Privacy Policy

Department of Information and Technology

Revised: 6/01/17

Section A. Introduction

This statement addresses collection, use, security of and access to information that may be obtained through use of the City of Modesto's web site (http://www.modestogov.com). It is provided for informational purposes only. The information presented here is not meant to be a contract of any type either expressed or implied, and should not be treated as such by site visitors. The information in this statement and/or the policies described here may change at any time, without prior notice to any visitor.

This statement covers the following topics:

Section B. Information Collected and How it is Used 

1. Information collected if you only browse this site.

If you do nothing during your visit to our web site but browse, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally. The following information is automatically collected and stored about your visit:

1. The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you. This address can be translated to determine the domain name of your service provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu). Generally, the City only determines visitor domain names if a security issue is suspected;
2. The type of browser and operating system you used;
3. The date and time you visited this site;
4. The web pages, downloaded files or services you accessed at this site; and
5. The web site you visited prior to coming to this web site.

This information is collected for statistical and site management purposes. The City's web site uses software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the City's web site employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations and the security purposes mentioned elsewhere in this notice, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes.

Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under state and federal statutes including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

2. What we collect if you volunteer information.

If during your visit to our web site you participate in a survey, send an email, or perform some other transaction on-line, the following additional information will be collected:

1. The email address, and contents of email, for those who communicate with us via email.
2. Information volunteered in response to a survey.
3. Information volunteered through an on-line form for any other purpose.
4. Information volunteered by participating in an online transaction with the City.

The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us.

We use your email address to respond to you. Survey information is used for the purpose identified by the survey. Information from other on-line forms is used only for conducting City business related to the online form.

Information provided for a transaction is used only for the purpose of completing and recording the transaction. Information requested will be no more specific than if a visitor were engaging in the transaction by other means, including by telephone or in-person while visiting a City facility. In all cases, the City strives to collect the minimum information necessary to comply with applicable law or provide the service requested.

The City does not sell, rent or otherwise distribute visitor's information, including electronic mail addresses, to any outside company or organization, unless legally required to do so. This applies to information that may be collected on the City's site and on that of any third party with whom the City contracts to provide Internet related services.

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Section C. Personal Information and Choice

You may choose whether to provide personal information on-line.

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending us email, participating in a survey, completing an on-line form, or engaging in an online transaction. You may choose not to contact us by email, participate in a survey, provide personal information using an online form, or engage in an electronic transaction. Your choice to not participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse, read, or download general information provided on the site. Information protected on this site by a password, when subject to disclosure, may be obtained by contacting the City directly.

If personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is treated like any other information provided to the city, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, please contact the department responsible for collecting the information. See Contacts for specifics.

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Section D. Public Access to Personally Identifiable Information

In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the publics right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. Both State and federal laws provide exceptions.

All information at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this Privacy and Use Statement and the California Public Records Act, the California Civil Discovery Act of 1986, the Information Practices Act, or any other law governing the disclosure of records, the California Public Records Act, the California Civil Discovery Act of 1986, the Information Practices Act, or other applicable law will control.

The City of Modesto only shares such public records with another government agency if the user's inquiry relates to that agency, to protect the interests of others, to protect and defend the rights or property of the City of Modesto or as otherwise provided by law.

While the California Public Records Act sets the general policies for access to City records, other sections of California code as well as federal laws may also deal with confidentiality issues.

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Section E. Procedure for Review and Correction of Personally Identifiable Information

Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation you will be granted the ability to review and correct the personally identifiable information collected. Prior to making your information available or revising it, the City of Modesto will take reasonable steps to verify your identity. Each city service that collects personally identifiable information will allow for review and update of that information. See Contacts for specifics.

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Section F. Children's Privacy Policy

Any information collected by any City site from children under 13 is subject to the same guidelines as the general City Privacy and Use Statement. In addition, the following guidelines will be followed for any information collected by or for any child under 13:

• Information that could be collected from or for a minor includes but might not be limited to name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, school, and hobbies.
• Parental (including legal guardian) Consent
  1. Parental consent will be obtained before collecting, using or disclosing personal information about a child.
  2. If any information practices change in a "material" way, new consent will be obtained from the parents. This includes changes in the kinds of material being collected, a change in how that information is being used, or if there is a change in the third parties that have access to that information.
• Parents will be able to review the personal information collected from their children. This will require verification of the identity of the requesting parent. See Procedure for Review and Correction of Personally Identifiable Information for specifics.
• Parents will be allowed to revoke their consent and delete information collected from or for their children on request. When consent is revoked, the website will stop collecting, using or disclosing information from or for that child. Revocation may end a child's participation in an activity if the information collected was necessary for participation on the website.
• Additional information can be obtained at the FTC's Consumer Response Center and the Kidz Privacy websites.

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Section G. Use of Cookies and Applets

Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. The City does not currently use cookies on its web site. However, because cookies can be used to customize your browsing experience and confirm the integrity of an online transaction, the City may decide to use them in the future. If the decision is made to use cookies, the only personal information they will contain is information you supply yourself.

The use of Cookies can be disabled through a setting in your browser. However this may prevent you from using features that require them.

An Applet is a program that can be included in an HTML page, much in the same way an image is included. When you use a browser to view a page that contains an applet, the applet's code is transferred to your system and executed by the browser. Applets are intended to enhance your browsing experience by enabling you to view information in a unique manner or enable access to information that your computer would otherwise be unable to access without the applet.

The use of Applets can be disabled through a setting in your browser. However this may prevent you from using features that require them.

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Section H. Security

Unless a particular web page on the City of Modesto's web site indicates that encryption technology is being used, the user should not assume that information uploaded through that web page to the City of Modesto's web server will be treated as confidential. If a user submits information to the City of Modesto's server through a web page containing visible indicators of active encryption technology, the City of Modesto will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard the confidentiality of such information, but shall nevertheless not be held liable for any injury caused by the disclosure of that information, whether caused by security breach, accident, inadvertence or any other act resulting in disclosure.

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Section I. Electronic Commerce

Increasingly, you have the option to do business with the City over the Web including making electronic payments for goods and services. Such transactions are allowed only under tightly controlled circumstances, where there are appropriate technological and other safeguards in place to protect financial and other sensitive data.

Under statute, the City is responsible for properly securing communications that are exempt from public disclosure. This includes financial information.

The design of the electronic commerce systems supported on the City's web site is such that financial data remains primarily with financial institutions. Wherever possible, financial information is not seen or collected by the City itself. Instead, designated banks route the data, transfer the funds and confirm payment to both you and the City. In addition, measures including but not limited to encryption are used to ensure the integrity and security of your financial information.

The provision of this Privacy and Use Statement shall not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail-proof, the security of information provided via the City's web site.

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Section J. Disclaimer of Linked Content

The City's web site has many links to other web sites. These include links to web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the City's web site and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site. Visitors linking to another site are encouraged to examine the privacy policy of that site.

Neither the City, nor any department, officer, or employee of the City warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so voluntarily at his/her own risk.

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Section K. Limitation of Liability

The City of Modesto attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content of its web site. Any errors or omissions should be reported for investigation.

The City of Modesto makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the contents of this web site and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this web site. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this web site or its hyperlinks to other internet resources.

Reference in this web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the City of Modesto, or its employees or agents.

This Privacy and Use Statement is subject to change without notice.

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Section L: Protected Information

“Protected information” means any data, dataset or portion thereof, to which a department or division may deny access pursuant to the California Public Records Act or any other applicable rule regulation, public records law or any other provision of a federal or state law; Protected information includes any data, data set or portion thereof which contains any personally identifiable information or financial identifying information that can be associated with a particular individual through one or more identifiers or other information or circumstances and specifically includes, but is not limited to, a private individual’s home address, personal electronic mail address, personal telephone number, social security number and/or driver’s license number.

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Section M: Open Data Legal Policy

The City does not guarantee the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the published datasets, as the data comes from a variety of sources, and may be collected and maintained for different purposes. Published datasets should not be used as a substitute for legal, accounting, real estate, business, tax, or other professional advice. The City assumes no liability for any damages or loss of any kind that might arise from the use of, misuse of, or the inability to use the published datasets. The City also assumes no liability for improper or incorrect use of the published materials, or for any virus or other contamination of or damage to computers that might occur during or as a result of downloading or accessing the published datasets. All published datasets are distributed and transmitted “as is,” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, and subject to the terms and conditions stated in this section.

The City reserves the right to discontinue availability of content on the city’s Open Data website at any time and for any reason. The City reserves the right to claim or seek to protect any patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights in any of the information, images, software, or processes displayed or used at the city’s Open Data website. If the City claims or seeks to protect any intellectual property rights in any of the information, images, software, or processes displayed or used at the Open Data website, then the Open Data website will indicate on the webpage on or from which such information, images, software, or processes are accessed. These Terms of Use do not grant anyone any title or right to any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights that the City may have in any of the information, images, software, or processes displayed or used at the City’s Open Data website.

Nothing in the City’s Open Data Policy shall be construed to create a private right of action to enforce any of their provisions and therefore, any failure to comply with these provisions shall not result in liability to the City, including, but not limited to, its employees, departments and divisions.

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Section N. Ownership Statement

In general, information presented on this web site, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. However, the City of Modesto does make use of copyrighted data (e.g. photographs), which may require additional permissions prior to your use. In order to use any information on this web site not owned or created by the City, you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources. The City shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract. The City shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided through this site.

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Section O. Contact

The City of Modesto is made up of several departments. Each department is responsible for the personally identifying information it collects. To review your collected personal information, if any, or request correction of factual errors in your personal information, please contact the department that requested the information. Contact information can be found on each department's main web page.

To offer comments about the information presented in this Privacy and Use Statement, please contact:

By e-mail: webmaster@modestogov.com
By fax: 209-491-4333
By mail: Webmaster
City of Modesto
P.O. Box 642
Modesto, CA 95353

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