A Special Note to Parents
We care about personal privacy and take special care with young children. Different jurisdictions define a "child" somewhat differently, based on their own laws; this chart will tell you the relevant age specified in the country of operation of this site. (This can be found by linking to the address of the site operator on the home page). We also use as our internal standard the online privacy guidelines developed by the US- based Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) and, outside the U.S., the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). In areas where we may collect information from young children, we incorporate special notices urging kids to get parental permission before providing any information or ordering products, and urge you to monitor and supervise your children's Internet activities. We also ask children to tell us their age to restrict them from accessing certain sites or areas. We may ask them to provide a parent's e-mail address so that we can contact the parent to notify them of our privacy policy, and/or obtain parental consent where required.
Any time we know that a young child has given us personal information, it will not be shared with or sold to third parties, including our affiliates, absent parental consent. Personal information about young children is available only to those who work at or on the site or who provide technical and other fulfillment support services to the site. We do not require a child to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in a contest, game or other activity as a condition of participation. Upon proper identification, parents may review the personal information we have collected about the child, request deletion, or refuse to allow further collection or use.
We support self-regulatory guidelines, such as those issued by CARU and the ICC, on collecting information from young children in the interactive environment. We also recommend that you, as parents, monitor your children's on-line activities and learn about and use software or other tools which can help you assure that children experience the fun and entertainment of an on-line experience in a manner that reflects your own preferences. We hope that you and your children enjoy our site and visit us often!
What information do we collect from children?
We will collect a child’s e-mail address to respond to questions about the site, requests for homework help, and the like. The child’s e-mail address is deleted immediately upon responding to the child’s request. We offer e-cards to our visitors, including children. Names and e-mail addresses of both the sender and the recipient are deleted immediately from our system after the e-card is sent.
We will also collect a child’s e-mail address to sign the child up for our e-mail newsletter or for an online sweepstakes or contest, or to register to participate in certain features at our sites. Where we know the user is a young child (we may ask for age or birth date to find this out), we may ask the child to provide a parent’s e-mail address and send an e-mail notice to the parent regarding the child’s request. Those notices give the parent a chance to opt-out of the information-collection on behalf of the child, or, where necessary offer instructions on how to provide consent. To enter certain sweepstakes or contests, we may ask a child if they’re a boy or a girl, or ask them what they like and don’t like in general - hobbies, activities, taste preferences, school interests, pets, and the like. We may sometimes ask visitors to respond to polls or surveys. Often, information can be provided anonymously and won’t be associated with a visitor’s name, address, e-mail address or the like. Some contests may offer children a chance to express themselves creatively by sending or e-mailing stories or pictures. We will not post pictures of users whom we know are young children along with personally identifying information online (such as full name, home address, or e-mail address) without parental consent.
We require credit cards for online transactions, so only adults over 18 may buy products online.
How do we use "cookies" and Web beacons?
What are cookies?
“Cookies” are data files that a Web site sends to your computer while you are viewing the site. These data files include information that allows our site to remember important information that will make your use of the site more efficient and useful to you. Our sites use cookies for a variety of purposes. We use cookie technology and IP addresses to obtain non-personal information from on-line visitors, and also to provide registered visitors with the best possible personalized on-line experience.
How do we use cookies?
Visitors to our sites use different web browsers and different computers. To make your visits as easy as possible with the technology you use, we automatically keep track of the type of browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape) and operating system (e.g., Windows, Macintosh) used by a visitor, and the domain name of the visitor's Internet service provider. We also track the total number of visitors to our site in an aggregate form to allow us to update and improve our site; personally identifiable information is not extracted in this process. This data tells us if more visitors prefer certain features or areas to others, which helps us keep our site fresh and interesting to the majority of our visitors.
We also use cookies to help prevent young children from entering certain areas or features intended only for adults or older teens.
How do we use cookies to personalize your experience at our sites?
Cookie technology helps us deliver content tailored to a visitor’s interests, and allows us to make ordering products, entering and participating in sweepstakes and contests, and offering other functions at our site easier for our visitors. Sites that offer online shopping use cookies to remember and process the items in your shopping cart. Where permitted, we may associate personal information with a cookie file in such instances.
What if I don’t want cookies?
If you don't want cookies, you can set your computer to warn you each time a cookie is being sent or turn off all cookies through your browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). (Check your browser HELP menu to learn the correct way to change or update your cookies.) If you disable cookies, you may be unable to access some of the features noted above.
What are Web beacons and how do you use them?
Some of our Web pages and e-mail updates may contain electronic images called Web beacons, sometimes known as one pixel GIFs, clear GIFs or pixel tags. On Web sites, these allow us to count visitors who have viewed our pages. In promotional e-mail messages/newsletters they allow us to count how many subscribers have read them. Web beacons allow us to develop statistical information about the activities and features that most interest our consumers for the purpose of providing more personalized content. They are not used to access personally identifiable information without your consent.
How do we use personal information?
We use personal information to respond to a child’s question or request, such as a request for homework help, signing them up for our periodic e-mail newsletters, or entering them in a contest or sweepstake. We may use a parent's e-mail address provided by a child to notify parents that the child has won a sweepstake or contest, or to ask parents of winners for home address information to send a parental consent form or affidavit of eligibility to sign on behalf of their child. As noted above, we will not provide your child’s personal information to third parties without your consent.
What about chat rooms, message boards, or other interactive forums?
We use age-screening tools to block young children from entering any chat room, bulletin or message board, or other interactive forum where personal information might be posted without parental consent. Our chat room rules will specify age or other requirements for participation, which are binding on all visitors.
What about links to other sites?
In our children’s areas, it is our policy to link only to other sites which follow careful policies on interactive marketing. Nevertheless, we are not responsible for the content or information collection practices of any other site.
Anything else I should know?
We reserve the right to use, retain or disclose any information as needed to satisfy any law, regulation or legal request, to conduct investigations of consumer complaints or possible breaches of law, to protect the integrity of the site, to fulfill your requests, or to cooperate in any legal investigation.
What should I do if I have questions, wish to access, update or delete information you have about me or my child, or wish to opt-out of receiving future communications?
If you would like us to access, update, change or delete information we have about you or your child (subject to applicable legal exceptions), or opt-out of further information collection from your child, please contact the Privacy Coordinator at Privacy.Policy@Effem.com. Proper identification is required. All requests to access information about your child must be in writing, signed by you, and include your full name, address, and phone number, along with your child’s e-mail address and screen name (if any).
You may write, fax or call our global corporate Privacy Coordinator’s office at:
Privacy Coordinator / Consumer Affairs
Mars, Inc.
800 High Street
Hackettstown, N.J. 07840, USA
Phone: 1-908-852-1000
Fax: 1-908-850-2624
Updated January 20, 2003