Privacy Policy

Introduction
The Home Network Center (THNC) is an Ohio nonprofit corporation.  At this time, THNC stands alone.  Our brilliant team has a board of directors, advisory group, several mentors, website and marketing company, grant proposal and funding company, educational consultant, and other service providers.  A growing number of collaborations and affiliations exist with other organizations, and more will be formed in the future. What follows is THNC’s online privacy policy, which governs personal information gathered on our Internet site. These privacy and security policies are consistent with policy established by THNC’s Board of Directors.

THNC’s Commitment to Online Security
Physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been employed to safeguard the security and integrity of personal information. THNC encrypts billing information wherever THNC requests it. All THNC agents and contractors with access to personal information obtained on THNC Web sites are also bound to adhere to this policy as part of their contract with THNC.

Personal Information that THNC May Collect Online
THNC collects personal information online, including names, postal and email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers, billing information, and complaint information. THNC may also collect business information from sole proprietorships that apply for listing in the Professionals Referral Service and for participation in any of the types of membership, some of which could constitute personal information, as well as personal information from individuals acting solely in their business capacity.

THNC does not knowingly collect or maintain any personal information from children under the age of 13. In addition, no part of our site is designed with the purpose of attracting any person under age 13.

How THNC Uses Personal Information Collected Online
Unless you otherwise consent, we will use your personal information only for the purpose for which it is submitted, such as to reply to your email, handle your complaints, and process billing and business requests related to program participation. We will use such information to provide operational notices, in program record-keeping and to conduct research on industry marketplace practices. Our research may lead to the publication of aggregate demographic data but will not result in the reporting or publication of any personal information provided to us. At certain points where personal information is collected on our site, there may be a box where you may indicate you would like to be on a mailing list to receive information about other THNC programs and services and about ways to support THNC. This election box only appears in places where the department collecting personal information maintains such lists. At any time you can add or remove your name from a THNC list by contacting us at unsubscribe@thnc.org.

How Your Information May Be Shared
In order to process a complaint, you may send the complaint to THNC or refer the complaint to the appropriate department for handling. For example, we forward the request or inquiry to the appropriate part of THNC. By completing a complaint form or sending us a request or inquiry, you are allowing us to forward your information to that part of THNC, if necessary, and potentially also to its Board of Directors. Consumer inquiries will be forwarded to the appropriate department by email, and consumers should recognize that this method of transmission may not be secure. Without submission of the requested information, THNC will not be able to process your complaint.

We never sell or rent your personal information.

THNC may also release personal information under the following circumstances:

• Where release is required by law (for example, a subpoena) or regulation or is requested by a government agency;
• Where our records indicate a company may be engaged in fraudulent activity or other deceptive practices that a governmental agency should be made aware of;
• To appropriate governmental authorities, where warranted by a company’s failure to participate in the advertising self-regulatory process or respond to an online privacy complaint;
• To appropriate persons, where your communication suggests possible harm to others.

Help Us Keep Your Personal and Business Information Accurate
If your personal or company membership information changes or you would like to review the personal information we may have on file, please email us with the new information or your review request at unsubscribe@thnc.org .  Let us also know what led to your submission of personal information so we may efficiently locate your information.

Computer Tracking and Cookies
Our Web site is not set up to track, collect or distribute personal or business information not entered by visitors or members. Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our sites. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to others, but again, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be used to gather such information.

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. THNC uses non-identifying cookies to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. You can still use THNC sites if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our cookies do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

Problems or Complaints with THNC Privacy Policy
If you have complaints about THNC compliance with this privacy policy, please contact us at complaints@thnc.org.

revised December 4, 2013

© 2013 The Home Network Center