Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 19, 2024

Public Knowledge (“Public Knowledge”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of copyright, telecommunications, and internet law. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the data we collect from you and how we protect it when you visit https://publicknowledge.org/ and other sites we operate or own, such as broadbandconnectsamerica.com, digitalplatformact.com, misinfotrackingreport.com, reformingcopyright.org(together, our “Website”), or use the functions or features on the Website. 

We provide you this information so that you can make informed decisions about interacting with our Website. We take your privacy very seriously. If you do not agree with any part of this Privacy Policy, we ask that you discontinue use of this Website. By using this Website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, and the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. 

Our Website may contain links to other organizations or websites. The privacy practices of these third parties may differ from ours. Your use of these third-party sites, applications, and services are governed by their privacy policies. We encourage you to carefully review the privacy policy of any website, application, or service you visit or use. 


Changes to this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy is current as of its Effective Date listed above. We may change the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time, and will update the Effective Date when we do. Your continued interaction with our Website and use of our services after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes. We ask that you please check the Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

What information do we collect and how do we collect it?

Information about your visits to the Website. We collect standard information about your visits to the Website, such as your IP address, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the User-Agent identified by your web browser, the referring page from which you accessed the Website, and other unique identifiers to help us associate your multiple page visits into a single session. We collect this information automatically from your browser or device as you navigate through the Website. This information helps us improve our Website and services. 

Information you share with us. We also may collect information about you if you voluntarily decide to share it with us, such as your name, address, email, and/or other contact information you provide when you subscribe to our email list, complete a job application, or make a donation through our Website. We collect this information when you provide it through our Website.

How is information collected when you use the Website?

Directly from you. We collect information you provide directly to us through our Website or in your communications to us, as described above.

We use Transport Layer Security (commonly known as TLS or SSL) to encrypt the information that you send to our Website and that we send back to you. This means, for example, that an eavesdropper would not be able to determine which pages on our Website you visit solely from your Internet traffic.

By third-party service providers. Public Knowledge believes in a rich ecosystem of Internet services that provide you with a multitude of experiences, and our Website takes advantage of that Internet diversity. We use third-party service providers to assist us in providing you with useful content and features, including, for example, the third-party service providers described below. As described below, these third parties may collect information from you. Public Knowledge strives to select vendors and service providers that minimize the collection of personal information.. 

  • Facebook/Meta, X, and LinkedIn buttons: Postings on our Website often contain buttons that allow you to share the postings on Facebook/Meta, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, or LinkedIn. When you click on these sharing buttons, your browser will open a new window linking you to these social media platforms. These third parties would then receive information about your visit to our Website. To learn more about how these third parties handle your information, please review their privacy policies.
  • Eventbrite: We may advertise and manage certain of our events using Eventbrite. You can view Eventbrite’s privacy policy at https://www.eventbrite.com/support/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/eventbrite-privacy-policy?lg=en_US. 
  • FiscalNote: We use FiscalNote’s VoterVoice and Knowlegis services to send emails to you about our issues and advocacy campaigns we think you may be interested in. You can view the privacy policy governing these services at https://fiscalnote.com/privacy.
  • WP Engine: Our Public Knowledge website is hosted on WP Engine. You can view WP Engine’s privacy policy at https://wpengine.com/legal/privacy/. 
  • Matomo: We use Matomo for analytics to help us understand how visitors interact with our Website, including frequency of visits and page views, and how our Website is functioning. This information does not identify you by name. You can view Matomo’s privacy policies at https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/ and https://matomo.org/matomo-cloud-privacy-policy/. 
  • MailChimp: We use MailChimp to publish our press releases and newsletters. You can view MailChimp’s privacy policy at https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/. 
  • Vindicati and Objectively: Our Movement for a Better Internet website is hosted by Objectively.  We also use services provided by Vindicati to maintain our Website.  
  • Salesforce: We use Salesforce to manage information about donations to Public Knowledge and the Sherwin Siy Memorial Fund. You can view Salesforce’s privacy policy at https://www.salesforce.com/company/privacy/. 
  • Stripe: Our Website uses Stripe to process donations. You can view Stripe’s privacy policy at https://stripe.com/privacy. 
  • Contact Form 7 plugin: Our Website uses the Contact Form 7 plugin to manage your submission of contact information when you subscribe to our email list or submit a donation. You can view the Contact Form 7 plugin privacy policy at https://contactform7.com/privacy-policy/.   
  • JazzHR: Our Website uses JazzHR to manage job, internship, externship, and fellowship applications. You can view JazzHR’s privacy policy at https://www.jazzhr.com/privacy-policy/.

Cookies. Our Website may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technology for automatic data collection (collectively, “cookies”). A cookie is a small text file that is stored in your browser or device and helps us personalize your experience, analyze traffic through our Website, and improve our services. We use first-party cookies, which are cookies we place, and third-party cookies, which may be placed by our third-party partners. You can use your browser or device settings to accept or decline most cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, the interactive features of the Website may not work fully. For instance, if you decline all third-party cookies, our Donate link may not function correctly. Please refer to your browser’s help menu for information on how to manage cookies.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect about you or that you provide to us to: 

  • provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us, such as adding you to our mailing list, processing your donations, signing petitions or letters pursuant to your request, and connecting you with members of Congress;
  • communicate with you about products and services;
  • identify popular or interesting content on our Website;
  • monitor aggregate statistics about our Website’s visitors;
  • comply with our legal obligations, and exercise or defend legal claims;
  • protect our Website against fraud or other illegal activity;
  • in any other way we may describe when you provide us with information; and
  • for any other purpose with your consent.

In cases where you provide personal information specifically in connection with a particular action or service we provide, we will not use your information for other purposes that you do not authorize.

Do we share your information?

We generally do not sell, rent, or share information collected from the Website with anyone outside of Public Knowledge, except in the manner described when you provide that information. We may share your information with the third-party service providers mentioned above to provide services and content to you and process your requests. We encourage you to read these service providers’ privacy policies to understand how they handle your information. 

We may also share your information in ways we describe when you provide us the information, or with your consent. For example, if you sign a petition to Congress, your name and geographic location may be shared with the member of Congress receiving the petition.

We also may share information with others to:

  • comply with a law or legal order, such as a subpoena, that we believe to be valid and properly issued;
  • protect the safety of a person or prevent serious harm; and
  • support internal operations of our Website, such as maintaining or fixing it.

Our Website does not collect information about your online activities over time or across third-party websites or online services. The Website does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

What about information relating to children?

Our Website is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information. If we become aware that we have personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to promptly delete it.

How can you contact us?

If you have questions about us or this Privacy Policy, or would like to correct errors or inaccuracies in the information you believe we have about you, please contact us at +1 (202) 861-0020, pk@publicknowledge.org or Public Knowledge, 1818 N Street, NW, Suite 410, Washington, D.C. 20036.