CSA Web Privacy Statement

In this privacy statement, “CSA” includes the divisions that form the CSA Group: CSA International and Canadian Standards Association, as well as all subsidiary corporations. 

CSA Group respects the privacy of visitors to this Web site.  Your personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by CSA only in accordance with this privacy statement, which is based on CSA’s Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information (CAN/CSA-Q830-96).  Personal information is defined as information about an identifiable individual, with the exception of business contact information such as a job title or work-related telephone number, postal address, or e-mail address. 

You can visit CSA on the Web without telling us who you are or revealing any other personal information.  We collect personal information about you only when you knowingly provide it, for example when you complete the site registration form or provide survey information.  By accessing CSA’s Web site, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of the information you provide. 

This privacy statement deals only with personal information collected through CSA’s Web site.  Any changes to this statement will be incorporated into a revised statement posted here, so that you will always have access to information on our current Web site information-handling practices.  To learn about CSA’s information-handling practices beyond the Web, please consult the CSA Group Privacy Statement.

 1.  Information Collection and Use

If you request information, products, or services through CSA's Web site, you will be asked to provide personal information.  For example, you need to register with us if you want to buy something through our Online Store.  When you register, CSA will ask for your name and contact details, as well as a username and password that you will use to log in during future visits. You may also want to provide credit card information to pay for items from the Online Store.  We collect this information to enable us to set up your account, process your order, and supply any items you purchase.

CSA may decide to use your account information and transaction history to generate statistics and reports for internal use as well as to offer you products and services by telephone, regular mail, or e-mail. 

There are a number of areas on our Web site other than the Online Store where you can provide personal information that allows you to benefit from our programs and services.  In addition to managing your account and maintaining responsible commercial relations with you, CSA collects and uses your personal information

• to provide information, products, services, and programs that respond to your interests and needs
• to answer your questions and address your concerns
• to meet legal and regulatory requirements

The purposes for which personal information is being collected, used, and disclosed are stated on every Web page where personal information is collected.  If you wish, you can ask that your personal information not be used for marketing and promotional purposes.  This can be done online when you initially provide the information, or later by contacting us by telephone, fax, regular mail, or e-mail.

2. Information That Does Not Identify You

CSA logs certain technical information from your computer’s Web browser when you visit us on the Internet.  This information includes your Internet address, the address of the Web site you are coming from, the amount of time you spend visiting our Web site, the pages visited, the operating system and Web browser software you use, and, if you link to us through a search engine, the keywords you use to find our Web site.  The logs do not record personal information, can be accessed only by CSA, and are used solely to track visits to our site and improve its content and layout.  CSA never attempts to tie this information to particular individuals visiting our Web site, unless that is necessary for investigating a security breach.

When you visit our Web site, you are assigned a temporary text file called a cookie through your Web browser.  It is placed on your computer for programming purposes only and enhances your use of the site by providing a unique identifier as you move from page to page.  If you visit the Online Store, for example, it ensures that you have properly logged in and can add items to your shopping cart.  If you use the search engine, it remembers the keywords you enter.  The cookie is destroyed as soon as you close your browser, and is never redirected to servers outside CSA.

3.  Disclosure and Retention of Your Information

The personal information you provide through our site is never disclosed to third parties without your consent.  We do not sell or trade your personal information to other organizations or companies, and it is shared with others only in the ways explained in the online form that you use to supply it.

The account information you provide when registering with us is stored in our secure databases as long as you are a CSA customer.  You must contact us if you no longer want your information to be kept by us.  If you are a CSA committee member, your information will be kept indefinitely for archival continuity purposes, and in a manner that complies with the CSA Group Privacy Statement.  If you contact us with a question or comment, any information identifying you is normally kept only long enough for us to provide a response.  If circumstances require us to keep it longer than that, we will notify you.

Please note that it may be impossible to delete residual personal information in back-up files that already exist as of January 1, 2004.

4.  Accuracy of Your Information

CSA relies exclusively on you for its information about you, except for obtaining independent verification of credit card information.  To ensure that you are kept up-to-date on the products and services we offer, and that there is no interruption in our communications with you, please contact us to advise us of any changes in your information (or if you wish to confirm the accuracy of the information we hold).

5.  How Your Information Is Kept Safe during Transmission

CSA strives to provide a secure online environment for the transmission of personal information such as credit card details, usernames, and passwords.  For CSA's Online Store and the Members Only section of the Web site, security is provided by internationally recognized encryption protocols.  When you make a purchase or use the Members Only section of the Web site, all of your information is collected within a secure page and encrypted while being transmitted to CSA's Internet servers.

Information collected anywhere else on our site is transmitted to our servers in an unencrypted form, which does create a risk of interception.  Please consult our Legal Terms for further details.

6.  Contacting CSA

CSA takes full responsibility for the management and confidentiality of the personal information it collects through its Web site.  By providing this privacy statement, CSA pledges its continued commitment to protecting the information you give us.  We regularly review our online information-handling practices to ensure that we are abiding by this privacy statement.  If you believe that CSA is not abiding by this privacy statement or have concerns about CSA's online information-handling practices, please contact us.  Your concerns will be addressed promptly.