Online Privacy Policy
Livingston County is dedicated to the online privacy of its constituents' personally identifiable and nonpublic information through its commitment to security and integrity of data stored by the County and information gathered or provided online through its website or other transmission methods.
LivingstonLive.org User Privacy Standards
Personally Identifiable Information on Casual Visitors Not Collected or Retained.
Generally, website users who wish to read or print information from Livingston County web pages do not have to provide personal information. However, County Agencies may request personal information needed to provide specific online services requested by website users. Any personal information collected online by an Agency will be only that which is necessary to provide the requested services and will be handled in the same manner as it would be for an in-person visit to the Agency.
Information that is generally available to the public during an in-person visit to a Livingston County Agency, and is not confidential nor exempt from disclosure under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or other statutes, may be posted for online access through the LivingstonLive.org website. Personal or other nonpublic information that does not require disclosure under FOIA will not be posted for online access, nor will it be disclosed to third parties or other public agencies, unless otherwise required by law or court order.
Some Unidentifiable Information May Be Routinely Collected.
In order to provide new services, improve website usability, and facilitate access, LivingstonLive.org uses software to aid in the statistical analysis of website traffic. Information that is not personally identifiable to a website user (such as the user's internet protocol (IP) number, browser client type and version) is collected and used for this purpose. The County does not attempt to associate this data with information that is personal, nor is it used to generate a user profile to create targeted content.
Use of Constituent?s E-mail Addresses
E-mail addresses and other personally identifiable information obtained as a result of an online service request to LivingstonLive.org will not be sold nor disclosed to private companies or other public agencies, except where required by law or court order. E-mail addresses or other information requests sent through LivingstonLive.org may be maintained in order to respond to the request, to forward the request to the appropriate department or agency, or to provide website user help desk support services, such as the confirmation of an online order to the user.
Data Security and Encryption
The County maintains security standards and procedures regarding the unauthorized access to personal and other proprietary information to prevent unauthorized removal or alteration of data. The County shall provide its website users with a secure online experience by using a variety of security measures that conform to currently accepted information technology industry standards. Any third party that has responsibility for this information is required by contract to follow the same security policies and guidelines as Livingston County in protecting this information.
All user information shall be contained behind a firewall and shall only be accessible by a limited number of employees who have special access rights to privileged systems. All sensitive credit or personal information supplied by users shall be securely transmitted online via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, utilizing at least 128-bit encryption strength, and shall remain encrypted within a secure database.
Credit card information is used only: 1) to authorize user-initiated transactions for online service purchases; or 2) to provide anti-fraud measures by ensuring that a refund is issued back to the same cardholder for the transaction that was originally charged. When processing an online transaction on LivingstonLive.org, no more than 4 digits of any credit card number shall be displayed unencrypted after a user has submitted the full card number for an authorization request.
Use of 'Cookies'
Some LivingstonLive.org web applications may use 'cookies.' A cookie is a small text file written to a user's computer hard drive upon visiting a website. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID, which may be used to track the pages a user has viewed during the last visit to that website, or to permit access to premium content that the user has purchased. The cookie is only a text file and cannot read data from a user's hard drive or read other cookie files created by other websites. A user can deactivate their browser's ability to accept cookie files from some or all websites by changing the settings or preferences in their browser software. LivingstonLive.org will attempt to minimize the use of cookies on its web pages; however, they may be required for access to some of the online applications on LivingstonLive.org.
Passwords and User Logins
In some instances, users may be required to receive or create a user login ID and password to access or submit personal or proprietary information to complete certain transactions. All passwords will be encrypted and stored on a secured database.
Non-County Web Sites
Various websites may be linked through LivingstonLive.org. The links that appear on a web page are solely for the information of the user. Livingston County does not endorse any particular viewpoint, product, or service that appears on any website that appears as a link from a County web page. Livingston County makes every reasonable effort to assure that it does not link directly to web pages that contain obscene, scurrilous, or otherwise objectionable material. If you encounter objectionable material on a County web page or on any linked web page, please notify the Webmaster immediately.
