Thank you for visiting WETA.
WETA is committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining your trust. This Privacy Policy describes the ways in which WETA protects your privacy and applies to all interactions you may have with WETA, including online on one of WETA’s various websites* (the “WETA Websites” or the “Websites”), via your mobile device, when using WETA Passport, in person, by phone, or in any other medium now known or hereafter created (collectively, “WETA”).
WETA protects your privacy by adhering to a strict privacy policy. The information gathered by WETA falls into two categories: (1) personally identifiable information that you voluntarily supply, such as your name, address, phone number, email address, credit card information, or other information that can identify you personally; and (2) tracking information that does not identify you personally and that is routinely gathered as online visitors navigate through the WETA Websites, such as your computer’s IP address and browser or computer platform information.
This Policy will first describe the methods by which WETA may collect your voluntarily-supplied, personally identifiable information. Next, this Policy explains how WETA uses your personally identifiable information and how you may opt-out of such uses by WETA. Thereafter this Policy addresses the privacy of children who interact with WETA. And finally, your acceptance of this Policy is addressed.
1. Voluntarily-Supplied Information:
You may visit the Websites, enjoy WETA’s television and radio broadcasts, and participate at some WETA events without voluntarily supplying any personally identifiable information about yourself. The Websites do not collect any personally identifiable information about you unless you voluntarily provide that information. To make use of certain features on the Websites, such as Contact Us forms, subscribing to various newsletters, or supporting WETA with a monetary donation made online, you will need to provide your personally identifiable information. For some interactions with WETA, for example, to participate in some WETA in-person events or to make a monetary donation to WETA by phone or by mail, you may also need to provide your personally identifiable information. The information you supply will help us to offer you more personalized features and to tailor our Websites to your interests and make them more useful to you. Supplying such information is entirely voluntary. If you don't supply the information, however, we may be unable to provide you with services and opportunities for participation and engagement with WETA that are available to others. The following provides additional detail on some of the forums in which WETA may collect your personally identifiable information.
A. EMAIL AND EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
WETA may collect personal information from you in connection with your subscription to WETA’s email lists and email newsletters. Subscribing to email lists or email newsletters is voluntary and optional, but you must provide some personally identifying information, such as your email address, to participate in this WETA service. Your personally identifiable information will be used for the purposes of your participation in the email service for which you are subscribing. Additionally, unless you opt-out by clicking the links to unsubscribe or manage your email preferences which appear at the bottom of every WETA email, WETA may contact you via email to alert you to new WETA services that may be of interest to you.
B. WETA DONORS
Most of WETA’s Websites** offer users the opportunity to make a donation in support of WETA, or a particular project of WETA. You may also make a donation to WETA by phone or by mail. To make a donation you must provide personally identifiable information including, but not limited to, your name, address, credit card number or information for another payment method. To provide the highest level of security possible to protect your personally identifiable information, WETA may hire trusted third parties to process your donations. We require these select third parties to hold your personally identifiable information in strict confidence. The third parties with whom WETA works are selected for their high security standards, and understanding of WETA’s expectation that they will treat your personally identifiable information confidentially and responsibly. When making an online donation, you will know that you have left a WETA Website and have entered the website of a trusted third party by looking at the URL in the location bar on your browser window.
C. FORUMS, FEEDBACK, AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS
The WETA Websites may offer you various opportunities to interact with WETA or other Website visitors, such as with online forums, bulletin boards, feedback forms, surveys, or contests. WETA may require that you submit select personally identifiable information to participate in these opportunities for interaction. For example, you must complete a free registration process, which requires select personally identifiable information, to participate in online forums. Your participation and submission of personally identifiable information in connection with your participation will always be optional, however, if you choose not to provide your personally identifiable information, you may not be eligible to participate in these activities.
D. WETA PASSPORT SERVICE
If you are viewing on-demand video on WETA’s Websites via the WETA Passport service or player, you have agreed that PBS may collect your viewing and usage information and that PBS may share this information with WETA. Your individual and usage viewing information will only be shared with WETA, but PBS may share anonymized aggregate viewing and usage information with its member stations and service providers, as well as WETA. PBS’s collection, storage, and use of Passport information is subject to PBS’s Terms and Conditions and PBS’s Privacy Policy.
2. How WETA Uses Your Information
WETA uses your information, both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable, to provide you with a requested service, improve your experience while visiting our Websites and to improve WETA’s communication with you outside of the WETA Websites. WETA also analyzes the information we collect for the overall aggregate trends such information reveals about our site visitors.
WETA may also share some of your information, both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable, with third parties for advertising purposes. For example, WETA may share your information with Facebook, or another online forum, so that WETA may make use of various advertising capabilities and provide you with relevant advertisements for WETA when you visit other websites. WETA may also share your personally identifiable information with third parties, such as Google, so that WETA may use demographic information to help WETA improve our marketing and communication with our community. Finally, unless you instruct us otherwise, WETA may exchange your name and mailing address with other organizations that may interest you.*** WETA will not sell, rent or share your email address with a third party.
WETA or WETA’s trusted third parties, may also release your personally identifiable information if we believe in good faith that the law or legal process requires it, we have received a valid administrative request from a law enforcement agency, or such release is necessary to protect a person’s rights, property, or safety.
3. Opting Out of WETA’s Information Sharing
You may opt-out of any sharing of your personally identifiable information by WETA at any time by writing to us at: WETA Member Services, 3939 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. You may also contact us via email at membership@weta.org, or by phone: (703) 998-2724.
4. Privacy of Children
WETA is very proud to provide high-quality children’s television programming and Web content. Working to maintain the privacy of the many children who make use of WETA’s services is of the utmost importance. WETA’s policy is not to collect personally identifiable information of children. Some of the WETA Websites do allow children to participate in Website activities. For example, LD Online provides the opportunity to submit children’s drawings or writings for publication to the site. Parents may request the removal of any work submitted by their child. The WETA Websites do not collect more information from children than is reasonably necessary for the child to participate in activities, and WETA discards children’s information once the activity is complete. WETA will not entice children, by the prospect of a special game, prize or other activity, to provide more information than is necessary to participate in an activity. WETA also will not share any personally identifiable information about children with third parties. For more information about the privacy of children please see the Children’s Privacy Policy.
5. About Cookies
To improve our Websites and your experience using our Websites, WETA uses a standard technological feature called a “cookie” which helps WETA to collect non-personally identifiable information, such as your computer’s IP address and browser or computer platform information. At no time will the cookie identify you, or supply your personal information to WETA without your permission. Our online advertisers and trusted third parties may also use cookies to track users experiences on their own web pages, a process that we don't control. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, to alert you when cookies are used by a website you visit, or to delete the cookies stored on your computer. You do not need to have cookies enabled to use the WETA Websites, however, some features on the Websites will not function properly if you refuse cookies.
6. Third Party Website Providers and Vendors
To make our site more valuable to our visitors, we offer some features in conjunction with other providers, for example links to other websites not managed by WETA. You’ll know that you are no longer on a WETA Website by checking the URL in the location bar on your browser window. Websites that are not managed by WETA are not governed by this Privacy Policy, but rather by the policy of the site you’re visiting.
In operating our business, WETA obtains contact details and other personal information regarding media contacts from a variety of sources including Cision. If you wish to know more about how such information is collected and used, please refer to Cision’s privacy notice at www.cision.com/us/legal/privacy-policy/.
7. Acceptance of this Privacy Policy
By using this site, you, or your parent or guardian if you are a minor child, signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use this site. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.
Revised October 2021
* WETA’s Websites include, but are not limited to, WETA.org, AdLit.org, AmericanGraduateDC.org, BrainLine.org, BrainLineMilitary.org, BrainLineKids.org, ColorinColorado.org, LDOnline.org, ReadingRockets.org, all WETA hosted Blogs (i.e. Telly Visions) and any other website held or hereafter created by WETA. WETA also maintains the PBS NewsHour website (www.pbs.org/newshour). The PBS NewsHour website is hosted by PBS and is subject to PBS’s Privacy Policy, which you can access at www.pbs.org/privacypolicy.
** AmericanGraduateDC.org, BrainLine.org, BrainLineMilitary.org and BrainLineKids.org do not accept donations via the website.
*** BrainLine.org, BrainLineMilitary.org, and BrainLineKids.org will not sell or exchange your personally identifiable information without your permission.