YOUR USE OF OUR WEBSITE MEANS THAT YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING PRIVACY POLICY AND AGREEMENT AND ANY OTHER LAWS OR REGULATIONS THAT APPLY TO THE SITE, THE INTERNET, OR THE WORLDWIDE WEB. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THEM, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE.

Introduction
The American Refractive Surgery Council (“ARSC”, “we” or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy while you visit our website. To that end, we have developed the following principles to assure your privacy, as well as protect any information or data you supply to us.

If you are (i) a resident of the European Union (“EU”) or you are otherwise covered by the EU’s “General Data Protection Regulation” (“GDPR”) or (ii) a resident of California or are otherwise covered by the “California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018” (“CCPA”), and in each case your personal information is subject to the privacy laws and regulations of one of those jurisdictions, the additional provisions of each of Appendix 1 (the “GDPR Privacy Rights Summary”) and Appendix 2 (the “CCPA Privacy Policy”) shall also apply, respectively. To the extent the provisions of this Privacy Policy conflict or are inconsistent with the provisions set out in the applicable Appendix, the provisions in that Appendix shall control.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or do not feel that your concerns have been addressed, please direct your questions through the “How to Contact Us” section at the end of this Privacy Policy.

Sharing of Your Information

We will not sell, share, or rent any personal information you supply to us to others except as disclosed in this Privacy Policy or in connection with specific offers provided to you. We may share your personal information with carefully selected business or affinity partners who have entered into an agreement with ARSC and whose products or services may be of interest to you.

Protection of Your Information

Please note that when you visit our website, any data you provide will be transferred to the U.S. where our site is located. ARSC collects personal data about our users to serve their needs, for example, to register visitors for e-mail updates and other features. The information requested depends on the feature offered. We may use the personal information that you provide to respond to your requests for information and to communicate with you about the status of your requests. We respect the information you provide to us and we treat it with reasonable commercial measures.

Host Company Data Collection

As a general matter, each time a visitor or user enters an ARSC website, ARSC’s website hosting company’s server collects basic technical information, including the visitor’s domain name (e.g., aol.com); referral data (e.g., the last URL a user visited prior to entering ARSC websites); and browser and platform type (e.g., Google Chrome browser or a Macintosh platform). ARSC also tracks and aggregates visitor activity in an analysis of general traffic flow. This information may be aggregated into group data, which then may be shared on an aggregated basis with third parties but, unless otherwise provided for in this policy, ARSC will not disclose individual identity or personal identifiable data without permission.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

ARSC may collect personal information, such as the user name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, credit card information, password, or login name, in connection with requests for information. All information provided to this website may be available to agents and service providers who help maintain ARSC’s websites. The transmission of information to and from us is not encrypted or secure.

ARSC reserves the right to use or disclose any information as needed to safeguard its websites, its intellectual property, or the property or safety of others, to investigate violations of this Privacy Policy and Agreement, to cooperate in any legal investigation, or as permitted or required by law.

Links to Third Party Websites

ARSC’s websites may contain links to other third party websites, all of which are separate legal entities whose information practices may be different from ours. This Privacy Policy does not cover any such third party websites. If you provide personal information to such third party websites all information you disclose will be subject to the privacy policies and practices of such third parties. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of such third parties and, therefore, you should review the specific policies posted on those websites prior to submitting personal information to them.

Changes to This Agreement

ARSC reserves the right to modify or amend this Privacy Policy and Agreement or anything else at the website at any time. All users are bound by this Privacy Policy and Agreement and should check this page each time they visit.

How to Contact Us

For any questions about the Privacy Policy, to exercise any of your rights listed above or under the particular Appendix, or for any questions, complaints, or requests regarding the manner in which we handle or protect personal information, we can be contacted as follows:

By email: liana@engagedcommunication.net

By postal mail:

American Refractive Surgery Council

Attn: Privacy Officer

43 Snow Bush, Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

APPENDIX 1

SUMMARY OF PRIVACY RIGHTS UNDER THE GDPR

(REGULATION (EU) 2016/679)

To the extent provided by applicable law, you have the following rights:

For any such request, you can contact us by e-mail or postal mail as specified in the “How to Contact ‎Us” section below. We will endeavor to respond to all requests in a timely manner, but in no event longer ‎than thirty (30) days, although where your request is complex, it may takes us up to an additional two months to ‎provide a copy of your personal data.

To the extent the ARSC is not the controller of your data, we will notify the controller of your request if required by applicable law.

Withdrawing Consent Under the GDPR

Where the lawful basis of our data processing under the GDPR is that you have consented to it for a particular identified purpose, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. To do so, please contact us as specified in the “How to Contact Us” section below. If you do withdraw consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing that was based on your consent before its withdrawal.

Filing a Complaint under the GDPR

In addition to the foregoing, you have the right under the GDPR to lodge a complaint in respect of your data protection rights with the applicable supervisory authority for data protection in your jurisdiction.

How to Contact Us

To exercise any of your rights listed above, or for any questions, complaints, or requests regarding the manner in which we handle or protect personal information, we can be contacted as follows:

By email: liana@engagedcommunication.net

By postal mail:

American Refractive Surgery Council

Attn: Privacy Officer

43 Snow Bush

Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

APPENDIX 2

PRIVACY POLICY FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS UNDER

THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT OF 2018 AND

THE CALIFORNIA “SHINE THE LIGHT” LAW, §1798.83 OF THE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE

The American Refractive Surgery Council (“ARSC”, “we” or “us”) understands how important your privacy and the protection of your personal information is to you.‎

This Privacy Policy for California Residents under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA Privacy Policy”) applies to personal information of California residents to the extent the information is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) and/or the California “Shine the Light” law (SB 27), codified at Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code.

The provisions of the ARSCprivacy policy(the “ARSC Privacy Policy”) to which this CCPA Privacy Policy is attached shall also apply to your personal information. To the extent the provisions of the ARSC Privacy Policy conflict or are inconsistent with the provisions of the CCPA Privacy Policy, the provisions of the CCPA Privacy Policy shall control.

Personal Information We Collect, Use, or Disclose

We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or ‎could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household (“personal ‎information”).

In the preceding twelve (12) months, ARSC has collected the following types of personal information from persons who accessed the ARSC website: (a) email addresses and (b) for website visitors who chose to provide it, first and last names.  This personal information was collected for marketing purposes and was shared with a third party that provides ARSC with an email marketing platform.

Disclosure or Sale of Personal Information for a Business or Commercial Purpose

We do not and will not sell personal information.  In the preceding 12 months we have shared personal information with third parties for business or commercial purposes as described above for each category of personal information.

Your Privacy Rights

Right to Know

You have the right to request that we disclose to you (a) personal information we collect, use, or disclose about you, (b) information about third parties with whom we have shared personal information about you for ‎marketing purposes during the previous calendar year, and (c) a description of the categories of ‎personal information shared.  This is called a “verifiable consumer request.”

To make a verifiable consumer request, please contact us as specified in the “How to Contact Us” section below.‎ You may make up to two requests in any 12 month period.

Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

Right to Request Deletion

You have the right to request that we delete your personal information (a “deletion request”).  To make a deletion request, please contact us as specified in the “How to Contact Us” section below.‎

Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a deletion request ‎related to your personal information‎. You may also make a deletion request on behalf of your minor child.

You should be aware, however, that California law allows us to retain your personal information under certain conditions, even if you have asked us to delete it, such as when retaining your personal information is necessary for us to complete a transaction with you or provide you with a service you have requested.  We will notify you of any denial of your deletion request and the reason for such denial.

Verifying your Identity

In making either a verifiable consumer request or a deletion request, we will need to verify your identity. To verify your identity, we may ask you to provide personal information we have previously collected about you.  If you are making the request for an entity, we will also ask that you provide some independent evidence that you are a representative of that entity and are authorized to make such request.  We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request or a deletion request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you.

Using an Authorized Agent

You may use an authorized agent to submit a verifiable consumer request or a deletion request.  To use an authorized agent, you will need to (i) provide written instruction to your agent and verify your identity to us, or (ii) provide a power of attorney pursuant to California Probate Code §§ 4000 to 4465.

We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information

ARSC does not sell personal information we collect about you.

Right to Non-Discrimination for Exercise of Consumer Privacy Rights

We will not discriminate against you because you have chosen to exercise any of your privacy rights described above.

How to Contact Us

To exercise any of your rights listed above, or for any questions, complaints, or requests regarding the manner in which we handle or protect personal information under our CCPA Privacy Policy, we can be contacted as follows:

By email: liana@engagedcommunication.net

By postal mail:

American Refractive Surgery Council

Attn: Privacy Officer

43 Snow Bush

Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

Last updated: June 7, 2021