2007- 2008 Customer Information Updated 12/04/2007 Your Privacy Rights as a Cox Customer and Related Information For additional information, find your local contact information
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS AS A COX CUSTOMER As a customer of Cox, you are entitled to know what we do with personal information that we receive. We consider our treatment of such information to be a part of the trust you place in us by using our Cable Television, High Speed Internet and Telephone Services. We have updated this notice to reflect changes in the law concerning telephone record privacy and law enforcement legal requests. These changes are shown in bold type. In keeping with our commitment to be the Most Trusted Provider of Communications and Entertainment Services, our basic privacy policy remains:
While we cannot cover here every situation where your personal information may be affected, we have included those we believe you are most interested in. By law, 47 U.S.C. 551, we tell you annually about our privacy policy. You can find additional and updated information at any time by visiting our websites at http://www.cox.com or http://www.cox.net. You can learn more about your privacy rights by visiting the websites of the Federal Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov, and the Federal Communications Commission, http://www.fcc.gov. If you receive your bills electronically, this notice will be sent to you through email. If you are cannot print an electronic version or would like to receive a written copy, please contact us at https://www.cox.com/privacyrequest. Information We Collect Personally Identifiable Information – In providing services to you, we ask for certain “personally identifiable information”; that is, information that identifies you individually (“your information”). Your information may include: name, service address, billing address, telephone numbers, social security number, driver’s license number, premium services you have selected, demographic information, user IDs, passwords, email addresses, correspondence and communications records. We maintain customer information concerning credit, billing and payment, security deposits, maintenance and repair, equipment and services provided and other service-related functions. In providing our services, we may also collect information about your video equipment, computer hardware and software, modems, routers, settings and other preferences to aid in customer support. It is our policy to collect only the personal information needed to provide the services we offer with the quality you desire and deserve. It is also our policy to keep that information secure and to retain it only as long as needed for our business purposes or as the law may require. We take reasonable precautions to identify you or your authorized representative when we receive an inquiry on your account. See below for new requirements concerning telephone account information. We also take reasonable steps to protect your information from unauthorized access. We sometimes collect personal information for special reasons, such as for research, in surveys or registering at our Web sites. In these instances, you will be notified before personal information is collected, told how it will be used and may elect not to participate. Cable Television Services – We collect certain information in providing you with our cable television and other services. The law prohibits us from using the cable system to collect personal information for unrelated purposes without your consent. Unless you are notified and agree, we will not collect user-specific information concerning most video program viewing, except as needed to bill you. In providing some specific cable television services, such as pay-per-view, entertainment-on-demand and interactive cable services we do maintain limited usage information for billing, programming and related purposes. Aggregate information that does not identify you may be collected and used for programming, advertising and similar purposes. When we provide certain digital video recorder services, we may also receive detailed information concerning your use and operation of the recorder for the uses described below in "Use and Sharing". Internet Services Like most Internet service providers, we automatically collect general information, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses assigned (an identifier assigned to your computer while online), bandwidth used, system and connection performance, browsers used, dates and times of access, and Internet resource requests, including requests to access web pages. We keep IP address assignment records for about six months. We do not store online messages sent or received unless left in your Cox High Speed Internet account folders. Since we cannot control Web sites or Internet services operated by third parties, we recommend that you review the terms of service and privacy policies of those Web sites and services that you use. You can find more detailed information concerning our Online Privacy Policy at http://www.cox.com and http://www.cox.net. Telephone Services – In providing telephone services, we receive usage information, including numbers called and received and duration of calls. We treat all such information as private and retain it for up to eighteen months, except in California and Virginia where we are required to do so for three years. We do not share call detail records with others, unless we receive a lawfully issued subpoena. If you change or terminate your Digital Telephone Service, it will result in loss of any voice messages stored in your account. We do not listen to or record your calls to third parties. We may, however, monitor certain calls between you and Cox employees or agents for quality purposes. If you object to this, you may tell us when you call Customer Care. We retain this information for up to two years, as required by some authorities and treat all such information as private. Use and Sharing Use Policy – We consider your information confidential, and use it only in providing our cable television, Internet and telephone services for such things as sales, installation, operations, administration, advertising, marketing, support, network management, maintenance, customer care, communications with you, billing and collection, and for accounting and tax purposes. We may also use or share such information in dealing with fraud and unauthorized use of our services. We use aggregate information about our customers and their usage for a variety of purposes. Such aggregate information does not identify individual customers. We may share such aggregate information with third parties, but will not share information identifying you without your permission. Cox may associate your information with aggregate information or with information from others to better offer product and service preferences to you. Sharing Policy – I t is our policy not to disclose any personally identifiable information about you to others outside of Cox and our affiliates, vendors and business partners without your prior consent. We do not sell or provide your personal information to parties unrelated to the services we provide without your permission. As a further measure, you can affirmatively opt out of such sharing by writing to the return address on your billing statement, or you may contact us online at https://www.cox.com/privacyrequest. You can also notify us through the same means if you prefer not to receive certain types of marketing contacts from us. Special Exceptions – We reserve the right to disclose your information if we have a good faith belief that it is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or legal process served on us; (2) protect and defend our rights or property or those of others; (3) respond to fraud, abuse or unauthorized reception; (4) enforce our Website Visitors’ Agreement and Terms of Use, Internet Access Subscriber Agreement, or Acceptable Use Policy or related standards, each of which we post on http://www.cox.com and http://www.cox.net; or (5) act in an emergency to protect your safety or that of another. We may also share or transfer your information along with your account as a part of any sale or transfer all or a portion of our business operations, merger or combination with another organization. In such a case, you will be notified of any changes in policy. Outside Parties – Cox sometimes uses affiliates, vendors or partners in providing our services and may provide your information for such purposes. We require that outside parties maintain at least the same level of confidentiality that we maintain. In addition, any use by the vendor may not exceed that needed to provide its service. We do not share your information with other third parties without your consent. If you become a customer of a third party directly, you should review its privacy policy, as it may differ from ours. Retention Policy – Cox may retain personal customer information in its regular business records as long as you are a customer or until no longer needed for business, tax or legal purposes. Our security measures for this information are discussed below. Telephone Services – Consistent with new FCC requirements, Cox is implementing new procedures for verifying customers seeking access to sensitive telephone account information. Customer Authentication – Cox customers calling to discuss their telephone account or to make certain account changes will be required to provide their "Cox PIN", found in the top right portion of their bill. At Cox offices, telephone customers will be required to show a government issued photo ID. Customer Registration – If you are a Cox telephone customer we encourage you to register online at https://service.cox.com/pintools or by calling Customer Care. This brief process allows you to select your own Cox PIN, add a secret question and answer in case you forget your Cox PIN, and personalize other options. Notice of Account Changes – If you, or anyone authorized by you, make certain significant changes to your telephone account, Cox will send you notice to confirm that these changes were made. Notice of Any Unauthorized Access – If you suspect that someone may have had unauthorized access to your account records or made unauthorized changes to your account, you should report your concern to Customer Care promptly. If we discover any unauthorized access to your account records as to any Cox service, we will seek to notify you promptly in keeping with applicable laws or regulations. Use For Marketing to You – In addition to telephone service, Cox offers many communications-related services, such as, Cox High Speed Internet. From time to time, Cox will use the CPNI information we have on file to provide you with information about our communications-related products and services, special promotions, or bundled Cox service offerings and to enhance our ability to offer products and services tailored to your specific needs. We would like your approval so that Cox, our affiliates and agents may use this CPNI to let you know about communications-related services other than those to which you currently subscribe that we believe may be of interest to you. If we do not hear from you within 30 days of this notification, we will assume that you approve of our use of your CPNI for the purposes of providing you with information about other communications-related services. You have the right to disapprove of our use of your CPNI, and may deny or withdraw our right to use your CPNI at any time by contacting us at the number or address listed on the cover of this notice or on your regular Cox bill, or by email to privacy@cox.com. We do not use your CPNI to share with independent contractors, vendors or any joint venture partners for marketing purposes, unless we obtain your opt-in permission. Cox also offers various other services that are not related to telecommunications services. Under CPNI rules, some of those services, such as Cox Cable and Cox Digital Cable services, are considered to be non-communications related services. We would like your approval so that Cox and our affiliates, agents, joint venture partners, and independent contractors may use your CPNI to let you know about our non-communications related services and bundled offerings. You may be asked during a telephone call with one of our representatives for your oral consent for Cox to use your CPNI to provide you with an offer for products or services not related to the telephone services to which you subscribe. If you provide your oral consent for Cox to do so, Cox may use your CPNI for the duration of such telephone call in order to offer you additional services. Or, you may provide your consent in writing to us at the address listed on the cover of this notice or on your regular Cox bill, or by email to: privacy@cox.com. Any action that you take to deny or restrict approval to use your CPNI will not affect our provision of service to which you subscribe, now or in the future. If you previously contacted us and restricted our use of your CPNI, we will honor your request and you do not need to contact us again. Any denial of approval for use of your CPNI outside of the service to which you already subscribe is valid until such time as your telephone services are discontinued or you affirmatively revoke or limit such approval or denial. Listings – It is Cox’s policy to protect our telephone customer’s network information as well as their identity if they request to be unlisted, unpublished or request to have their identity not disclosed. We offer our telephone customers the ability to designate their listings as non-published within print or electronic directories or directory assistance services. Because of the complexity of this process and the involvement of other entities in publishing, errors may occur from time-to-time. These and certain other telephone services are offered subject to tariff or contractual terms that limit our liability in the event of such errors. Cable Television Services – We provide aggregate information concerning pay-per-view, entertainment-on-demand and interactive services to programmers, advertisers and certain other third parties. Unless you agree, digital video recorder service information is not shared with programmers or third parties, except on an aggregate basis. If you use an interactive service to participate in or to order a product or service, you will be asked for your permission to provide contact information to the appropriate party. When we offer new services to you like DVR and interactive features, we will also inform you about information we may need and how it may be used. Internet Services – We do not read or listen to your email messages, instant messages, online chats, telephone calls or the content of other online communications that reside on or pass through our services. We may however, retain and disclose such communications if we are legally required to do so. Incoming and outgoing email messages are generally scanned automatically to identify and filter out likely spam or harmful messages and for viruses, spyware and related problems that could harm your equipment, the network or other users. Internet Security Taking Proper Precautions – Maintaining the security of your personal computer is an important part of protecting your own privacy and of helping us protect our network and customers’ service. You must follow our Subscriber Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy and use and update regularly your antivirus software, firewall, wireless network security and your operating system to prevent harm and potential theft of data due to unauthorized access by others and viruses. You should regularly back up your computer to preserve your files, including email or other messages you want to keep. Persons with questionable intent may use the Internet or email to pose as someone you trust or do business with. You should always be sure whom you are dealing with before clicking on an Internet link or giving personal information. To avoid all these and other forms of attacks, we encourage you to visit our website at http://www.cox.net or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at http://www.ftc.gov for regular updates and tips on protecting yourself. Cox or its Abuse/Customer Security Department may take protective action related to your service or contact you directly with information from time-to-time to help with this effort. While we take reasonable steps to protect your services, we highly recommend that you regularly change your login password, using hard-to-guess combinations of numbers and letters of at least eight characters in length. Once communications enter the Internet, it is possible for them to be accessed by third parties over whom we have no control. Moreover, since we cannot control web sites or services operated by third parties, you should review their terms of service and privacy policies. Spam – Cox tries to block incoming and outgoing spam using a variety of methods, and we encourage your help by preventing unauthorized access to your computer. We suggest that you remain up-to-date on ways to avoid and combat spam by watching for advice and tips on our website at http://www.cox.net. You can forward unwanted spam to spamreport@cox.net to help update our filters. We may use email to send transactional, informational, or relationship messages related to your service. If you prefer, you may opt-out of other marketing messages we may send by notifying us in response to any you may receive. Cookies – A third party ad server that places ads on our websites may use "cookies" to collect anonymous information about your visit to our website and to manage information concerning your preferences. A "cookie" is a computer code added to a file on your computer as a record of its visit. It does not collect or provide your name or any other personal information about you. It can, however, be read by the website that placed it to note information about your visit, such as your type of web browser, operating system and Internet Protocol ("IP") address. It can also be used to recognize you when you log in as a registered user or as a repeat visitor returning to our website. This allows us to tailor our site by remembering you and any options you select. You can control what cookies are accepted by your computer through the settings on your web browser or by deleting them from your files. Doing so, however, may limit the personalization available to you. Third-Party Cookies and Web Beacons – These forms of computer code are sometimes placed by advertisers or others with connection to a webpage and may be read by the ad’s provider. They may use a form of code called a "web beacon" or "clear GIF." These are usually contained in a transparent image on a page or in an image on an email message and serve as a way to gather information about your visit, such as your IP Address and information or statistics about your visit. As with cookies, you can use your browser settings to control web beacons. We may share non-personal information obtained from cookies and web beacons with vendors, advertisers and others. Law Enforcement and Legal Requests Information Disclosure – We regularly receive legal requests from government and law enforcement personnel for customer information. We also receive discovery requests in civil litigation. In all such cases, we cooperate by providing such information as the law requires. The laws concerning your privacy and government access change from time to time and may affect how we are required to respond. Contrary to media reports concerning certain other communications companies, Cox does not volunteer customer information or access to customer communications to law enforcement or others, except in the "Special Exceptions" detailed above or if we have a good faith belief that an emergency involving death or serious physical injury requires disclosure. Under current law, many criminal subpoenas require that we not disclose or notify you of the request. Due to this fact and the volume of requests we receive, we do not assume any duty to notify you of receipt of any legal requests. Internet Information – Your account records and information concerning your Internet access may be subpoenaed by the government or by others through the courts. Internet messages and files shared over "peer-to-peer" services often include your IP Address, and you could be identified in this way if we receive a lawful subpoena. As with telephone interception, details concerning your Internet access and the content of communications can be obtained by law enforcement through a court order or similar authority. In addition, the law permits us to disclose to law enforcement, voluntarily and without prior notice, customer information, including the contents of communications, if we reasonably believe that an emergency involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury requires such disclosure without delay. Telephone Information – Current law requires law enforcement to obtain a court order or other similar authority for a telephone wiretap or to use a pen register or trap and trace device to capture dialing information. Voice-over-Internet services and communications over the Internet, such as email, are subject to similar surveillance standards. Law enforcement can also subpoena account and call record information. Cable Television Programming Selections – Records concerning video programming selections may generally be obtained only under court order, after notice is given to you and you have the opportunity to object in court. Security Information We are aware of the many recently publicized instances of customer information security breaches and continue to work on new ways to protect your information. For our most sensitive databases, we use encrypted formats within controlled and secure environments that have restricted access. Nevertheless, although we endeavor to ensure the integrity and security of our network and computer systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent unauthorized access. Children's Privacy The websites provided by Cox are not directed at, or intended for use by, children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly allow anyone under the age of 18 to subscribe to a service that incurs a charge. If we permit a secondary account holder to subscribe to a free service, we will notify the primary account holder at his/her cox.net email address. Children should always get permission from a parent or guardian before sending personal information over the Internet. If you believe your child may have provided us with personal information, you can contact us at the return address on this notice or found on your monthly bill and we will delete the information. You can find more information about protecting children’s privacy by contacting the FTC or viewing its website at http://www.ftc.gov. Child Pornography As a provider of an electronic communications service, we are required by law to report any evidence we may become aware of relating to violations of laws concerning child pornography. Customer Access to Information You may check the accuracy of personal information in your account by contacting a Customer Care representative. We also make a more complete review of your personally identifiable information available to you within a reasonable time following a request. You may examine the information and advise us of any errors you believe we should correct, upon prior request and at your own cost, during business hours at the Cox office listed on the return address of this notice or noted on your billing statement. Your Enforcement Rights You can enforce your legal privacy rights concerning our collection, use and sharing of your personally identifiable information. Among your remedies is the right to seek damages under 47 U.S.C. 551. Other Terms and Changes in Policy Other terms and conditions affect our service offerings, including certain Cable Television service contracts, our Acceptable Use Policy for High Speed Internet service, tariffs and the Terms of Use for our websites. Changes in our service offerings, the law and policy may cause us to make changes to this and other policies from time to time. Any changes will be posted with the Online Privacy Policy at http://www.cox.com or http://www.cox.net, which also contains provisions concerning privacy as relates to our websites. Annual Do-Not-Call Registry Notice In an effort to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls, the FCC has provided telephone subscribers the opportunity to register their residential telephone numbers, including wireless numbers, for inclusion in the national Do Not Call (DNC) registry administered by the FTC. You may register, renew, or revoke registration of, your number without charge by calling the FTC’s toll-free number, 1-888-382-1222 or TYY 1-866-290-4236, from the telephone number you are registering or revoking, or via online by visiting the FTC’s website located at www.donotcall.gov. The FCC/FTC rules contain an "established business relationship" exception that permits a company that has such a relationship with you, like Cox, to call you even if your number is on the national DNC list. For more information, see http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/ and http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall. CUSTOMER SERVICE NOTICES Products and Services Offered – Tiers of service offered by Cox are independent of each other, unless noted in special offers; however, as a prerequisite for subscribing to the various tiers offered including premium or pay-per-view events, Customers must subscribe to limited/basic service. Visit us atcox.com or call us at the number on your bill for more information about products and services in your area. Prices and Programming Options – A complete listing of our channel lineup and prices can be found at cox.com or you may call us at the number on your bill to obtain a printed copy. Changes in Service or Prices – As a Cox customer, you will generally receive notice of changes in services or prices at least 30 days in advance or in compliance with applicable laws. The notice may be provided on your monthly bill, as a bill insert, as a newspaper legal notice or information channel notice, in a separate mailing or some other written form. Miscellaneous Fees – A late fee is added to any bill amount unpaid after the due date. If your payment is made with a non-sufficient fund check, you may be charged a fee for handling. Changing service tiers via a coded computer entry may incur a nominal charge. Delinquent Accounts – If your service is disconnected for non-payment, we require full payment of the balance, a deposit, a reconnect fee, and a minimum of one month’s service before reconnecting service. Disconnect Policy – A request to disconnect cable service can be made at any time. Billing for service will stop on the day you request the service to be discontinued. Equipment provided to you by your local cable office must be returned upon disconnecting or appropriate charges will be assessed. Installation and Service Maintenance Policies – Cox may offer an On-Time Guarantee for cable television installation and service calls in your area. If so, and a Cox technician is not on time for a scheduled appointment, Cox will provide you with a coupon for a $20 credit on your next bill. Cox will also make every reasonable effort to reschedule any missed service appointment at the most convenient time. Access to Customer Premises – You agree to allow employees and agents of Cox access to your premises at reasonable times to inspect and maintain its cable equipment and, upon termination of service, to remove the equipment. Failure by Cox to remove equipment does not deem it abandoned. Instruction On How to Use Cable Services – Customers may visit us at cox.com or call us at the telephone number on your bill for more information regarding how to use your cable service. Theft of Cable Service – An unauthorized cable hook-up is a severe and expensive problem. It is also a crime punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. Cable theft increases the cost of our business as well as legitimate, paying Cox customers. Signal Blocking Devices – If you can see images or hear sound from a scrambled premium or adult channels that you do not subscribe to, you may contact Cox at the number on your monthly bill to have these channels blocked. TELEVISION EQUIPMENT COMPATIBILITY Cable Converters – If you have a digital ready TV you may not need a converter; however, some models of TVs and VCRs – especially older TV sets that are not "cable ready" – may not receive all of the channels offered when connected directly to the cable system. If your TV or VCR is not able to receive all of the channels desired, you can obtain a set-top channel converter from Cox or a retail store at a nominal charge. If you plan to purchase cable services that we scramble or encrypt, such as premium, pay-per-view or some digital services, you should make sure that any set-top converter or navigation device you purchase from a retail outlet is capable of working with separate security cards that we must provide in order for your equipment to access such programming services. Upon request, we will provide you with the technical parameters that are needed for any such device to operate with our security cards and cable system. Also, you should know that receivers with descrambling units are illegal to sell or use unless authorized by Cox. If you receive service through a set-top channel converter, you may not be able to use special features and functions of your TV and VCR. These may include features that allow you to: view a program on one channel while simultaneously recording a program on another channel; record two or more consecutive programs that appear on different channels; and, use advanced picture generation and display features such as "Picture-in-Picture" and channel review. Cox may be able to resolve these issues through an additional converter or other equipment that is available for lease upon request. Cable Cards – Certain new TVs are sold with a Cable Card, which can substitute for a set-top channel converter. Currently, these TVs cannot interact with the cards to allow you to use any interactive or two-way services that we offer. For more information, you may contact us by calling Customer Care. Remote Controls – Cox includes a remote control unit with set-top channel converters. Some television, VCR or DVD remote controls are also capable of controlling the basic features of your set-top box. "Universal" remote control units that are compatible with the basic features of set-top boxes may be also be obtained from many other sources, such as consumer appliance, electronics outlets or over the Internet. These universal remote controls may not be compatible with certain set top features or services available from Cox in certain markets. If you have specific questions concerning where to find remote controls or their compatibility, we encourage you to contact Customer Care at the number listed on your monthly bill. Television Picture Quality – If you experience problems with the quality of television signals you receive, you should call us at the telephone number listed on your bill. A fully trained Customer Service Representative can often resolve your problem over the telephone. If this cannot be done, we will set up an appointment for a skilled technician come to your home. If, in your opinion, the service technician fails to correct the reception problem, you should call us again and we will review the actions taken. Should we continue to be unable to resolve the problem to your satisfaction, we will explain the reasons we cannot solve the problem. Billing and Complaint Procedures – Customers can direct billing or service complaints to Cox Communications at the telephone number listed on your bill. If you believe Cox has not properly resolved your issue, you may contact your local franchise authority. |
