SAE FOUNDATION PRIVACY POLICY

INTRODUCTION

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how SAE International d/b/a SAE Foundation (“SAE”, “we” or “us”) collects, uses, shares, and retains personal information that you provide to us, or that we collect, when you use our websites or related mobile applications, use SAE products and services and complete related forms, participate in SAE events, or communicate with one of our customer service representatives (“Personal Data”).

Our Privacy Policy applies to the saefoundation.org website (“Sites”); it does not apply to websites of any other SAE affiliate, branch, section, chapter, group, or student group, such as SAE India, SAE Brasil, SAE China or JSAE, or to websites operated by organizations or groups who associate themselves with SAE or those that have hypertext links to or from the SAE Sites.

Please note that if you disagree with anything in this Privacy Policy, you must not use the Sites or mobile applications, or provide personal information to us in connection with SAE’s products or services.

1. DATA PROTECTION CONTACT

SAE is headquartered in Warrendale, PA, in the United States. You may contact SAE’s internal data protection resource if you have any questions or concerns about SAE’s policies or practices regarding Personal Data:privacy@sae.org

SAE International d/b/a SAE Foundation
400 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA 15096, USA

2. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

A.  Information You Directly and Voluntarily Provide to Us.  

Donation/Membership: If you provide your Personal Data to SAE to donate to or become a member of SAE, or if you sign up to become a registered user of any website operated by SAE, you will be required to provide certain information as part of the registration process.  This information will include your first and last name, email address, and business or home address. We may also request that you voluntarily provide other information, such as your phone number, year of birth, gender, demographic information, educational background, work experience, or courses or areas of study in which you may be interested and information about your company as it relates to SAE’s products, services, and your SAE membership. Membership information is used to communicate with you, to design content and activities that we believe would be of interest to you, and to ensure that SAE will not violate any applicable U.S. sanctions in providing you access to SAE’s goods and services. If you wish to opt-out of receiving these communications from us, please follow the instructions contained in an applicable communication you receive from us and submit a request.

Events and Conferences: SAE may host events that include in-person and virtual conferences, training, knowledge sharing and webinars. If you register for a SAE event and you are an SAE member, we will access the information in your member account to provide you with information and services associated with the event. If you register for one of our events and you are not an SAE member, we will collect your first and last name, email address, business or home address, and the type of business you work for or with, which we will use to provide you with information and services associated with the event.

Publications: We offer various publications and materials through our Sites. These publications and materials are publicly accessible and you can create an account and subscribe to receive these publications and materials. If you are not an SAE member and you create an account for this purpose, you will be required to provide certain information as part of your account registration, including your first and last name, email address, and business or home address. You may manage your SAE subscriptions by subscribing or unsubscribing at any time. If you have any difficulties managing your subscription or other preferences, please inquire at privacy@sae.org.

Communications with SAE: If you communicate or correspond with us by email, through postal mail, via phone or through other forms of communication, we may collect the information you provide as part of those communications.  For example, if you correspond with us through email, we may collect and store the email address you use to send the applicable correspondence and use it to respond to your inquiry; to notify you of SAE conferences, publications, or other services; or to keep a record of your complaint, accommodation request, and similar purposes.

B. Information We Automatically Collect from You.

We may automatically collect information about you when you use the Sites or our services. For example, if you access the Sites through a computer, we will automatically collect information such as your browser type and version, computer and connection information, IP address and standard web log information. If you access the Sites through a mobile device, we may also be able to identify the location of your mobile device. You may choose not to share your location details with us by adjusting your mobile device’s location services settings. For instructions on changing the relevant settings, please contact your service provider or device manufacturer. The information that we automatically collect from you is used to enhance the performance of SAE’s Sites.

We may automatically collect information from you when you use the Sites using “cookies” and other similar technologies, such as web beacons. Cookies are small amounts of data that are stored within your computer’s Internet browser and that are accessed and recorded by the websites that you visit so that they can recognize the same browser navigating online at a later time. The cookies are not able to execute code or access other information stored on the computer. Web beacons are transparent pixel images that are used in collecting information about website usage, email response and tracking.

Information that may be collected by cookies when you use the Sites may include, without limitation:

• the pages you visit within the Sites;
• the date and time of your visit to the Sites;
• the amount of time you spend using the Sites;
• the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet; and/or
• your computer and connection information such as your browser type and version, operating system and platform.

This information is collected to enhance site performance and end user experience. You can set your browser to reject cookies or to notify you when you are sent a cookie. To learn more about your ability to manage cookies and web beacons, please consult the privacy features in your browser.

SAE will not associate identifiers from cookies or similar technologies with sensitive identifiers about you, such as race, religion, sexual orientation or health.

C.  Information Collected by Third Parties through Third-Party Links and Content.

The Sites may include links to other websites and other content from third-party businesses and can offer direct interaction with external websites, networks or platforms that are outside SAE’s control. These third-party businesses may use cookies, web beacons or other similar technology to collect information about you. SAE does not have access to or control over these third parties or the cookies, web beacons or other technology that these third parties may use. We are not responsible for the security, privacy of the information collected by these third parties or the privacy practices of these third parties or the content on any third-party website.  You are encouraged to review the privacy policies of the different websites you visit and of the advertisers whose ads you may choose to click while on our Sites.

D.  Information Collected by Third-Party Analytics Services.

We may work with third-party analytics services to help us understand how the Sites are being used, such as tracking the frequency and duration of use of the Sites. We may use Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics, and web analytics services provided by Adobe and Google (“Analytics Tools”) to collect information about your use of the Sites. These Analytics Tools may use cookies to collect information about the content you view, what websites you visit immediately prior to and after visiting the Sites, and your system information and geographic information. The information generated by these cookies about your use of the Sites will be transmitted to and stored by the applicable analytics services. The information collected by these analytics services allows us to analyze your use of the Sites. The Analytics Tools may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Sites. If you cancel your SAE membership or withdraw your consent for the processing of personal information, SAE will not be able to access the personal information processed by third-party analytics. By using the Sites, you consent to the processing of data about you by Adobe and Google in the manner and for the purposes set forth above. You can opt-out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s opt-out browser add-on, and out of interest-based Google ads using Google’s Ads Settings.

E.  Information You Provide to Payment Processors. 

All payments made to SAE are processed by a PCI-DSS compliant (these are payment card industry data security standards) payment processing service engaged by SAE. All information collected by these third-party providers for purposes of processing your payments is not available to us, unless you have otherwise provided this information to us in connection with your use of the Sites or our products and services.

F.  Personal Information Provided by Third Parties.

We may receive personal information about individuals from third parties. Our third-party partners may also share your personal information with SAE when you sign up for events, training courses or other activities through the applicable partner.

3. USE SHARING AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

A. How We Use Your Information.

SAE uses personal information for the purposes described at the time of collection, to provide membership benefits and other services to you, including order processing or membership applications, or registering you for events, and to otherwise process your requests or address your inquiries, and to report to others about whether you are a member or not. SAE also uses your information, as permitted by law, to provide you with information about SAE, our products and services or other products and services in which we believe you may be interested. If you are a member or registered user, we may email you about products and services that we believe may be of interest to you. If you wish to opt-out of receiving these emails from us, please follow the instructions contained in an applicable email you receive from us, which will allow you to opt-out of receiving these types of email communications from us. We may also use your personal information to tailor your experience at our Sites, to compile and display content and information that we think you might be interested in, and to provide you with content according to these preferences. SAE may also use this information to help us understand our members’ needs and interests, to better tailor our products and services to meet your needs.

B.  How We Share Your Information with Third Parties.

Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or when specifically agreed to by you, we will not disclose personal information we gather from you to third parties unless SAE is required to share this information to complete your request or for legitimate business purposes. SAE shares personal information in the following circumstances:

Third-Party Service Providers.  We may share your information with vendors or third parties who deliver or provide goods and services or otherwise act on behalf of or at the direction of SAE.  These third parties may include, for example, our third-party fundraising and relationship managements technology providers and event providers and partners, product-fulfilment companies, and third-party event hosts, hotels for conference registrants, sponsors, co-sponsors and exhibitors. These third-party service providers will only have access to the information needed to perform these limited functions on our behalf. If you do not wish to have your information included in an attendee list or to receive information from sponsors, co-sponsors and/or exhibitors, you can express your preferences when you register for events or you may contact SAE directly at privacy@sae.org.

SAE Events.  If you are an event attendee, speaker, or sponsor, certain items of your information may be included in the event roster, which will be publicly disclosed, and may also be shared with third-party event sponsors and exhibitors. Further, by registering and attending a SAE event, you agree irrevocably, with no compensation to you, that SAE or any third party who is acting on SAE’s behalf may create images, videos and/or sound recordings of you (“works”) at the event for marketing purposes. This grant of rights in the works also includes the rights to adapt, reproduce, distribute, perform, make available to the public, broadcast, retransmit or sublicense the works to SAE’s affiliates. This grant of rights in the works also includes all current and future media and is not restricted to time or territory.

Response to Subpoenas, Court Orders, Government Requests or to Protect Rights and to Comply with Our Policies. To the extent permitted by law, we will disclose your information to government authorities or third parties if: (a) required to do so by law or regulation, or in response to a subpoena or court order or any other enforceable governmental request or order; (b) we believe in our sole discretion that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect against fraud, to protect the property or other rights of us or other users, third parties or the public at large; or (c) we believe that you have abused the Sites by using them to attack other systems or to gain unauthorized access to any other system, to engage in spamming or otherwise to violate applicable laws. You should be aware that, following disclosure to any third party, your information might be accessible by others to the extent permitted or required by applicable law.

C.  Information for Individuals Located in the European Union.

Legal Basis for the Processing of Personal Information from European Union (EU) Residents and Citizens

If you reside within or are a citizen of the EU, our processing of your personal information will be legitimized as follows:

(i) Whenever we require your consent for the processing of your personal information such processing will be justified pursuant to Article 6(1) lit. (a) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”). This article in the GDPR describes when processing can be done lawfully.

(ii) If the processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and SAE or for taking any pre-contractual steps upon your request, such processing will be based on GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (b).”). If this data is not processed, SAE will not be able to execute the contract with you.

(iii) Where the processing is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation, we will process your information on basis of GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (c), for example complying in the fields of employment law.

(iv) And where the processing is necessary for the purposes of SAE’s legitimate interests, such processing will be made in accordance with GDPR Article 6(1) lit. (f), for example to detect fraud.

Transferring Personal Data from the EU to the United States of America (US):

SAE has its headquarters in the United States. Information we collect from you will be processed in the US. The US has not sought nor received a finding of “adequacy” from the European Union under Article 45 of the GDPR). A finding of “adequacy” in short means that the European Commission has decided that this country outside the EU ensures an adequate level of data protection. SAE relies on derogations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR as the United States has no “adequacy” decision and no other safeguards under the GDPR are in place (for example binding corporate rules on the transfer outside the EU). In particular, SAE collects and transfers to the US personal data only: with your explicit consent; to perform a contract with you; in a manner that does not outweigh your rights and freedoms. If this data is not processed and transferred, SAE will not be able to execute the contract with you or you will not have access to any or all of the benefits and features associated with your transaction. SAE endeavors to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personal data and to use it only consistent with your relationship with SAE and the practices described in this Privacy Policy. SAE also minimizes the risk to your rights and freedoms by not collecting or storing sensitive information about you.

European Union Data Subject Rights

The EU GDPR and other countries’ privacy laws provide certain rights for data subjects (these are persons that can be identified).

This Privacy Policy is intended to provide you with information about what personal data SAE collects about you and how it is used.

If you wish to confirm that SAE is processing your personal data, or to have access to the personal data SAE may have about you, or have other questions, please contact us at privacy@sae.org.

You may also request information about the purpose of the processing; the categories of personal data concerned; who else outside SAE might have received the data from SAE; what the source of the information was (if you did not provide it directly to SAE); where the personal data is stored and how long it will be stored. You have a right to correct (rectify) the record of your personal data maintained by SAE if it is inaccurate. You may request that SAE erase that data or cease processing it, subject to certain exceptions. You may also ask SAE for your personal data to be supplemented or updated, or for their transformation into anonymous format or to block any data held in violation of the law, as well as to oppose their treatment for any and all legitimate reasons. You may withdraw your consent for the processing of personal data or the further processing of personal data by SAE at any time.  You may also request that SAE cease using your data for direct marketing purposes. In many countries (including EU countries), you have a right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate data protection authority if you have concerns about how SAE processes your personal data. When technically feasible, SAE will—at your request—provide your personal data to you or transmit it directly to another controller. You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured and standard format.

In addition to the information contained in this Privacy Policy, you may be provided with additional and contextual information concerning particular services or the collection and processing of your personal data upon request.

Reasonable access to your personal data will be provided at no cost to SAE members, conference attendees and others upon request made to SAE at privacy@sae.org. If access cannot be provided within a reasonable timeframe, SAE will provide you with a date when the information will be provided. If for some reason access is denied, SAE will provide an explanation as to why access has been denied.

D.  Security of Your Information.

SAE uses reasonable physical, technical and administrative measures to safeguard personal information you provide through the Sites or in connection with SAE’s products and services.  Please be aware that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, SAE cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit on or through the Sites and you do so at your own risk.

E.  Data Storage and Retention.

Your personal data is stored by SAE on its servers, and on the servers of the database management services SAE engages, located in the United States. SAE retains data for the duration of the customer’s or member’s business relationship with SAE and otherwise as required under applicable law. Personal data will be kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which your personal data are processed. We will retain your personal data as long as you are an SAE member or require our services so that we can provide these services to you.

If you are located in or a citizen of the EU, at the moment you cancel your SAE membership or withdraw your consent for the processing of your personal information, all your personal data received and stored are erased if no longer needed by us, unless we are required to retain this personal data by law or to comply with our regulatory obligations. In such a case, we will only keep this personal data for as long as necessary. For more information on where and how long your personal data is stored, and for more information on your rights of erasure and portability, please contact our data privacy resource at privacy@sae.org or go to the Data Subject Access Portal.

4. CHILDREN

SAE is a professional membership association and the Sites are not directed to children under the age of 13. SAE does not knowingly collect personally identifiable data from persons under the age of 13 (COPPA – The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). If you are a parent of a child under 13, and you believe that your child has provided us with information about him or herself, please contact us at privacy@sae.org.

5. ONLINE PROFILE UPDATES AND DONATIONS

If you complete the Profile update form and share your personally identifying information, this information will be used only to provide you with more targeted content. We may use your contact information to send further information about our organization or to contact you when necessary. You may always opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the “Opt Out” section below.

6. MODIFICATION TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

From time to time, SAE may need to update or modify this Privacy Policy, to reflect changes in our business practices, data collection practices or organization. We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time, for any reason, without sending the Privacy Policy to you, other than the posting of the amended Privacy Policy on the Sites, or, if you have provided your email address to us, sending you an email notifying you of the amended Privacy Policy. It is strongly recommended to check the Sites often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the top. We will in any case not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit and informed consent. If you do not agree to the changes, you should discontinue your use of the Sites, and cease providing personal information to us, prior to the time the modified Privacy Policy takes effect. If you continue using the Sites or provide personal information after the modified Privacy Policy takes effect, you will be bound by the modified Privacy Policy.

7. QUESTIONS, CONCERNS OR COMPLAINTS

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact SAE’s data protection resource at privacy@sae.org.