AACR Online Privacy Policy

The American Association for Cancer Research respects the privacy and security of its website users.

This Privacy Policy (“policy”) applies to the features and uses of the AACR website (“website”). If you decide to sign up for special services that may be posted or linked to from time to time on the website (e.g., e-mail registrations, discussion list sign-up, our blog, etc.), additional terms and conditions regarding the collection and use of your information may apply. In all instances, however, we will provide notice to you about what personally identifiable information is collected; how, when, and for how long we might use your information; how we protect your information; who has access to your information; and how you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

This policy does not apply to any websites or services managed, maintained, or hosted by third parties not directly affiliated with the AACR that you may visit, e.g., via a link provided through the website or on a website maintained by any third party.  The AACR does not control the privacy policies of other websites to which the website may provide links.  We encourage you to learn more about the online privacy and data security policies of third party websites directly from such third parties, as their policies may differ from ours.

By submitting information to us and by using our website, we will assume that you have read, understood, and consent to the this policy and all other terms, conditions, and policies that may be applicable to our website from time to time. We also assume that you consent to our use of your information as described in this policy and all other such terms, conditions, and policies. If you do not consent to, or disagree with, this policy or any such terms, conditions, and policies, please do not use our website.

Information We May Collect

The AACR collects certain information from and about its website users in three ways - directly from the user, from our web server logs, and with cookies and other web technologies, as described below.

User-supplied Information. When you sign up for an AACR service (such as, e.g., the myAACR service) or register for a conference, we ask you for your name, email address, and other personal information. Additionally, if there are any charges for services we provide, if you pay membership dues through the site, or if you choose to donate to the AACR, we may request credit card or other financial information from you to implement the transaction.

Server Log Information. When you visit our website, as with any website, you disclose certain information about yourself, such as your internet (TCP/IP) address, the time of your visit, and the referring location (e.g., the website that provided the hypertext link to the AACR page). This basic information is automatically recorded in the server log and is accessible to the AACR to determine, for example, the number of unique visits to a webpage at any given time on any given day.

Cookies and Other Web Technologies. The use of cookies allows us to provide a customized and more personal website experience. Cookies are small bits of code that can associate certain preferences and browsing history on a particular website to your laptop, PC, or other web-enabled device. When you use that same device to return to the website, the cookie remembers your preferences as you load the website. The AACR website uses cookies to store and help track your information.

Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. Cookies do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII). If you prefer, however, you can reset your browser either to notify you when you receive a cookie, or to refuse to accept cookies. You should understand that certain areas of many sites might not function properly, if you set your browser not to accept cookies. The AACR may contract with trusted third parties to collect and analyze data about use of the website, and such third-party contractors may use cookies and web scripts that send data directly to them for this purpose.

The website uses clear gifs or pixel tags, which are tiny graphic images, in order: (i) to advise us of what parts of the website users have visited; (ii) to measure the effectiveness of any searches users perform; (iii) to track how visitors use the site to target ads to them on other websites; and (iv) to enable us to send emails in a format that users can read and tell us whether such emails have been opened in order to ensure us that we are sending messages that are of interest to users.

How We Respond to Do Not Track Signals and Similar Mechanisms.  Some browsers may be configured to send Do Not Track signals to websites, or users may use similar mechanisms, to indicate a user’s preference that certain web technologies not be used to track the user’s online activity. Our website does not accept or process such Do Not Track signals or similar mechanisms. 

How and When Information We Collect Is Use

We may use information we collect in different ways, depending on the type of information:

User-Supplied Information. This information is used for purposes such as personalizing your visit to our site and verifying payment and other information we receive from you. Examples of user-supplied information are your name, address, phone number, email address, and other demographic information. This information can be used in creating an individualized internet environment, a myAACR account, selective email user groups, and targeted educational opportunities. We may, on occasion, send email to you about AACR products or services, and third-party products or services. If you do not want to receive email from us, visit the “Opt Out” or “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any such email to remove yourself from continued receipt of such email messages.

Additionally, we may collect payment information for special events, dues, subscriptions, or other goods and services. Payment information is collected and processed on a secure, third-party verified server, dedicated solely for use by the AACR.

Server Log Information. We use server log information to monitor and analyze use of the website and for technical administration of the website, to increase the functionality and user-friendliness of the website, and to better tailor it to the needs of users.

Aggregated Information. We may aggregate information we collect about you with information collected from other users to attempt to provide you with a better experience, to improve the quality and value of the website, and to analyze and understand how the website is used. We may also contract with trusted third parties for these purposes.

How We Protect Your Information

The privacy and protection of your personal information are vitally important to us. Any statistics regarding your AACR website usage that may be reviewed by our management or staff or shared with prospective or existing partners are provided in the aggregate only and do not include any personally identifiable information. When products or services are purchased on the site through the use of a credit card, individual payment information is processed via a secure, third-party server, as noted above, and is not otherwise disclosed outside of the AACR. Neither the AACR nor any third party acting on our behalf may use your personal information for any purpose outside the scope of your consent.

Our websites are scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible and we regularly scan for malware. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order, enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information. All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.

No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure. Accordingly, despite the safeguards in place to protect your personal information, the AACR cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us with respect to our online products or services. You transmit all such information at your own risk. However, once we receive your personal information, we will undertake all commercially reasonable efforts to ensure its security on our systems.

Please note that if you use any bulletin board, chat room, blog, comment posting feature, or other public communication service, forum, or feature offered through the website, or post any information available for viewing by other users, any of the information that you share will be visible to other users. The information that you make available can be read, used, and collected by other users to send you unsolicited messages outside of the website. The AACR is not responsible for the manner in which any information that you decide to share will be used by other users.

Who Has Access to Your Information

Our policy is not to share user information, including personal information, we collect with third parties other than as specified below, or where a user expressly consents to our sharing of certain information with a third party. We may share user information with third parties under the following circumstances:

We may disclose user information to certain third-party vendors in connection with the delivery of products or services related to the website, including, for example: in order to facilitate the website; to provide the website or portions of the website on our behalf; to perform related services, including without limitation, maintenance services, database management, fulfillment, web analytics, and improvement of the features or functionality; or to assist us in analyzing how the website is being used. In such cases, these third parties are generally under the same privacy obligations as are set forth in this policy.

Occasionally, we make our mailing list available for purchase to select partners -- those parties together with whom we offer certain of our products and services -- for the distribution of informational material. These partners have been screened by the AACR for relevancy and are granted a one-time use of the addresses. You have the ability to opt out of this use of our mailing list at any time by sending an email to together@aacrfoundation.org.

Where one of our products or services, such as the Annual Meeting registration, is offered in conjunction with another named organization or company, it may be necessary for us to share user information with that entity in order to provide such "co-branded" services to you. If you choose to share your data with a provider of a co-branded service, you should understand that those providers may have different privacy policy practices. The AACR has no control over and accepts no liability for these providers' practices.

Finally, in some instances the AACR may be under a legal obligation to disclose user information. For example, we may disclose user information to comply with the law, in response to a subpoena served on the AACR; to enforce or apply the policy or any other terms, conditions, or policies applicable to our website; to protect the rights, property, or safety of the AACR, our website users, or others; or to prevent activity that we believe, in our sole discretion, may be or may become illegal, unethical, or legally actionable.

How Long Your Information May Be Retained

We do not store your credit card information beyond the time required to process your payment for a product or service, but we may keep other user information on file indefinitely.

How to Correct Inaccuracies

If you purchase an AACR service or product online, we may send you a confirmation email confirming your new account, product and/or service. The message will be sent to the address that you supplied us and will describe ways for you to correct, or otherwise change or delete, the account information you provided.
International Transfer

Please note that the AACR is based in the United States and the website is hosted on servers located in the United States. If you use the website from outside the United States, please note that your information may be transferred to and maintained on computers and servers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction, where privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. Your consent to this policy, followed by your submission of information through the website, represents your agreement to the transfer of such information to the United States and the handling of your information consistent with applicable United States law.

Children’s Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Users must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to access and use the website. By using the website, you represent and warrant that you are thirteen (13) years of age or older and that you consent to this policy, and all other applicable terms, conditions, and policies. If we believe that you are under the age of thirteen (13) or that you are not old enough to consent to and be legally bound by the policy, we may, at any time, in our sole discretion, and with or without notice: (i) terminate your access to or use of the website (or any portion, aspect, or feature), or (ii) delete any content or information that you have posted through the website.

Future Changes to the AACR Website and to this Policy

From time to time, we may use information collected through our website for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in this policy. If our information practices change at some time in the future, we will post changes to this policy on the website. If you are concerned about how your information is used, please bookmark this page and check back periodically. The information we gather is and will be subject to the version of this policy in effect at the time the information is gathered.

If you believe that our website is not following this policy, or if you have any further questions, please contact us:
American Association for Cancer Research
615 Chestnut Street, 17th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106-4404
Telephone:  215-440-9300
Toll Free Telephone: 844-385-2064
Email: together@aacrfoundation.org