Terms & Conditions

Copyright 1999-2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the U.S. firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers and other members of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization.

Use of this service indicates acceptance of the following terms and conditions. Information provided as part of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Communications Direct is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. The information is provided with the understanding that the authors and publishers are not herein engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice or services. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consultation.

While we have made reasonable attempts to ensure the information provided to the service has been obtained from reliable sources, PricewaterhouseCoopers is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided "as is," with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. Nothing herein shall to any extent substitute for the independent investigations and the sound technical and business judgment of the reader. Laws and regulations are continually changing, and can be interpreted only in light of particular factual situations.

Privacy and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

The collection of personal information by organizations through their Web sites has become a critical issue affecting business throughout the world. Individuals are, increasingly, unwilling to engage in transactions over the Web unless they can be assured that companies manage in an ethical manner the identifying information that they may disclose. Internationally, government responses to privacy concerns range from setting national standards for voluntary compliance, to passing laws that regulate information practices (including transborder data flow), to encouraging substantive self-regulatory efforts built around industry sector privacy codes.

Ethical information management, in whatever form it takes, centers on these key privacy concerns:

• What kind of personally identifying information is collected, and how is it collected?
• What is done with the information that is collected?
• What limitations or controls can an individual place on the collection and use of identifying information?

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global leader in the development and implementation of privacy assurance and third-party verification services. Our leadership is established not only by the range of experience we have in the development and assurance of privacy policies, but by our own example as well. Because our Communications Direct Web site has areas where individuals can provide identifying information, we have developed the Privacy Statement below to inform Web site visitors of our policies and practices regarding such information.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Communications Direct Web Site Privacy Statement

What kind of information is collected through the Communications Direct site?

PricewaterhouseCoopers receives very little identifying information from visitors to our Communications Direct Web site, and only for a narrow set of purposes. Profiling data consists of basic contact information: Name, company, primary business, job function, region, and e-mail address. Visitors are also able to send e-mail through the site, and their messages will contain the user's screen name and e-mail address, as well as any additional information the user may wish to include in the message. The use of cookies on the Communications Direct Web site are transitory and used for session management purposes, and are valid only for the session that your browser is open. [A "cookie" is a software application that enables a site to customize its services to the interests of the user, by tracking the user's navigation in the site and storing that information on the user's hard drive. For example, a "cookie" can be used to store registration information in an area of the site so that a user does not need to provide it on subsequent visits to that area. Because "cookies" can be used to track navigational habits, store information on the user's hard drive, and in their early use were not disclosed to the user, the use of "cookies" has raised significant privacy concerns. Most browsers now recognize when a "cookie" is offered, and permit the user to opt-out of receiving it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer or your Internet service provider.] We do not use "cookies" to track navigational habits of visitors or to collect and distribute information to third parties for marketing purposes.

What do we do with the information we collect?

A user might provide personal information to register to receive e-mail in the form of daily updates, weekly newsletters, and special alerts. "Special alerts" may be used for notices on what's new on our site, or for informing visitors of PricewaterhouseCoopers' services, products, publications, surveys or events of interest. Visitors voluntarily request to be included on the special alerts mailing list. This information is not used in any way by Communications Direct or PwC to directly solicit purchases of products or services from individual members by Communications Direct or PricewaterhouseCoopers. Communications Direct and PwC reserve the right to provide PwC engagement teams certain personal information on members that are employed by or otherwise affiliated with PwC clients for the purpose of determining who among their clients is a registered member of Communication Direct. In this case, only the member’s name, job title, and company name are provided and will only be used for assisting engagement teams in the process of introducing Communications Direct to their client base.

How long do we keep information?

Profiling information about visitors may be kept indefinitely as long as the information is valid. PricewaterhouseCoopers does not collect or compile personally identifying information for dissemination or sale to outside parties for consumer marketing purposes. PricewaterhouseCoopers assumes no responsibility for the information practices of sites a user is able to access through ours.

What limitations or controls can an individual place on the collection and use of identifying information?

Profiling information provided to PricewaterhouseCoopers through its Communications Direct Web site is provided voluntarily by the visitor. The use of cookies on the Communications Direct Web site are transitory and used for session management purposes, and are valid only for the session that your browser is open. If a "cookie" is refused, the user still has access to the site. Again, most browser software also now allows a user to refuse "cookies."

What if a user wants to change the information we have?

User updates of information are handled by using the Edit Your Profile option. Visitors log-in with their registered e-mail address and the password they chose when they originally created their profile. Viewers who cannot recall their password may use the Retrieve Password option to request that their password be sent to them via e-mail.

Links to other sites

Links to other sites do not imply any endorsement of or affiliation with the linked site, any organization, product, service or information.

Privacy resources on the Web can be found at the following sites:

Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Privacy and American Business, Privacy Exchange
Privacy Forum
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
TRUSTe

U.S. government sites with privacy information:

Federal Trade Commission
NTIA

International site with privacy information:

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PricewaterhouseCoopers reserves the right to modify or amend this Statement at any time and for any reason. Nothing contained in this Statement is intended to create a contract or agreement between PricewaterhouseCoopers and any user visiting the site or providing profiling information in any form.