Read This Internet Service Agreement Carefully Before Using Our Internet Services.
1. INTRODUCTION.
EarthLink, Inc. ("EarthLink") provides its Internet services, as they may exist from time to time ("Services"), to users who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Services ("Members") as well as to those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts ("Visitors"). By establishing an account or using the Services, you agree to be bound by this Agreement and to use the Services in compliance with this Agreement, our Acceptable Use Policy and other policies.
If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including any future revisions, you may not use the Services and if you are a current Member, you must terminate your use of the Services under Section 10.
2. SUBSCRIPTION REQUIREMENTS.
Members must be at least 18 years old. Local access dial-up numbers may not be available in all areas. You are solely responsible for determining if use of a particular dial-up number will cause you to incur long-distance, toll, or other charges. EarthLink is not responsible for any long-distance, toll or other telecommunications charges you incur. Toll-free (800 #), international, and simultaneous login access costs are extra. Current prices for EarthLink's Services are posted throughout our website at http://www.earthlink.net. These rates may also be obtained by calling 800.395.8425. EarthLink reserves the right to change prices and institute new fees at any time upon 30 days prior notice.
3. PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS OF A MEMBER.
(a) Members must (i) provide EarthLink with accurate and complete billing information including legal name, address, telephone number, and credit card/billing information, and (ii) report to EarthLink all changes to this information within thirty (30) days of the change. Members are responsible for any charges to their account.
(b) Members having questions regarding charges to an account should contact EarthLink's Customer Service Department at 800.890.6356. All charges are considered valid unless disputed in writing within sixty (60) days of the billing date. Adjustments will not be made for charges that are more than 60 days old.
(c) Charges are billed to Members' credit cards or debit cards, as applicable, each month for the basic service and any additional usage or services. EarthLink is not responsible for any charges or expenses (e.g. for overdrawn accounts, exceeding credit card limits, etc.) resulting from charges billed by EarthLink.
(d) If paying by check, payments are due within 30 days after the month in which the charges are incurred.
(e) If you pay for Services through a prepayment plan, automatic billing described above shall only apply to the charges not paid for through the prepayment plan.
(f) If you purchase Services through a reseller who in turns pays EarthLink, the reseller must pay all amounts owing for your account. If the reseller fails to pay EarthLink any amounts due-whether or not you have paid the reseller-your account will be subject to suspension or cancellation until you or the reseller has paid all amounts due.
(g) Delinquent accounts may be suspended or canceled at EarthLink's sole discretion; however, charges will continue to accrue until the account is canceled. EarthLink may bill an additional charge to reinstate a suspended account.
4. MEMBER'S ACCOUNT, PASSWORD, AND SECURITY.
Upon registration, Members receive a username, password, and account designation. You and members of your household or business, if you have purchased a business account, are the only authorized users of your EarthLink account and must comply with this Agreement. You must keep your password confidential so that no one else may access the Services through your account. You must notify EarthLink immediately upon discovering any unauthorized use of your account.
Using a personal account for high volume or commercial use (e.g., revenue generation, advertising, etc.) is prohibited. Email accounts exceeding 10MB in size may, at EarthLink's discretion, be transferred to a compressed temporary file or storage. EarthLink may delete the temporary file from the server 60 days after notifying you. Any free Web site exceeding 6MB may be suspended until the Member reduces the disk space usage to 6MB or less or purchases additional megabytes. Any free Web site exceeding 250MB of traffic will be billed for excess traffic. You may establish a commercial or high-volume account by calling 800.395.8425.
Members agree not to use any automatic method to avoid inactivity disconnect or to otherwise maintain a connection unless actively using it. Members agree not to provide any public information services over a dial-up connection.
EarthLink may change its POP numbers at any time. EarthLink reserves the right to direct Members to use certain numbers to access the Service or to restrict use of specific access numbers. Usernames, passwords and email addresses are EarthLink's property and EarthLink may alter or replace them at any time.
5. MONITORING THE SERVICES.
EarthLink has no obligation to monitor the Services, but may do so and disclose information regarding use of the Services for any reason if EarthLink, in its sole discretion, believes that it is reasonable to do so, including to: satisfy laws, regulations, or governmental or legal requests; operate the Services properly; or protect itself and its Members. Please see our Privacy Policy. EarthLink may immediately remove your material or information from EarthLink's servers, in whole or in part, which EarthLink, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines to infringe another's property rights or to violate our Acceptable Use Policy.
6. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES and LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED AS BEING OFFERED BY EARTHLINK, EARTHLINK DOES NOT CONTROL ANY MATERIALS, INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES ON THE INTERNET. THE INTERNET CONTAINS UNEDITED MATERIALS, SOME OF WHICH ARE SEXUALLY EXPLICIT OR MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU. EARTHLINK HAS NO CONTROL OVER AND ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUCH MATERIALS. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR USE OF THE SERVICES AND THE INTERNET AND ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR EVALUATING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND USEFULNESS OF ALL SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION, AND THE QUALITY AND MERCHANTABILITY OF ALL MERCHANDISE PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE OR THE INTERNET.
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. EARTHLINK DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. EARTHLINK MAKES NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND WAIVES ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING ANY MERCHANDISE, INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH EARTHLINK OR THE INTERNET GENERALLY. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY EARTHLINK OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. EARTHLINK AND ITS EMPLOYEES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OR DAMAGES ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OR THE INTERNET INCLUDING ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, MULTIPLE, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. IN ANY EVENT, EARTHLINK'S CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO ANY MEMBER FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SERVICE FEES PAID DURING A ONE YEAR PERIOD.
7. SOFTWARE LICENSE.
EarthLink grants to each Member a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable and nonassignable license to install and use the EarthLink access software (including software from third-party vendors that EarthLink distributes; in object code format), its associated documentation, and any updates thereto ("Licensed Programs") in order to access and utilize the Services. Each Member agrees to use the Licensed Programs solely in conjunction with the Services and for no other purpose. EarthLink may modify the Licensed Programs at any time, for any reason, and without providing notice of such modification to a Member.
The Licensed Programs constitute confidential and proprietary information of EarthLink and EarthLink's licensors and embody trade secrets and intellectual property protected under United States copyright laws, other laws, and international treaty provisions. All right, title, and interest in and to the Licensed Program, including associated intellectual property rights, are and shall remain with EarthLink and EarthLink's licensors. Member shall not translate, decompile, reverse engineer, distribute, remarket, or otherwise dispose of the Licensed Programs or any part thereof.
You may not download, use, or otherwise export or re-export the Licensed Programs or any underlying information or technology except in full compliance with all United States and other applicable laws and regulations. By installing or downloading the Software, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of or a national or resident of any country on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Deny Orders. Contractor/manufacturer is EarthLink, Inc., 1430 West Peachtree Street, N.W., Suite 400, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
8. WEB SITE USAGE.
Our site on the World Wide Web with its home pages in the domain "earthlink.com", "earthlink.net", "mindspring.com", "mindspring.net" or any other site operated by EarthLink (the "Web site") is a complimentary information service offered by EarthLink at no charge to users.
We may provide links on the Web site to other Web sites which are not under our control. In general, any Web site which has an address (or URL) which does not contain "earthlink.com", "earthlink.net", "mindspring.com" or "mindspring.net" is such a Web site. These links are provided for convenience only and are not intended as an endorsement by EarthLink of the organization or individual operating the Web site or a warranty of any type regarding the Web site or the information on the Web site.
You may provide a hypertext link to our Web site on another Web site, provided that: (a) the link must be clearly marked "EarthLink", (b) the link must "point" to the URL "http://www.earthlink.com" or "www.earthlink.net" and not to any other pages within the Web site, (c) the appearance, position and other aspects of the link may not be such as to damage or dilute the goodwill associated with our name and trademark(s), (d) the appearance, position and other aspects of the link may not create the false appearance that an entity is associated with or sponsored by EarthLink , (e) the link, when activated by a user, must display this Web site full-screen and not within a "frame" on the linked Web site, and (f) EarthLink may, in its sole discretion, revoke consent to link to our website at any time. All other hypertext links to the Web site must be approved in writing by EarthLink.
Some portions of the Web site are made available for the free exchange of ideas by participants and are not regularly monitored nor moderated by EarthLink. EarthLink assumes no responsibility and makes no warranty that it will undertake to screen or remove such material. You agree to hold EarthLink harmless from all claims based upon the materials posted by others. Also, in exchange for availing yourself of the opportunity to upload or provide information to this site and any associated chat rooms or discussion areas, you will indemnify EarthLink from any claims made by third parties regarding the material that you provide. Personal information posted by you to the Web site is posted at your own risk. EarthLink will have no liability arising from use of that information. You shall not use the Web site to distribute or publish any advertising of goods or services, solicitations for funds, or other commercial messages. You agree that you will not post, upload or otherwise introduce a virus or other harmful code onto the Web site.
Your posting of material on the Web site or providing material to EarthLink to use on the Web site will be deemed to be a grant by you to EarthLink of a license to the material to include the material on the Web site and to reproduce, publish, distribute, perform, display, and transmit the material and to prepare derivative works as may be reasonably necessary to do so, and you waive all rights of attribution and integrity with respect to the material.
9. TERM OF AGREEMENT.
Continued use of the Services constitutes acceptance of this Agreement and any future versions. If you are dissatisfied with the Services or any related terms, conditions, rules, policies, guidelines, or practices, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Services and, if you are a Member, to terminate your account.
10. TERMINATION.
You may terminate your account at any time and for any reason by providing notice of intent to terminate to EarthLink by:
* registered or certified mail, return receipt requested addressed to EarthLink Inc., Accounts-Customer Service, 3100 New York Drive, Suite 201, Pasadena, California 91107; or
* telephone calls directed to Accounts-Customer Service at 800.395.8410.
Email termination of your basic Internet access account will not be accepted. To terminate DSL service, you must call 888.829.8466. To terminate Web Hosting and/or Business Services, you must call (800) 237-0148. Your termination will only be complete upon your receipt of a confirmation number from EarthLink. Charges to your account will stop accruing the day EarthLink provide you a confirmation number. Any incoming email sent to cancel accounts will not be forwarded to another account; instead, it will be bounced back to the sender. If your account included space on EarthLink's servers, anything stored on this space will be deleted upon termination.
Without prior notice, EarthLink may terminate this Agreement, your password, your account, or your use of the Services, for any reason, including, without limitation, if EarthLink, in its sole discretion, believes you have violated this Agreement, our Acceptable Use Policy, or any of the applicable user policies, or if you fail to pay any charges when due. EarthLink may provide termination notice to you by: email addressed to your email account or by US Mail or courier service to the address you provided for the Services. All notices to you shall be deemed effective on the first (1st) calendar day following the date of electronic mailing or on the fourth (4th) calendar day following the date of first-class mailing or deposit with a commercial courier service.
Sections 3, 4, 6, and 11 of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.
11. JURISDICTION.
Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, Members or Visitors who are residents of California are entitled to the following specific consumer rights information: the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1020 N. Street, #501, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by telephone at 916.445.1254.
This Agreement is governed by Georgia law without regard to conflict of law provisions.
The federal and state courts located in Georgia alone have jurisdiction over all disputes arising out of or related to this Agreement and the Services. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts sitting in Georgia with respect to such matters or otherwise between you and EarthLink, and waive your rights to removal or consent to removal.
12. MISCELLANEOUS.
This Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, the Privacy Policy, and EarthLink's other user policies posted on EarthLink's Web site constitute the entire agreement between you and EarthLink with respect to your use of the Services.
EarthLink may revise, amend, or modify this Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy and any other user policies and agreements, at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted on EarthLink's Web site (http://www.earthlink.net) and/or on Member's start pages and/or by email and/or in our various publications and mailings to Members.
EarthLink's Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") is intended to help enhance the use of the Internet by preventing unacceptable use. All users of EarthLink's Internet services (the "Services")-those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts ("Visitors") as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Services ("Members")-must comply with this AUP.
We support the free flow of information and ideas over the Internet and do not actively monitor use of the Services under normal circumstances. Similarly, we do not exercise editorial control over the content of any Web site, electronic mail transmission, newsgroup, or other material created or accessible over or through the Services, except for certain proprietary Web sites. However, in accordance with our Internet Service Agreement, we may remove any materials that, in our sole discretion, may be illegal, may subject us to liability, or which may violate this AUP. EarthLink may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrong. Your violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination of either your access to the Services and/or your EarthLink account or other actions as detailed in Section 3. This AUP should be read in conjunction with our Internet Service Agreement and other policies.
2. VIOLATIONS OF EARTHLINK'S ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY.
The following constitute violations of this AUP:
a. Illegal use. Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that, intentionally or unintentionally, violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
b. Harm to minors. Using the Services to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.
c. Threats. Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.
d. Harassment. Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that harasses another.
e. Fraudulent activity. Using the Services to making fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services, or to advance any type of financial scam such as "pyramid schemes," "ponzi schemes," and "chain letters."
f. Forgery or impersonation. Adding, removing, or modifying identifying network header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited. The use of anonymous remailers or nicknames does not constitute impersonation. Using deliberately misleading headers ("munging" headers) in news postings in order to avoid spam email address collectors is allowed.
g. Unsolicited commercial email/ Unsolicited bulk email. Using the Services to transmit any unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email whether or not that email is commercial in nature, are prohibited.
h. Unauthorized access. Using the Services to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of EarthLink's or another entity's computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption or loss of data.
i. Copyright or trademark infringement. Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software. EarthLink is registered under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998.
j. Collection of personal data. Using the Services to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
k. Reselling the services. Reselling the Services without EarthLink's authorization.
l. Network disruptions and unfriendly activity. Using the Services for any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use EarthLink Services or the Internet. This includes "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services, or network equipment is prohibited. It is the Member's responsibility to ensure that their network is configured in a secure manner. A Member may not, through action or inaction, allow others to use their network for illegal or inappropriate actions. A Member may not permit their network, through action or inaction, to be configured in such a way that gives a third party the capability to use their network in an illegal or inappropriate manner.
m. News. EarthLink Members should use their best judgment when posting to any newsgroup. Many groups have charters, published guidelines, FAQs, or "community standards" describing what is and is not considered appropriate. Usenet can be a valuable resource if used properly. The continued posting of off-topic articles is prohibited. Commercial advertisements are off-topic in most newsgroups, especially regional groups not specifically named for such. The presence of such articles in a group is not indicative of the group's "intended" use. Please familiarize yourself with basic USENET netiquette before posting to a newsgroup.
EarthLink considers "multiposting" to 10 or more groups within a two-week sliding window to be excessive. EarthLink servers currently limit the number of allowable "cross-posts" to 9.
EarthLink Members may not cancel messages other than their own messages. A Member may cancel posts forged in that Member's name. We may cancel any postings which violate this AUP.
n. Long Connections and Multiple Logins. Using a personal account for high volume or commercial use is prohibited. The Services are intended for periodic, active use of email, newsgroups, file transfers, Internet chat, games, and browsing the World Wide Web. Members may stay connected so long as they are actively using that connection for the above purposes. Members may not use the Services on a standby or inactive basis in order to maintain a connection. Pinging is expressly prohibited. Accordingly, EarthLink maintains the right to terminate any member's connection following any extended period of inactivity as determined by EarthLink.
3. REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF EARTHLINK'S AUP.
EarthLink requests that anyone who believes that there is a violation of this AUP direct the information to Director-Abuse Department, at: abuse@earthlink.net.
If available, please provide the following information:
* The IP address used to commit the alleged violation
* The date and time of the alleged violation, including the time zone or offset from GMT
* Evidence of the alleged violation
Email with full header information provides all of the above, as do syslog files. Other situations will require different methods of providing the above information.
EarthLink may take any one or more of the following actions in response to complaints:
* issue written or verbal warnings
* suspend the Member's newsgroup posting privileges
* suspend the Member's account
* terminate the Member's account
* bill the Member for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges
* bring legal action to enjoin violations and/or to collect damages, if any, caused by violations.
4. REVISIONS TO THIS ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY.
EarthLink reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this AUP, our Internet Service Agreement and our other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted in accordance with the Internet Service Agreement.
Your privacy is very important to us. We want to make your experience on the Internet as enjoyable and rewarding as possible, and we want you to use the Internet's vast array of information, tools, and opportunities with complete confidence.
We have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy and security. This Privacy Policy describes how EarthLink collects information from all end users of EarthLink's Internet services (the "Services")-those who access some of our Services but do not have accounts ("Visitors") as well as those who pay a monthly service fee to subscribe to the Service ("Members")-what we do with the information we collect, and the choices Visitors and Members have concerning the collection and use of such information. EarthLink requests that you read this Privacy Policy carefully.
Personal Information EarthLink Collects and How It Is Used
Introduction
EarthLink collects information in different ways from Visitors and Members who access the various parts of our Services and the network of Web sites accessible through our Service. We use this information primarily to provide a customized experience as you use our Services and, generally, do not share this information with third parties. However, we may disclose personal information collected if we have received your permission beforehand or in very special circumstances, such as when we believe that such disclosure is required by law or other special cases described below.
Registration
Members are asked to provide certain personal information when they sign up for our Services including name, address, telephone number, billing information (such as a credit card number), and the type of personal computer being used to access the Services. The personal information collected from Members during the registration process is used to manage each Member's account (such as for billing purposes). This information is not shared with third parties, unless specifically stated otherwise or in special circumstances. However, in instances where EarthLink and a partner jointly promote the Services, EarthLink may provide the partner certain personal information, such as the name, address, and username of persons who subscribed to the Services as a result of the joint promotion for the sole purpose of allowing us and the partner to assess the results of the promotion. In this instance, personal information may not be used by the partner for any other purpose. EarthLink may also generate nonidentifying and aggregate profiles from personal information Members provide during registration (such as the total number, but not the names, of Members). As explained in more detail below, we may use this aggregated and nonidentifying information to sell advertisements that appear on the Services.
EarthLink Partners and Sponsors
Some EarthLink products and services are offered to Visitors and Members in conjunction with a non-affiliated partner. For example, we outsource the provision of stock quotes and operation of your stock portfolio (accessible through your Personal Start Page) to a third-party vendor. To provide Visitors and Members some of these products and services, the partner may need to collect and maintain personal information. In these instances, you will be notified before any such data is collected or transferred and may decide not to use that particular service or feature. Additionally, many EarthLink Members have cobranded Personal Start Pages that are cosponsored by nonaffiliated partners. EarthLink will share nonidentifying and aggregate information (except as described above), but not personal information, with such partners in order to administer the cobranded products or services offered.
Online Shopping
At some Web sites, you can purchase products and services or register to receive materials, such as a catalog or new product and service updates. In many cases, you may be asked to provide contact information, such as your name, address, email address, phone number, and credit/debit card information. If you complete an order for someone else, such as an online gift order sent directly to a recipient, you may be asked to provide information about the recipient, such as the recipient's name, address, and phone number. EarthLink has no control over the third parties' use of any personal information you provide when placing such an order. Please exercise care when doing so.
If you order products directly from EarthLink, such as through the "EarthLink Store," we will use the personal information you provide only to process that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
Online Advertisements
EarthLink displays our online advertisements. We share aggregated and nonidentifying information about our Visitors and Members collected through the registration process as well as through online surveys and promotions with these advertisers. Additionally, in some instances, we use this aggregated and nonidentifying information to deliver tailored advertisements. For instance, an advertiser tells us the audience they want to reach (for example, males between 25 and 55 years of age) and provides us an advertisement tailored to the audience. Based upon the aggregated and nonidentifying information we have collected, we may then display the advertisement to the intended audience. EarthLink does not share personal information about its Visitors or Members with these advertisers.
Responses to Email Inquiries
When Visitors or Members send email inquiries to EarthLink, the return email address is used to answer the email inquiry we receive. EarthLink does not use the return email address for any other purpose and does not share the return email address with any third party.
Voluntary Customer Surveys
We may periodically conduct both business and individual customer surveys. We encourage our customers to participate in these surveys because they provide us with important information that helps us to improve the types of services we offer and how we provide them to you. Your personal information and responses will remain strictly confidential, even if the survey is conducted by a third party. Participation in our customer surveys is voluntary.
We take the information we receive from individuals responding to our Customer Surveys and combine (or aggregate) it with the responses of other EarthLink customers to create broader, generic responses to the survey questions (such as gender, age, residence, hobbies, education, employment, industry sector, or other demographic information). We then use the aggregated information to improve the quality of our services to you, and to develop new services and products. This aggregated, non-personally identifying information may be shared with third parties.
Special Cases
It is EarthLink's policy not to use or share the personal information about Visitors of Members in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses. However, EarthLink may disclose personal information about Visitors or Members, or information regarding your use of the Services or Web sites accessible through our Services, for any reason if, in our sole discretion, we believe that it is reasonable to do so, including: to satisfy laws, such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, regulations, or governmental or legal requests for such information; to disclose information that is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be violating our Acceptable Use Policy or other user policies; to operate the Services properly; or to protect EarthLink and our Members.
"Cookies" and How EarthLink Uses Them
A "cookie" is a small data file that can be placed on your hard drive when you visit certain Web sites. EarthLink may use cookies to collect, store, and sometimes track information for statistical purposes to improve the products and services we provide and to manage our telecommunications networks. If you are a Member and have created your own Personal Start Page, we will use a cookie to save your settings and to provide customizable and personalized services. These cookies do not enable third parties to access any of your customer information. Additionally, be aware that if you visit non-EarthLink web sites where you are prompted to log in or that are customizable, you may be required to accept cookies.
Advertisers and partners may also use their own cookies. We do not control use of these cookies and expressly disclaim responsibility for information collected through them.
EarthLink's Commitment to Children's Privacy
Protecting children's privacy is especially important to us. It is our policy to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 and all other applicable laws.
We have Web pages designed especially for our younger users. While we make every effort to ensure that these Web sites are fun and age-appropriate for our younger audience, we believe that there is no substitute for proper parental supervision. For further information about tips, tools, age-appropriate or kid-friendly Web sites and how to report online trouble, please visit www.getnetwise.org.
Finally, EarthLink recommends that children ask a parent for permission before sending personal information to EarthLink, or to anyone else online.
Public Forums
Please remember that any information you may disclose in our Member Directory, or other public areas of our Web sites or the Internet, becomes public information. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information in these public areas.
EarthLink's Commitment to Data Security
Services and Web sites we sponsor have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. While we make every effort to ensure the integrity and security of our network and systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent third-party "hackers" from illegally obtaining this information.
How to Access or Modify Your Information
EarthLink offers Members the opportunity to access or modify information provided during registration. To access or modify such information, visit http://help.earthlink.net/billing or contact our Customer Service Department at 800.890.6356.
Where to Direct Questions About EarthLink's Privacy Policy
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices described herein, you may contact:
Customer Service
EarthLink, Inc.
1430 West Peachtree Street, N.W.
Suite 400
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
privacypolicy@corp.earthlink.net, or service@mindspring.net
Revisions to This Policy
EarthLink reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this policy, our Internet Service Agreement and our other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted in accordance with the Internet Service Agreement.
