Privacy Policy

The Political Insider LLC Privacy Policy

Revised: June 2, 2022

The Political Insider, LLC. is an online website that offers advertisers opportunities to display their interactive ads on our website, https://thepoliticalinsider.com (our “Website” or “Site”). Our services streamline the selection and delivery of interactive ads for advertisers and website publishers.

Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy applies to all of the products, services, and websites offered by The Political Insider or its subsidiaries or affiliated companies. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and share information when you are served an advertisement on the Website. This Privacy Policy also explains your choices for managing your information preferences.

By using the Site, you consent to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third parties that The Political Insider does not own, control, manage, or employ.

The Political Insider uses Mediavine as its ad server. Mediavine’s privacy policy can be found here.

We are committed to following the National Advertising Initiative’s (NAI) privacy principles.

Information We Collect through the Site

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.

First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, “Tags”) may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser’s cache. The “help” feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser’s cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.

Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

  • IP Address
  • Operating System type
  • Operating System version
  • Device Type
  • Language of the website
  • Web browser type
  • Email (in hashed form)

Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor’s referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

Personally Identifiable Information:

We collect information that personally identifies you, such as your name, username, email address, credit card details, and other information as we may from time to time request at our discretion (“Personally Identifiable Information” or “PII”) if you choose to share such information with us. For example, you may be asked to provide us with certain Personally Identifiable Information when you register with or use our services, when you register with or use the Site, and at other times. The decision to provide this information is optional; however, if you elect not to register with or provide such information, you may not be able to access certain content, features, or services available on or through the Site. We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to The Political Insider service, such as service announcements, administrative messages, special promotions, and The Political Insider newsletters, which are considered part of your account, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information:

We automatically collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information when you use the Site. Non-Personally Identifiable Information includes demographic information (such as age, gender, city or state) and a user’s click stream information. Click stream data is anonymous and can include information such as your IP address, Web pages viewed, the date and time at which those pages were viewed and interaction with content and advertisements on those Web pages. Technologies used to collect this click stream data include cookies and Web beacons. The Political Insider collects Non-Personally Identifiable Information and stores it in log files. We use this information to help us understand how people use our Site. For example, each time you use the Site we automatically collect the type of Web browser you use, your operating system, your ISP, which pages you view, and the time and duration of your visits to the Site.

We may supplement our click stream data with Non Personally Identifiable Information (namely, behavioral and demographic data from third party Services Providers as defined below) to target and serve some of the advertisements you see on the pages of our Site and those of our Portfolio publishers. This anonymous supplemental data may include such things as zip code, age, gender, and income range. We use the Non-Personally Identifiable Information described above to better customize the sort of advertisements you see. This information also may be used to help measure and research an advertisement’s effectiveness, or for other purposes. We also aggregate anonymous cookie data in order to identify large audience segments that assist advertisers in targeting their campaigns to the most relevant Internet audience.

While we encourage third party advertising providers to comply with applicable law and self-regulatory standards, there are far too many online advertising transactions occurring on our publishers’ websites to police every transaction. We pass through all advertising disclosures and opt-out mechanisms of the advertising providers, but the use and collection of information by our third-party advertising Service Providers is governed by the individual privacy policies of those providers.

Cookies and Web Beacons:

We may use cookies (a small text file placed on your computer to identify your computer and browser), Web beacons (an electronic file placed on a website that monitors usage), and other similar technologies to improve the quality of the Site and to better target and analyze consumer behavior with the goal of providing better and more relevant advertising. Our cookie does not include your name or anything personal to you. It simply tells us that we have encountered your computer at some prior point. Most Web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your Web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, certain features of the Site may not work if you delete or disable cookies. Alternatively, you are always free to opt out of the cookies.

Some of our Service Providers may use their own cookies and Web beacons in connection with the services they perform on our behalf. If you would like more information about these practices and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, please click here.
How We Use and Share Information Collected through the Site

General:

We use Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information for internal purposes only, such as to notify you of new products or services, to send service notifications, to customize the advertising and content you see, to offer email promotions from our trusted network of partners (which you may opt-out of at any time, as described more fully below), to fulfill your requests for products and services, to improve the Site, to conduct research, to solicit your feedback and input about the Site, and to provide more relevant and effective products, services, and advertisements on or through the Site.

Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information may be combined with data collected from other sources so that we may further improve the relevance and effectiveness of products, services, and advertisements offered on or through the Site. We will not sell, share, or rent Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information to third parties, and we will not otherwise disclose Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information to third parties, without your permission, except as expressly disclosed in this Privacy Policy.

Service Providers:

The Political Insider may share Personally Identifiable Information with its service providers that help The Political Insider provide the services that you request (“Service Providers”). For example, we may contract with Service Providers to provide certain services, such as credit card processing, advertising, analytics tools, data management services, Web hosting, and Web development. We provide our Service Providers with the information needed for them to perform these services, however, each Service Provider must agree to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information involved in order to protect your information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure.

A Note Concerning Analytics Service Providers: We participate in advertising services administered by third parties, such as Google. For example, we have implemented or are in the process of implementing the following features based on Google Analytics for Display Advertising: Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, the DoubleClick Campaign Manager integration, and Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting.

The ad services may track your online activities over time by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of the automated technologies described above, and they may use this information to show you advertisements that are tailored to your individual interests and/or based on prior visits to our Websites. We and third-party vendors, including Google, may use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together (i) to inform, optimize, and serve ads based on past visits to our website and (ii) to report how our ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are related to visits to our site. For example, we use Remarketing with Google Analytics to allow Google to show our ads to our visitors across the Internet. We also may use data from Google’s Interest-based advertising or third-party audience data (such as age, gender, and interests) with Google Analytics to understand our audiences and to customize the delivery of our ads.

To learn more about interest-based advertising generally, including how to opt out, click here. To opt out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising or customize Google Display Network ads, you can visit the Google Ads Settings page.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information Only:

We may use, and disclose to third parties, certain Non-Personally Identifiable Information regarding the Site (e.g., number of visits, page views, and the like) without your permission. However, such information does not identify you individually.

Other Transfers:

We may share Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information with businesses controlling, controlled by, or under common control with The Political Insider. If The Political Insider is merged, acquired, or sold, or in the event of a transfer of some or all of our assets, we may disclose or transfer Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information in connection with such transaction. You will have the opportunity to opt out of any such transfer if, in our discretion, the new entity plans to handle your information in a way that differs materially from this Privacy Policy.

Third Party Sharing:

We may use, and disclose to third parties, certain Non-Personally Identifiable Information regarding the Site (e.g., number of visits, page views, and the like) without your permission. However, such information does not identify you individually. As for Personally Identifiable Information, we may share your first name, email address, zip code, and party affiliation with our trusted network of partners. However, we will provide you with an opportunity to opt out of sharing such information.

Compliance with Laws and Law Enforcement:

The Political Insider cooperates with government and law enforcement officials and private parties to enforce and comply with the law. The Political Insider reserves the right to disclose Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personally Identifiable Information to government or law enforcement officials or private parties if, in our discretion, we believe it is necessary or appropriate in order to respond to legal requests (including court orders and subpoenas), to protect the safety, property or rights of The Political Insider or of any third party, to prevent or stop any illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity, or to comply with the law.

Opt-Out of Third Party Sharing of Personal Information:

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE EMAIL PROMOTIONS FROM OUR TRUSTED NETWORK OF PARTNERS, EMAIL US AT [email protected] AND YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM OUR THIRD PARTY DISCLOSURE LIST.

Once a request to opt out has been received, The Political Insider will send a confirming email message to the user that the user’s Personally Identifiable Information has been successfully opted out of The Political Insider’s database. If you do not receive this confirmatory email, then please contact us to ensure that your request was received and processed.

Cookie Opt-Out Procedure

IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE POLITICAL INSIDER TO SERVE ADVERTISING TO YOU USING OUR COOKIE, CLICK HERE TO REPLACE YOUR UNIQUE THE POLITICAL INSIDER COOKIE WITH OPT-OUT COOKIES FROM AOL ADVERTISING AND LOTAME SOLUTIONS.

YOU CAN ALSO OPT OUT OF RECEIVING COOKIES FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF THE NETWORK ADVERTISING INITIATIVE BY CLICKING HERE.

This opt-out functionality is cookie-based. When you receive this cookie, The Political Insider’s systems will know that you have opted out and will not attempt to assign other The Political Insider cookies in the future. In order for the opt-out to work on your computer, your Web browser must be set to accept third-party cookies and the The Political Insider opt-out cookie must remain on your computer for us to recognize you as an opt-out user. If you buy a new computer, change Web browsers, or delete this cookie, you will need to perform the opt-out task again.

In some cases, The Political Insider works with other third-party vendors to help deliver advertisements tailored to your interests. These vendors include ad networks and audience segment providers, and they place cookies on your browser to collect information about your online activity (e.g., the sites and pages you have visited) in order to help advertisers deliver particular ads that they believe you would find most relevant. You can opt out of those vendors’ use of cookies to tailor advertising to you by visiting http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.

PLEASE NOTE that if you erase or otherwise alter your browser’s cookie file (including upgrading certain browsers) you may need to opt out again.

PLEASE NOTE that opting out of the ad-serving cookie does not mean that you will stop seeing either pop up advertising or banner ads embedded in websites. You can control many pop ups by using free software available on the Internet or by disabling JavaScript on your browser. The Political Insider has no control over the use or frequency of pop-up ads employed by website publishers or software manufacturers.

Third Party Websites

The Site may contain links to websites or content operated and maintained by third parties. The Political Insider does not control those sites or their privacy practices, which may differ from our practices. If you click on a link or an advertisement, the privacy policy of the website to which you link will govern the collection and use of your information by that website’s operator(s). You access such third-party websites or content at your own risk. You should always read the privacy policy of a third-party website before disclosing any information to the website. For more information, please click here.

Spyware or Adware

These terms refer to applications that are downloaded to your computer. These types of applications deliver ads (usually in the form of pop-up type ads) based on your web usage. We do not participate in any way with spyware or adware applications, and we do not download these types (or any types) of applications without your expressed acceptance. Cookies and .swf files are not spyware or adware, and they are not harmful to your computer.

Public Forums

Please be advised that, whenever you voluntarily post information to any The Political Insider community page or any other public forums, such information can and may be accessed by the public. This means that any person or entity with access to such information can potentially use it for any purpose, including sending unsolicited communications.

Security

We recognize the importance of safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. Accordingly, we employ standard security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. However, no data transmission over the Internet or other network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect any information you transmit on or through the Site, please be advised that The Political Insider assumes no responsibility or liability for disclosure of your information due to errors in transmission, unauthorized third-party access, or other causes beyond The Political Insider’s reasonable control.

Processing in the United States

We process and store all information in the United States. By using our Site, you agree that the collection, use, transfer, and disclosure of your Personally Identifiable Information will be governed by the applicable laws in the United States.

Children’s Privacy Statement

The Political Insider Site is directed to, and intended for use by, adults only. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently received information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete such information from our records. Because we do not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of 13, we also do not knowingly distribute such information to third parties.

Privacy Policy Changes

The Political Insider may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and so you should review this Policy periodically. If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will inform you by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the Site. Those changes will go into effect on the Revision Date shown at the top of the revised Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your consent to the revised Privacy Policy.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy

When you use the The Political Insider website, you are accepting the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, and The Political Insider will have the right to use your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to have your information used in any of the ways described in this Privacy Policy, you must discontinue use of the The Political Insider website. You can also access, correct, or change your Personally Identifiable Information, or opt out of our direct marketing efforts, by sending an email to [email protected]. Once a request to opt out has been received, The Political Insider will send a confirming email message to the user that the user’s Personally Identifiable Information has been successfully opted out of The Political Insider’s database. If you do not receive this confirmatory email, then please contact us to ensure that your request was received and processed. If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email us at [email protected] or send us a letter at The Political Insider, LLC., Attention: Privacy, 1818 Library Street, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20190.

California Privacy Notice

California’s Shine the Light law provides California residents with the right to receive disclosures about any sharing of their personal information with other companies.
If you are a California resident and you provided your personal information to The Political Insider, then, once each calendar year, you may submit a written request for information about the information we shared, if any, with other companies for their use in direct marketing. To submit your written request, please email us at [email protected] or send us a letter at The Political Insider, LLC., Attention: Privacy, 1818 Library Street, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20190. with “Request for California Privacy” in the letter subject line.
Within 30 days of receiving your request, we will send you a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for third-party direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the names and addresses of these third parties.
We reserve our right not to respond to requests sent more than once in a calendar year, or requests submitted to an address other than the one posted in this notice.
Please note that the California Shine the Light law does not cover all information sharing. Our disclosure only includes information covered by the law.