Privacy Policy

Overview

In general, SCHAN policies governing the collection and dissemination of personally identifiable information follow the same rules that would apply to an in-person visit to a government office, and are governed by the same state and federal laws that cover such visits.

Purpose

The purpose of the statement is to inform users of this site with regard to the collection and use of personally identifiable information. Nothing herein should be construed to, nor does it, create any new or different rights than those available under existing State and federal laws.

Definition of Personally Identifiable Information

For the purposes of this statement, "personally identifiable information" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual who is the subject of the information. This includes information such as names, addresses, social security numbers and credit card numbers.

Personally Identifiable Information Not Routinely Collected

Users are not required to provide personal information simply to visit SCHAN Web sites or to download information. Government agencies may request personally identifiable information in order to provide requested specialized services, but such information is handled as it would be on an in-person visit to a government office.

Personally Identifiable Information that May Be Subject to Public Disclosure

In the state of South Carolina, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by a government agency. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access certain records in order to preserve the privacy of individuals. Both State and federal laws authorize such exemptions. Information collected by SCHAN, like information collected during an in-person visit to a government office, may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless such an exemption in law exists. In the event that there is a conflict between this Privacy Statement and a State or federal law governing the disclosure of public records, the applicable State or federal law shall control.

Use, Collection and Retention of Personally Identifiable Information

The IP (Internet Protocol) addresses of computers used to visit SCHAN Web sites may be noted as part of the statistical analyses to improve system use, access and security. However, SCHAN does not routinely attempt to gain personally identifiable information on individual users or to associate individual users with IP addresses.

Use of Cookies

Some SCHAN applications may create "cookies" to hold user information. These "cookies" are then sent to, and stored on, the user's computer. Any SCHAN application or Web page that uses "cookies" will identify itself as such. This information is handled in the same way as other personally identifiable information obtained by SCHAN. No user information will be gathered through the use of "cookies" except that which is required to run the specific application(s) being accessed by the user.

Use of Constituent E-mail Addresses

E-mail addresses obtained as a result of requests to SCHAN Web sites will not be sold or given to any organization outside of SCHAN agencies for marketing purposes. The information collected is subject to the access and confidentiality provisions of the State's Freedom of Information Act and other applicable sections of the South Carolina Code of Laws and/or federal law. E-mail or other information requests sent to SCHAN Web sites may be maintained in order to: respond to the request, forward that request to the appropriate agency, communicate updates to the SCHAN page that may be of interest to citizens, or provide the SCHAN Web Master with valuable customer feedback to assist in improving the site. Individuals will be provided with the option to subscribe/unsubscribe to SCHAN communications at any time. SCHAN disclaims any responsibility if electronic mail is lost, intercepted or misused by others.

Data Security and Quality

SCHAN is committed to data security and the data quality of personally identifiable information that is either available from, or collected by, governmental Web sites, and has taken precautions to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse or alteration. Any third parties responsible for this information are committed to the same principles, and also are required by contract to follow the same policies and guidelines as the State of South Carolina in protecting this information. Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, individuals will be given the ability to access and correct personally identifiable information maintained by SCHAN that may be in error.

Non-SCHAN Web Sites

Various Web sites will be linked through SCHAN. This includes Web sites of other governmental agencies, as well as Web sites of private entities. Many of these sites may not be subject to the South Carolina Code of Laws, or may operate under different privacy standards. Visitors to those Web sites are advised to check the privacy statements of those sites and be cautious about providing personally identifiable information without a clear understanding of how the information will be used.

Limiting Access to Personally Identifiable Information

SCHAN has taken steps to limit access to personally identifiable information to SCHAN support staff who require access in order to perform their assigned duties. SCHAN has notified and instructed its staff of their responsibilities concerning the protection of personally identifiable information.