Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the Arizona Biospecimen Locator (ABL) Web Portal. The ABL is controlled by the Arizona Biospecimen Consortium (ABC or we). As part of its commitment to maintain the privacy of users of the ABL, the ABC has developed this Privacy Policy, which tells you about the following:
- The information we collect from you
- The ways we use your information
- With whom we share your information
- The choices and obligations you have about your information
- How we protect your information
- How you can contact us
This Privacy Policy only applies to information that we collect from you through the ABL. You must be at least 18 years old to use the ABL. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18, and if you are not 18, you may not use the ABL.
If you do not want your information collected or used in the ways we describe in this Privacy Policy, you should not use the ABL. Your use of the ABL means you agree with this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use on the ABL. You may also be linked to eSample through the use of the ABL. Please note that eSample has its own Privacy Policy.
What Information Do We Collect About You and How Do We Collect It?
When you use the ABL you submit certain information that identifies you (Personal Information). The Personal Information includes your name, contact information, and any other identifiable information that you submit. We do not collect Personal Information automatically without your knowledge. You will be required to register to use the ABL, and the information you submit in your registration that identifies you is also Personal Information. You may be able to use some of the features of the ABL without submitting Personal Information, but you will not be able to make full use of the ABL if you do not submit Personal Information.
We may collect Non-Personal Information from you. For example, we may collect Non-Personal Information through “cookies” or through other analytical services. A cookie is a small amount of data, such as an anonymous unique identifier that is sent to your browser from a website’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive.
We may use cookies to collect general, non-personal, statistical information about the use of the ABL, such as how many visitors visit a specific page of the ABL, how long they stay on that page, the sequence of pages accessed, and which hyperlinks, if any, they click on. We may also use cookies to identify your computer when you re-visit the ABL or to make some of the features of the ABL work more quickly or automatically.
How Do We Use Information?
We use your Personal Information to make the ABL available to you. For example, we may use your Personal Information for purposes of authentication and security. We may also use Personal Information collected when using the ABL (through Velos eSample) for future outreach about research topics. Your Personal Information may also be made available to ABC members and ABC administrators for them to notify you about research opportunities. ABC members mean the third-party ABC member biobanks and members that participate in ABC. The list of biobanks and members may change from time to time. The ABL never uses Personal Information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to the ABC mission and goals.
The ABC requires ABC members to treat research protocols submitted to the ABL as confidential. The protocols submitted through the ABL will only be used for the purpose of reviewing and approving research requests for biospecimens through the ABL. This confidentiality provision does not cover summary research results submitted by a researcher to comply with the terms of the Material Transfer Agreement. We may also summarize, de-identify or aggregate information about the protocols and use this information in a non-identifiable manner. Requests for samples will be submitted through eSample, and you should review the eSample Privacy Policy for additional information on how information collected in eSample may be used or disclosed.
When users send email messages containing Personal Information to the ABL contact email or through ABL website forms, only ABC members and their designated staff members requiring access to the emails may view or answer them. This includes information sent regarding feedback related to the ABL website and requested biospecimens. If appropriate, the email messages may also be disclosed to an administrator of eSample.
We may also use your Personal Information as needed to operate the ABC. For instance, we may use Personal Information to administer your account, communicate with you about the ABL, or respond to inquiries that you send to us.
Uses of the ABL website and eSample storefront are subject to all applicable state and federal laws.
We may use Non-Personal Information from you and other users of the ABL for research and analysis, such as trend identification and performance enhancements. We may analyze user activity on the ABL. This information is blended with information from other users of the ABL and is not linked to any particular individual.
What Information Do We Share With Third Parties?
Except as described in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell, exchange, or share Personal Information with third parties. We share your Personal and Non-Personal Information as necessary to provide our services. For instance, we may share your Personal and Non-Personal Information with companies we have hired to provide services for us, such as hosting our servers and collecting and processing information on our behalf. We may also share your Personal and Non-Personal Information with our ABC members as we’ve described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy.
In some special circumstances, we may be required or we may choose to share your information with third parties. For example, we may share Personal Information to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use, or as otherwise required or permitted by law.
We may also transfer Personal and Non-Personal Information if ABC is acquired by or merged with another entity or undergoes a similar business restructuring or transaction, or if ABC files for bankruptcy.
What Choices and Obligations Do You Have About Your Information?
To protect your security and privacy, we require that you personally enter the Personal Information that you provide to us and that the information be current, complete, and accurate. We cannot verify the accuracy of the information you provide to us, and we disclaim any duty to do so.
You are free to request the Personal Information that we have about you by contacting us using one of the methods on the Contact Us page. In addition, at any time, you can request that we modify or delete your Personal Information by contacting us by one of the methods on the Contact Us page.
In some cases, you may be able to opt out of certain services or uses of your Personal Information. If you do opt out, we will respect your decision.
If you request that we delete your Personal Information, our system may maintain copies of your Personal Information for audit purposes. Personal Information that is updated, modified, or deleted may be retained by us for compliance and legal reasons. We will retain Personal Information in accordance with our record retention policies.
How Do We Protect Your Information?
ABC’s staff, third party vendors, and hosting partners provide the hardware, software, networking, storage, security, backup, and related technology required to run the ABL Web Portal. We utilize reasonable safeguards to protect your Personal Information.
We utilize the competencies of third party vendors and hosting partners to provide physical security and backup of data. Despite the security measures employed by ABC and its vendors, you should be aware that it is impossible to guarantee absolute security with respect to information sent over the Internet.
Changes to This Policy
If we decide to change our privacy policies and practices, we will post those changes to this Privacy Policy, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please review it frequently. Unless otherwise stated, changes will be effective immediately so you are advised to review this Privacy Policy regularly. If you do not agree to the modified Privacy Policy, you should discontinue your use of the ABL. Your continued use of the ABL will constitute your acceptance of the terms of the modified Privacy Policy.
Hyperlinks
The ABL website may provide links to third party websites for your convenience and information. If you access those links, you will leave the ABL website. With the exception of the eSample storefront, the ABL and its governing consortium do not control those sites or their privacy practices, which may differ from the ABL’s. We do not endorse or make any representations about third party websites. This Privacy Policy does not cover the personal data you choose to give to third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any company before submitting your personal information. Some third party companies may choose to share their personal data with the ABL; that sharing is governed by that third party company’s privacy policy.
Your privacy is important to us
We strive to do everything we can to protect the privacy of our users. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, or if you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, please contact us using one of the contact methods on the Contact Us page.