posted on Jul, 31 2009 @ 05:02 PM
This is what I have found on their site. It appears they data mine you much like facebook... or so they say.
"What we automatically collect from you.
We collect information about your visit that does not identify you personally. We can tell the computer, browser, and web service you are using. We
also know the date, time, and pages you visit. Collecting this information helps us design the site to suit your needs. In the event of a known
security or virus threat, we may collect information on the web content you view."
And
"
Home > Privacy Policy DOT Privacy Program
DOT PRIVACY POLICY
Content updated on August 8, 2006
Our Commitment
We respect your right to privacy and will protect it when you visit our website.
This Privacy Policy explains our online information practices only, including how we collect and use your personal information. It does not apply to
third-party websites that you are able to reach from this website, nor does it cover practices of other areas within the Department of Transportation.
We encourage you to read those privacy policies to learn how they collect and use your information.
What We Automatically Collect Online
We collect information about your visit that does not identify you personally. We can tell the computer, browser, and web service you are using. We
also know the date, time, and pages you visit. Collecting this information helps us design the site to suit your needs. In the event of a known
security or virus threat, we may collect information on the web content you view.
Other Information We May Collect
When you visit our website, we may request and collect the following categories of personal information from you:
Contact information
IDs and passwords
Why We Collect Information
Our principal purpose for collecting personal information online is to provide you with what you need and want, address security and virus concerns,
and to ease the use of our website.
We will only use your information for the purposes you intended, to address security or virus threats, or for the purposes required under the law. See
“Choices on How We Use the Information You Provide” to learn more.
We collect information to:
Respond to your complaints
Reply to your “feedback comments”
Manage your access to restricted areas of the website
Fulfill requests for reports and other similar information
Register you for a member account
Sharing Your Information
We may share personally identifiable information you provide to us online with representatives within the Department of Transportation’s Operating
Administrations and related entities, other federal government agencies, or other named representatives as needed to speed your request or
transaction. In a government-wide effort to combat security and virus threats, we may share some information we collect automatically, such as IP
address, with other federal government agencies.
Also, the law may require us to share collected information with authorized law enforcement, homeland security, and national security activities. See
the Privacy Act of 1974 below.
Choices on How We Use the Information You Provide
Throughout our website, we will let you know whether the information we ask you to provide is voluntary or required. By providing personally
identifiable information, you grant us consent to use this information, but only for the primary reason you are giving it. We will ask you to grant us
consent before using your voluntarily provided information for any secondary purposes, other than those required under the law.
Information Practices for Children
We do not intentionally collect information from children under the age of 13. If in the future we choose to collect personal information from
children, we will comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Cookies or Other Tracking Devices
A “cookie” is a small text file stored on your computer that makes it easy for you to move around a website without continually re-entering your
name, password, preferences, for example.
We only use “session” cookies on our website. This means we store the cookie on your computer only during your visit to our website. After you
turn off your computer or stop using the Internet, the cookie disappears with your personal information.
Securing Your Information
Properly securing the information we collect online is a primary commitment. To help us do this, we take the following steps to:
Employ internal access controls to ensure the only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties
Train relevant personnel on our privacy and security measures to know requirements for compliance
Secure the areas where we hold hard copies of information we collect online
Perform regular backups of the information we collect online to insure against loss
Use technical controls to secure the information we collect online including but not limited to:
Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Encryption
Firewalls
Password protections
We periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance
We employ external access safeguards to identify and prevent unauthorized tries of outsiders to hack into, or cause harm to, the information in our
systems
Tampering with DOT’s website is against the law. Depending on the offense, it is punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the
National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.
Your Rights Under the Privacy Act of 1974
The Privacy Act of 1974 protects the personal information the federal government keeps on you in systems of records (SOR) (information an agency
controls recovered by name or other personal identifier). The Privacy Act regulates how the government can disclose, share, provide access to, and
keep the personal information that it collects. The Privacy Act does not cover all information collected online.
The Act’s major terms require agencies to:
Publish a Privacy Act Notice in the Federal Register explaining the existence, character, and uses of a new or revised SOR
Keep information about you accurate, relevant, timely, and complete to assure fairness in dealing with you
Allow you to, on request, access and review your information held in an SOR and request amendment of the information if you disagree with it. "
Yadda yadda yadda.