Privacy Statement

Effective Date: November 5, 2024

Contents:

  1. About this policy
  2. The Personal Data we collect
  3. How we use Personal Data
  4. How we share your Personal Data
  5. Additional lawful bases for collection of Personal Data
  6. How long we store Personal Data
  7. Where we store Personal Data
  8. Children’s privacy
  9. Links to third party websites and services
  10. Your rights
  11. Changes to this policy
  12. How to contact ESA
 
The Entomological Society of America (“ESA”, “we”, or “Society”) is committed to protecting your privacy. We are a leading 501(c)3 not-for-profit professional organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines.
 

1. About this policy

This Policy provides an overview of how ESA collects and processes your Personal Data. Each time you use entsoc.org, entocert.org, entomologytoday.org, or any related subdomain or website owned by ESA (the “Websites”), the current version of this Policy will apply. Accordingly, whenever you use our Websites you should check the date of this Policy (which appears at the top).

“Personal Data” is any information relating to you that, alone or in combination with other information, can be used to identify you, directly or indirectly. It includes, but is not limited to, “personally identifiable information” under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”), including your name, address, telephone number, location data, IP address, and certain online identifiers or “cookies.”

By agreeing to these terms, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted the processes and policies referred to in this Policy. Please read this Policy carefully as it contains important information about your privacy rights.

We collect and use Personal Data of individuals in jurisdictions other than the United States, such as Member States of the EU. Some aspects of this Policy only apply to individuals accessing the Websites from those jurisdictions.
 

2.The Personal Data we collect

A. Personal Data that you provide

We collect and process Personal Data that you provide to us directly when you join ESA, purchase products or services we offer, contact us with questions, participate in ESA discussion boards or other social media functions, or report a problem with our Websites. This includes:

  • Membership Information. This information may include your ESA identification number, name, address, e-mail address, phone number, social media names or identifications, your login and password information, affiliation, job title, membership dates, age, and significant other’s name (for Family memberships), ESA Branch or Section information, and any other information related to your membership. Student members provide additional data (e.g., expected graduation date and degree to be earned, major professor/advisor’s name and email, and university name).
  • Demographic information that you voluntarily provide to ESA so that ESA can study trends in the entomological sciences and within the Society, and support ESA’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. This information is used only in aggregate for reporting purposes. This information may include your age, gender, ethnicity, field of work, position/specialty, role, or professional interests (discipline specialties and order of insects).
  • Financial information, such as credit/debit card and bank account numbers for accounts used by you to pay your membership dues or event fees, or to purchase books, journals, subscriptions and other products, either in-person or via our Websites.
  • Job, award, or other personal history information which you (or a nominator) provide when corresponding with us. This includes information submitted via forms, including application and nominations forms. This information may include your ESA identification number, name, address, e-mail address, phone number, affiliation, job title, job history, award history, age, gender, career stage, and letters of recommendation.
  • Certification information collected through certification programs, in which members and customers are granted CIT, PHE, ACE, or BCE certification. This may include extensive information about the experience and performance of those applying for certification.

B. Personal Data we collect when you visit the Websites

Each time you visit the Websites we may automatically collect the following information through the use of cookies or otherwise. For specifics, see our Cookie Policy here:

  • Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer or device to the Internet, the IP address location, the browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform; and
  • Information about your visit, including search terms used by you, pages you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, and any phone number used to call our customer service number.

C. Personal Data we obtain from other sources

We may receive information about you from a variety of third party databases or services that ESA uses to provide benefits and services to members and customers. The data that is collected about authors is that which is required to support the publishing and invoicing process. The data that is collected about meeting submitters and organizers is that which is required to support the meeting scientific review and scheduling process. The information may include publicly available biographical, publication, and research information.

*Sensitive Personal Data
Certain jurisdictions have laws (for example, the GDPR in the EU) that recognize particular types of Personal Data as being more sensitive and therefore requiring greater protection. This can include, for example, information about your health, ethnicity, political opinions or religious beliefs. This is known as ‘special category data’ under the GDPR. We only collect and use these types of Personal Data in limited circumstances – for instance, ethnicity data to measure and support our diversity and inclusion policy. We do not disclose individuals’ special category data to any third parties.
 

3. How we use Personal Data

We may use your Personal Data for the following purposes. We may combine your Personal Data from different sources in the course of such uses:

  • to provide you with the information, products, and membership services that you request from us or to carry out our obligations arising under any contract entered into between you and us;
  • to conduct events that you have registered for, and to provide you with materials relating to the content of the event, the speakers, sponsors, and other attendees;
  • to provide eNews and our other e-publications;
  • unless you have opted out of receiving such communications, to provide marketing messages from (i) ESA (including information about other events, products, and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased), or (ii) selected third parties that provide you with information about events, products, or services we feel may interest you;
  • to allow us to interact with you, including responding to your questions or to your comments on our blog or other online networks;
  • to allow the public to find CIT, PHE, ACE, and/or BCE-certified individuals via an online roster;
  • to administer any financial transaction between us;
  • to administer our Websites and maintain and improve their operation, including network security, troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
  • to measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you;
  • to satisfy legal obligations which are binding on us;
  • for the prevention of fraud or misuse of services; and
  • for the establishment, defense and/ or enforcement of legal claims.

 

4. How we share Personal Data

We may share your Personal Data with:

  • other members or customers via the member directory, volunteer directory, or by other specific requests to ESA, such as from or about ESA Branch or Section volunteers;
  • partners, suppliers and sub-contractors, for the performance of obligations arising from processing or maintaining your membership, or any other contract we enter into with you or to provide you with the information, products, and membership services that you request from us;
  • trusted third party companies and their administrators to help us provide, analyze, and improve the Websites and our membership services (including but not limited to data storage, maintenance services, database management, web analytics, and payment processing).

SMS opt-in consent or phone numbers for SMS purposes will NOT be shared with third parties and affiliates for marketing purposes.

 

5. Additional lawful bases for collection of Personal Data

In general, if you are interacting with us from the EU or the EEA, the GDPR will apply. For the purposes of the GDPR, the controller of your Personal Data is the Entomological Society of America, located at 170 Jennifer Rd., Suite 230 Annapolis, MD 21401-7995 USA. Under the GDPR, in the absence of your express consent, we may rely on one or more lawful grounds to collect and process Personal Data. We consider the following grounds to apply to our collection and processing of certain Personal Data:

  • Legal obligation.  Where the processing of your Personal Data is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject, e.g., because we have to provide information to tax authorities.
  • Contractual relationship.  Where it is necessary for us to use your Personal Data in order to perform a contract to which you are a party (or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contact). For example, this basis would apply if you purchase a publication in our bookstore or register for an ESA meeting.
  • Legitimate interests.  We rely on this basis where applicable law recognizes that we have a legitimate interest that justifies our collection and use of Personal Data for a use that is fair, balanced, and does not unduly impact your rights. For instance, we have a legitimate interest in obtaining information necessary to host the online member directory.

When we process your Personal Data to achieve such legitimate interests, we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and your rights under data protection laws. We will not use your Personal Data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you, for example where use would be excessively intrusive (unless, for instance, we are otherwise required or permitted to do so by law).

 

6. How long we store Personal Data

Unless applicable law provides otherwise, we will retain your Personal Data indefinitely, for at least as long as your account is active, or the data is needed to provide you with access to our Websites or services or to study membership or other trends. Some jurisdictions, such as the EU, limit the time during which we may retain your Personal Data and give you the right to have your Personal Data removed from our databases. We will delete your Personal Data upon request if you validly exercise your right to erasure (see Section 10 below). If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer retain your Personal Data, contact us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org. We will also retain and use your Personal Data as necessary to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements and rights.
 

7. Where we store Personal Data

The Personal Data that we obtain is generally stored on servers located in the United States. If you are located in another jurisdiction, you should be aware that once your Personal Data is submitted through our Websites, it will be transferred to servers in the United States.

Your Personal Data (including any that is collected in the EU) may be transferred to our affiliates, partners, merchants, or service providers who are located worldwide. If you are visiting our Websites from outside the United States, and in particular if you are based in the EU, please note that in addition to the United States, certain other countries outside the EU have a lower standard of protection for personal information, including lower security requirements and fewer rights for individuals.

If you have any questions about the transfer of your Personal Data, please contact us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org.

 

8. Children's Privacy

Our Websites are intended for an adult audience and are not intended for use or viewing by children under 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, you may not use or access the Websites without the approval and supervision of your parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect information about children or sell products to children, unless their parent or guardian processes a membership or meeting attendance for them – in which case we obtain the consent of the parent or guardian. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child or a minor under the age of 18 has posted, submitted, or otherwise communicated Personal Data to our Websites without your consent, then please alert us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org so that we may take appropriate action to remove the minor's Personal Data from our systems.

 

9. Links to third party websites and services

Our Websites may contain links to third party websites, applications, and services not operated by us. These links are provided for convenience and do not imply any endorsement by us of the activities or content of those third party websites, applications, or services nor any association with their operators. ESA is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of those third party websites, applications, or services directly linked to our Websites and this Policy does not cover them. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website that you link to from our Websites. Our Websites also interface with social media websites or platforms that are owned and/or controlled by third parties, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. The information that you share with social media sites will be governed by the specific privacy policies and terms of service of the social media site and not by this Policy. You should review the privacy policy of that social media site before choosing to access and use it, including interacting with our Websites.

 

10. Your rights

  • Correction and removal.  If any of the information that we have about you is incorrect, or you wish to have information (including Personal Data) removed from our records, you may do so by contacting us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org.
  • Opting Out.  Additionally, if you prefer not to receive marketing messages from us or our third party partners, please complete this form to set your preferences. You may also send a message to us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org
  • Additional Rights of Individuals Located in the EEA. Individuals located in the EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA have certain additional rights regarding your Personal Data. Under European data protection law, in certain circumstances and subject to exemptions, you have the right to:
  • Request access to your Personal Data. You may have the right to request access to any Personal Data we hold about you as well as related information, including the purposes for processing the Personal Data, the recipients or categories of recipients with whom the Personal Data has been shared, the period for which the Personal Data will be stored, the source of the Personal Data, and the existence of any automated decision making.
  • Request correction of your Personal Data. You may have the right to obtain without undue delay the rectification of any inaccurate Personal Data we hold about you.
  • Request erasure of your Personal Data. You may have the right to request that Personal Data held about you is deleted.
  • Object to processing of your Personal Data. You may have the right to prevent or restrict processing of your Personal Data where we (i) process on the basis of the legitimate interests ground; (ii) use it for direct marketing; or (iii) use Personal Data for statistical purposes.
  • Request restriction of processing your Personal Data. You may ask for us to restrict the processing of your Personal Data if there is disagreement about its accuracy or legitimate use.
  • Request transfer of your Personal Data. You may have the right to request transfer of your Personal Data directly to you or a third party in machine-readable format (‘right to data portability’).
  • Withdraw your consent. You have the right to withdraw or change any consent given to ESA (such as to promote services to you) at any time.
  • Additional Rights of Individuals Located California. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80, a user residing in the State of California has the right to request from us a list of all third parties to which we have disclosed personal information during the preceding year for direct marketing purposes. We will respond to any such requests made in writing to dataprivacy@entsoc.org. We make no representations concerning third parties that do not collect personal information directly through the Website. These disclosures are made under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22575.

You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us at dataprivacy@entsoc.org. We may need to confirm your identity before we are able to fully respond.

 

11. Changes to this policy

If we make any changes to this Policy or the way we use, share, or collect personal data, we will notify you by revising the “Effective Date” at the top of this Policy, by prominently posting an announcement of the changes on our Websites, and, where those changes are significant and it is reasonably possible for us to do so, by sending an email to the primary email address you most recently provided us (unless we do not have such an email address) prior to the new policy taking effect. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to this Policy.
 

12. How to contact ESA

If you have any comments, questions, or complaints regarding this Policy or the ways in which we collect, store, use, or share your Personal Data, please direct them to dataprivacy@entsoc.org.

You may also call ESA at (00) 1-301-731-4535 (Monday through Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm US Eastern Time) or contact us using the Contact ESA section on our Websites. Alternatively, you can contact us by mail at ESA, 170 Jennifer Rd., Suite 230 Annapolis, MD 21401-7995 USA.

©️ Entomological Society of America