Statement of the California Fish and Game Commission Regarding Use
of Its Website
Thank you for visiting this State of California web site and reviewing
our Use Policy. You should also be aware that the State has a
Privacy
Policy
. The
State wants you know about the collection, use, security, and access
to information that may be obtained through use of the State's web portal.
By visiting this web site, you are accepting the policies and practices
described in this Notice.
This notice covers the following topics:
Please note that this Use Policy is subject to change without notice,
and that it reflects the State's currently business practices. This policy
is dated December 7, 2000. Also note that each department within the
State may have additional privacy and use policies specific to the mission
and needs of their work. Be sure to review those policies as you access
additional sites within the State.
PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CHOICE
"Personal information" is information about a natural person
that identifies or describes an individual, including, but not limited
to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home
address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical
or employment history, readily identifiable to that specific individual.
A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal
information, however, it is considered
"electronically collected personal information".
According to Government Code § 11015.5, "Electronically collected
personal information" means any information that is maintained by
an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including,
but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical
description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial
matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address,
and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes
any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether
electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to
individuals who are users, serving in a business capacity, including,
but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that
business.
"Electronically collected personal information" we automatically
collect includes your domain name or Internet Protocol address, and statistical
information about which web pages you visit. If you voluntarily participate
in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e. completing a
request for assistance, personalizing the content of the web site, sending
an e-mail or participating in a survey) more detailed data will be collected.
If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will
in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the web site.
If any type of personal information is requested on the web site or
volunteered by the user, state law, including Information Practices Act
of 1977, Government Code Section 11015.5, and the federal Privacy Act
of 1974 may protect it. However, this information may be a public record
once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying
if not otherwise protected by federal or state law.
Additionally, departments and agencies of the State of California are
required to adhere to the Privacy Policy which is also accessible on
this web site. Please see Department of General Services Management Memo
00-14, effective January 1, 2001.
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CHILDREN
Children are not eligible to use services that require submission of
personal information and we require that minors (under the age of 18)
do not submit any personal information to us. This includes submitting
personal information to the State as part of a user profile or personalization
profile. If you are a minor, you can use these services only if used
together with your parents or guardians. If you are a minor you should
seek guidance from your parents.
If the state decides to begin collecting personal information from children,
it will notify parents that it is being requested, disclose the reasons
for collecting it, and disclose our intended use for it. The state will
seek parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable information.
If it does collect it, parents may request information on the type of
data being collected, view their child's information and, if they choose,
prohibit the state from making further use of their child's information.
The state will not provide personal information about children to third
parties.
INFORMATION COLLECTED AND HOW IT IS USED
We do collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer
to use some of our services. Collection of this information is required
to deliver the specific services, but use of these services is voluntary.
If you do nothing during your visit to the web site, but browse or download
information, we automatically collect and store the following information
about your visit:
- The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used but not the e-mail
address.
- The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned
either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer.
We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to
you and generate statistics used in the management of this site;
- The type of browser and operating system you used;
- The date and time you visited this site;
- The web pages or services you accessed at this site;
- The web site you visited prior to coming to this web site;
- The web site you visit as you leave this web site;
- If you downloaded a form, the form that was downloaded.
The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve
the content of our web services and to help us understand how people
are using our services. This information does not identify you personally
and is used for gathering web site statistics. The information we automatically
collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our
web site to continually improve the value of the materials available.
Our web site logs do not identify a visitor by personal information,
and we make no attempt to link other web sites with the individuals that
browse the State's web site.
Government Code § 11015.5 (6) prohibits all state agencies from
distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information
as defined above, about users to any third party without the permission
of the user. The State does not sell any "electronically collected
personal information". Any distribution of "electronically
collected personal information" will be solely for the purposes
for which it was provided to us.
The State may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports
of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information
is sold or distributed and all relevant legal protections still apply
to the State's web sites.
WHAT HAPPENS TO INFORMATION YOU SUBMIT TO US?
If you choose to submit information to us the information will be transmitted
through secure lines to our departmental database. Any private information
will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided and will
not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law. Please
see our Privacy Policy for additional information.
USE OF INTERNET REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE FORM INFORMATION
Any information you provide to us will only be shared with entities
involved in your case as necessary. Information you provide may be included
with other consumers' information to be used for statistical reporting,
trending data, and/or investigative actions. For example, we may need
to retain information that becomes part of an enforcement action or consumer
complaint case for a period of time after the closing date of the case.
If you provide us with information regarding an issue that does not
fall within our regulatory jurisdiction, we may refer your information
to the appropriate local, state, or federal agency on your behalf.
SURVEYS
If during your visit to the State's web site you participate in a survey
or send an e-mail, the following additional information will be collected:
- The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail; and
- Information volunteered in response to the survey.
The information collected is not limited to text characters and may
include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us. The
information is retained in accordance with Government Code
§ 11015.5.
IF YOU SEND US E-MAIL
You may choose to provide us with personal information, as in e-mail
with a comment or question. We use the information to improve our service
to you or to respond to your request. Sometimes we forward your e-mail
to other State employees who may be better able to help you, and this
staff may be employed by a different agency within the State. Except
for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law,
we do not share our e-mail with any other organizations.
We use your e-mail to respond appropriately. This may be to respond
to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our web site,
or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action.
ORDER FORMS
If you place an order with us, we request information from the user
on our order form. A user must provide contact information (like name
and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number,
expiration date]. This information is used for billing purposes and to
fill your order/request. If we have trouble processing an order, this
contact information is used to get in touch with you.
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is
open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and
information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are
exceptions to the public's right to access public records. These exceptions
serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals.
Both state and federal laws provide exceptions.
All information collected at this site becomes public record that may
be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption
in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this Use Policy and
the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing
the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices
Act or other applicable law will control.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Under Government Code § 11015.5, if you choose you may have any
personal information collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution,
provided we are contacted in a timely fashion.
AUTOMATIC COLLECTION OF INFORMATION/COOKIES
Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser.
The main State portal does not use cookies to maintain personalization,
however some departmental applications may.
The State makes every attempt to avoid the use of cookies. When needed
to maintain the functionality of an application, unlike the common usage
of cookies, the State only uses cookies during the session in which you
access our interactive applications.
Cookies created on your computer by using this web site do not contain "personal
information" and do not compromise your privacy or security. We
use the cookie feature only to store a randomly generated identifying
temporary tag on your computer. You can refuse the cookie or delete the
cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods.
However, if you turn your cookie option off you may not be able to access
some of the features in our interactive applications.
SECURITY
The State, as developer and manager of this web site, has taken several
steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing
infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring,
auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into
the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire State
operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management.
This information should not be construed in any way as giving business,
legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of
information provided via the State's supported web site. The technical
standards governing security are enforced by the Department of Information
Technology.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
Our web site has links to sites we felt might be useful to you and which
may provide services. When you link to another site, you are no longer
on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.
This web site and the information it contains are provided as a public
service by the State of California. This system is monitored to ensure
proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features,
and for comparable purposes. Anyone using this system expressly consents
to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored
on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize
this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may
result in criminal prosecution.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
The State attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its
web site. Any errors, or omissions should be reported for investigation.
The State makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute
accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this web site
and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents
of this web site. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory,
including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third
party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose
and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents
of this web site or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference
in this web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services,
or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information
and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation,
or favoring by the State of California, or their employees or agents.
This Use Policy is subject to change without notice.
OWNERSHIP
In general, information presented on this web site, unless otherwise
indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed
or copied as permitted by law. However, the State does make use of copyrighted
data (e.g., photographs) which may require additional permissions prior
to your use. Furthermore, the unique branding of the site and various
official seals and marks may not be used without permission of the State.
In order to use any information on this web site not owned or created
by the State you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding)
sources. The State shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose,
free of any charge, all information submitted via this site except those
submissions made under separate legal contract. The State shall be free
to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained
in information provided through this site.