ASOR Privacy Policy

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The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) is committed to protecting the privacy of those who use our website, social media outlets, mobile App, and other services. ASOR does not use illegal or misleading methods to mine public data. All data is obtained through normal business practices including, but not limited to, donations, membership applications, online registrations, authorship, online purchases, purchased lists, and trade shows. Users are informed when their personal information is requested and it is their choice to submit this information.

By using the ASOR website, out database/Online Store, our mobile App, our abstract management system, and any of our services, you consent to the practices outlined in this Privacy Policy. You “opt-in” when submitting your personal information to any of ASOR’s databases, or requesting that ASOR staff enters information on your behalf. If you do not agree with this policy, or any part of the policy, you should not use any of ASOR’s services including, but not limited to, the website, mobile Apps, our Online Database/Store (powered by Rhythm), and our abstract management system.

Your Personal Information

ASOR collects full names, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and other information (including demographic) when you register for a meeting, purchase a membership, submit a paper or poster proposal, make a donation, register as a Friend of ASOR, or use any of the features provided in our Online Database/ Store (hosted by Rhythm). There may be other times when your data is collected, but you will always be notified and asked to opt-in before submitting information.

Use of Your Information

ASOR uses the information we collect to contact members, conduct business, promote meetings and opportunities, and to enhance the services we provide. This information helps us to track membership, meeting attendance and demographic trends, as well as to fulfill contractual obligations and respond to your concerns. We recognize that the information you provide is private and limit the use of your personal data to provide services such as:

Membership – to maintain your membership benefits and to provide membership renewal reminders and ensure accurate billing information
Registration – to contact you regarding meetings and events that you are currently registered for or that you may be interested in attending
Publications – to send you journals or publications to which you have subscribed or requested
Outreach – to enhance and promote ASOR’s services including membership, meetings, donations, and publications

Sharing and Storing Your Information

Third-Party Providers: ASOR stores personal information in servers hosted by third-parties (for example, Rhythm services our Online Database and Store; Oxford Abstracts services our Abstract Management System, and Mobile App providers change regularly). These providers are GDPR compliant, however, ASOR is not responsible for third-party compliance and security.

Credit Card Information: When purchasing a product or service online, users are asked to provide a credit card number to complete their transaction. ASOR does not store credit card information after the transaction is complete, however, it does maintain a reference number provided by its credit card gateway, Clover Connect. ASOR follows Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards for all online and paper sales, and this practice is accepted by PCI.

External Sites and Links: Any information you elect to make publicly available on our sites, including social media and the ASOR Blog, will be available to others. Even if that information is removed, cached or archived pages may retain that information, as well as any person who has copied and saved the information. As a service to our users, our website and the ASOR Blog include links to other sites of interest. ASOR is not responsible for the content or use of information of non-ASOR sites and disclaims all liability for damages arising out of their use or for their privacy policies.

Cookies: When a user visits our website or the ASOR Blog, a temporary cookie (or file) is used to aid navigation on our website, but the cookie is not used to collect information. ASOR does not use tracking cookies or third party cookies. Third-party sites that you may be linked to (such as FaceBook, YouTube, Google, etc.) may install cookies depending on their configuration. You are not required to accept any cookies to use our sites. You can disable cookies on your browser to prevent from being recognized on return visits.

Mailing lists: ASOR occasionally rents mailing addresses to advertisers for one-time use, but does not release telephone numbers. ASOR maintains systems that guard against unauthorized or multiple uses of addresses.

Data Collected Automatically: We use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about use of the ASOR website and Blog. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit these sites, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to these sites. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve the ASOR website for our users. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit these sites, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personal information. Although Google Analytics plants a permanent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit a site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to our sites by disabling cookies on your browser.

Retaining Your Information

ASOR will retain the personal data you supplied for membership, meeting registration, donations, publications, or other services for as long as the event, product, or contractual agreement is active, and for a period of time after that in order to contact you regarding ASOR’s services. In addition, ASOR retains member records for statistical and demographic information. When you create a profile in ASOR’s database (hosted by Rhythm), you will choose which information you share with ASOR and have the opportunity to opt out of making this information public in the ASOR member database. If you correspond with ASOR via e-mail, the postal service, social media, web-forms, and other forms of communication, we may retain the correspondence and the information it contains. Please read ASOR’s Policy on Record Retention for further information.

Protecting Your Information

ASOR is committed to making reasonable efforts to secure the information that you choose to provide. The company that we use to process credit card payments has implemented security technologies and procedures to protect against unauthorized access to your information. They do not retain, share, store or use personal information for any other purposes. Unfortunately no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. As a result, ASOR cannot guarantee that your information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by a breach of any of our methods of safeguarding data. ASOR has no responsibility or liability for the security of information transmitted via the Internet. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or concerns regarding security on our sites you can contact ASOR’s Data Protection officer at data-protection-officer@asor.org.

Accessing and Updating Your Information

ASOR acknowledges that you have the right to access your personal data. Upon request, ASOR will provide you with information about the personal data we hold and if it has been shared in any way. Our website and mobile App allow you to access, correct, amend, or delete inaccurate data. When you create a profile in any of our online servers, you should carefully consider the personal information you submit and the information you make public. Current ASOR members may access an ASOR membership directory containing the names and addresses of ASOR members who have not opted out of the membership directory.

To manage your personal data, login to your account or email our Data Protection Officer to submit a request. Any changes you make, or that ASOR staff make on your behalf, will be reflected in the database instantly or within a reasonable period of time. We may retain all information you submit for backups, archiving, prevention of fraud and abuse, analytics, satisfaction of legal obligations, or where we otherwise reasonably believe that there is a legitimate reason to do so.

Opting Out and Erasing Your Information

ASOR uses email addresses to correspond with individuals regarding a variety of reasons, including invitations to write for ASOR, scholarship announcements, membership information, meeting information and publications. You may opt out of these emails by clicking the optout link at the bottom of the email or by contacting ASOR’s Data Protection Officer.

In accordance with the EU’s GDPR legislation, individuals have “the right to be forgotten.” You may request to have your personal information deleted from our records, and we will comply if it is no longer needed to conduct necessary business. We may not delete your data when legitimate interests outweigh your right to erasure, such as outstanding invoices, legal proceedings, security, and conducting business essential to our organization. If we have shared your data with others, we will tell them about the erasure where possible. You have the right to file a complaint if you have a concern about the way we have handled your personal data and/or request for erasure.

Privacy Policy Changes

ASOR may update this Privacy Policy as our services and products change, or as necessary to improve data protection. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy at any time, for any reason, and may do so by posting a new version online. Your continued use of the website and other services, as well as providing personal data to us, will be subject to the terms of the then-current Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes or if otherwise required by the applicable law, we will notify you by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) or post a notice on this website prior to the change becoming active. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding ASOR’s Privacy Policy, GDPR compliance, or general concerns about your personal data, please send an email to ASOR’s Data Protection Officer. Please note that if you opt out from receiving ASOR e-mails or if you delete your e-mail from the ASOR database, this will end all communication from ASOR, including Annual Meeting updates, membership information, scholarship and award announcements, and other reminders.

E-mail ASOR’s Data Protection Officer at: data-protection-officer@asor.org

American Society of Overseas Research
209 Commerce St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
E-mail: info@asor.org
Telephone: 703-789-9229

Last updated on May 5, 2024