use cookies to collect and store individually-identifiable information. You can program your computer to warn you each time a cookie is being sent or to refuse cookies completely.

Further, third parties may use Tracking Technologies in connection with our Service, which may include the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party web sites or online services. We may not control those Tracking Technologies and we are not responsible for them. However, you consent to potentially encountering third party Tracking Technologies in connection with use of our Service and accept that our statements under this Privacy Policy do not apply to the Tracking Technologies or practices of such third parties. Also, various third parties are developing or have developed signals or other mechanisms for the expression of consumer choice regarding the collection of information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party web sites or online services (e.g., browser do not track signals). Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to these signals or other mechanisms.

(c) Information Third Parties Provide About You

We may receive information about you from public records. For example, the Solar Map data is derived from public records, including tax assessor records that contain the first and last name of property owners. Information derived from public records is not considered Personal Information subject to this Privacy Policy except when combined with other Personal Information.

2. How Do We Use the Information Collected?

We may use your Personal Information or Usage Information that is subject to this Privacy Policy in one or more of the following ways: (1) to provide you with information or services or process transactions that you have requested or agreed to receive including to send you electronic newsletters; (2) to improve the Service or our services, to customize your experience on the Service, or to serve you specific content that is relevant to you; (3) to contact you with regard to your use of the Service and, in our discretion, changes to the Service and/or Service’s policies; (4) for internal business purposes; and (5) for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Please note that information submitted to the Service via a “contact us” or other similar function may not receive a response; we will not use that information so provided to contact you for marketing purposes unrelated to your inquiry unless you agree otherwise.

3. How and When Do We Share Information with Third Parties?

We may share non-Personal Information, such as aggregated user statistics, with third parties. We may share your Device Identifiers with third parties along with data related to you and your activities. We do not share your Personal Information with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. In addition, we may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information and as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy. MassCEC may disclose your information as follows:

(a) When You Request Information From or Provide Information to Third Parties. You may be presented with an option on our Service to receive certain information directly from third parties or to have us send certain information to third parties or give them access to it. If you choose to do so, your Personal Information and other information may be disclosed to such third parties and all information you disclose will be subject to the third-party privacy policies and practices of such third parties. In addition, third parties may store, collect or otherwise have access to your information when you interact with their Tracking Technologies, content, tools, or apps on our Service or link to them from our Service. This may include using third-party tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other third-party posting or content sharing tools and by so interacting you consent to such third party practices. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of such third parties and, therefore, you should review such third-party privacy policies and practices of such third parties prior to requesting information from or otherwise interacting with them.

(b) Third Parties Providing Services on Our Behalf. We may use third-party vendors to perform certain services on behalf of us or the Service, such as hosting the Service, designing and/or operating the Service’s features, tracking

the Service’s activities and analytics, and enabling us to perform other administrative services. We may provide these vendors with access to user information, including Device Identifiers and Personal Information, to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Third-party analytics and other service providers may set and access their own Tracking Technologies on your Device and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you, potentially including Personal Information, about you. We are not responsible for those third party technologies or activities arising out of them. However, some may offer you certain choices regarding their practices, and information we have been informed of regarding such choices is available below. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of or compliance with any third parties’ opt-out options.

(c) To Protect the Rights of MassCEC and Others. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may also disclose your information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property of MassCEC or third parties (including through the enforcement of this Policy, our Terms of Service, and other applicable agreements and policies); or (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders). To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest requests for such disclosures, all without notice to you.

(d) Affiliated Organizations and Agencies. We may share your information, including your Device Identifiers and Personal Information and Usage Information, with affiliated organizations and agencies. We also reserve the right to disclose and transfer all such information to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the Service or applicable database or successor agency or organization.

(e) Public Records Law. Notwithstanding anything else in this policy, the information that we receive through this website is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, General Laws Chapter 66, Section 10 (“Public Records Law”). Information that you provide to us through this site may be made available to members of the public under that law.

4. What About Information I Disclose Publicly Or To Others?

(a) Information You Provide via Social Media

Information you provide to us on official MassCEC social media accounts is subject to the privacy policies of those third party social media websites, except as follows. The Records Retention Law of the Commonwealth requires MassCEC to preserve records created or received by any MassCEC employee. Pursuant to this retention requirement comments posted or messages received via an official state agency page on a third-party website (such as an official agency profile on a micro-blog such as Twitter) will be treated as state governmental records and may be permanently archived. Information that you submit voluntarily through social media sites associated with this agency where such information is publicly available, including your name, city or town, and the substance of anything that you post is not Personal Information and may be disseminated further by being posted online at this website or be publicly discussed by a member of the administration. In addition, any statements you or other third parties make on or via such social media sites are statements of the authors of such statements and do not necessarily reflect MassCEC’s views; the publication of such statements on or via this website is not an endorsement by MassCEC of such statements.

5. Do Third-Party Content, Links To Third-Party Sites, and/or Third-Party Apps Appear on the Service?

The Service may contain content that is supplied by a third party, and those third parties may collect Usage Information and your Device Identifier when pages from the Service are served to you. In addition, when you are on the Service you may be directed to other services that are operated and controlled by third parties that we do not control. We are not responsible for the data collection and privacy practices employed by any of these third parties or their services and they may be tracking you across multiple sites and may be sharing the results of that tracking with us and/or others. For example, if you “click” on a link, the “click” may take you off the Service onto a different site. These other sites may associate their Tracking Technologies with you, independently collect data about you, including Personal Information, and may or may not have their own published privacy policies.

Third-party applications may also be available via the Service. The owners of these applications (“Third-Party Owners”) may collect Personal Information and other data from you and may have their own policies and practices. We are not responsible for how Third-Party Owners or their applications collect or use your information and they may be tracking you across multiple sites and may be sharing the results of that tracking with us and/or others. These Third-Party Owners may have their own terms of service, privacy policies or other policies and ask you to agree to the same. We are not responsible for these third-party privacy policies or the practices of Third-Party Owners. Be sure to review any available policies before submitting any personally identifiable information to a third-party application or otherwise interacting with it and exercise caution in connection with these applications. We also encourage you to note when you leave our Service and to review the third-party privacy policies of all third-party locations and exercise caution in connection with them.

6. How Do I Remove my Information From the Solar Map?

MassCEC’s solar map displays only information contained in public records or derived based on those public records. No Personal Information is displayed on the Solar Map. If you own a residential property that is displayed on the map, and wish to remove from the map the data for that property (other than the address), please contact MassCEC at: GIS@masscec.com. The information you send in this request will be maintained and used solely for the purpose of effectuating or verifying this request.

7. What Should Parents Know About Children?

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy in the interactive world. We are a general audience service and do not use the Service to knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13) that requires parental notice and consent under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) without such parental consent. If you are a child under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the Service and should not send any information about yourself to us through the Service.

In the event that we become aware that we have collected personal information from any child, we will dispose of that information in accordance with COPPA and other applicable laws and regulations. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information without COPPA-required consent, please contact us here.

8. What About Security?

We endeavor to incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Please note that we cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to us, and you use our Service and provide us with your information at your own risk.

9. What About Changes to the Privacy Policy?

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy and your use of our Service indicates your consent to the privacy policy posted at the time of use. However, we will not use your previously collected Personal Information in a manner materially different than represented at the time it was collected without your consent. To the extent any provision of this Privacy Policy is found by a competent tribunal to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed to the extent necessary for the remainder to be valid and enforceable.