Last Updated: October 2023

Overview

The American Urological Association and our affiliated foundation, the Urology Care Foundation, (collectively, “AUA,” “we,” “our,” “us”) provide this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use and share information collected through our Website at AUAnet.org and other Websites that link to this policy (collectively, “Websites” or “Sites”) and when you interact with us using other methods.

Information Collection

Information You Provide Through Our Websites

You may choose to provide information to us when you use certain features of the Sites, including when you subscribe to AUA publications, purchase an AUA product or service, register for a course or event, request information and materials, sign up for membership, make a donation, create a job alert, or otherwise contact us. The type of information collected will depend on the type of feature you use, and may include your name, address, phone number, billing and delivery information, email address, educational or professional affiliation, or other demographic information. Examples of information we collect in specific circumstances include:

• Registration: If you register to participate in an AUA event, course, program or promotion using online or paper registration forms, we collect and store your name, phone number, email address, and any additional information you voluntarily provide on the registration form.
• Membership Application: We collect identifying and demographic information about each of our members, including your name, address, phone number, email address, and any additional information you voluntarily provide on the membership application or renewal form.
• Surveys and Requests: We collect information volunteered by website users, including from surveys or requests submitted via "Contact Us" links. We also may collect the email addresses of those who communicate with us via email.
• AUA Member Directory: We collect and disclose the contact information, including email addresses, that AUA members provide in the AUA Member Directory. The directory is a reference tool for AUA members.
• Online Products/Programs: We may collect some contact information you are explicitly asked to provide in connection with certain AUA online learning products or programs.
• Financial Information: When you place an order online with us, register for a conference, or make any other electronic payment through our website, standard credit card information (card number, card type, expiration date, etc.) is collected through a third-party processor who is compliant with Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards. The third-party processor provides us with, and we store, the last four digits of your credit card number, which are retained for purposes of issuing applicable refunds.
• Donation Information:  When you donate to us, we collect your name, contact information, and any honorarium details, along with payment card or echeck information necessary to effectuate your donation.

The Sites may offer interactive features, such as the ability to leave comments, that you can use to communicate with other Site visitors or to submit and post your own content.  If you disclose information in one of these forums, this information can be viewed, collected, and used by others.

Automatically Collected Information

As you browse and interact on our Websites, we may collect information about your computer or device and your interactions with the Sites through cookies, web beacons, pixel tags and other similar technologies. Through the use of these and other tools, which we may change from time to time, we and others may collect information including: the search terms you used, new or returning user information, browser information, computer or device type, operating system, internet service provider, website usage, referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, number of clicks, and ads viewed.  See the Digital Advertising & Analytics section of this Privacy Policy to learn more about the use of this information and the choices available to you.

Information Use

In general, we process your information to advance the AUA’s legitimate interest in communicating with members, meeting attendees, product purchasers and other website users, and providing these individuals with access to high-quality educational, scientific and advocacy information via our wide array of in-person meetings, online learning resources, publications and other products and services. The AUA exists to advance the collective interests of our members and the urologic community, and processing your information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy is necessary for us to continue to serve your needs.

When we use your information based on our legitimate interest, we strive to strike an appropriate balance between AUA’s need to collect, use and retain your information and how such processing may impact you. We may also ask for your consent before engaging in certain information processing.

Once collected, we may use personal information to advance our mission and legitimate interests, including for the following purposes:

• To ensure network and information security;
• To prevent fraud or misuse of AUA’s services;
• To register you for an event, or complete a transaction for programs and services you have requested;
• To deliver services, such as information, newsletters or other content that may be relevant to your association with the AUA;
• To alert you to special offers, promotions, updated information and other new services from the AUA and other approved third parties;
• To allow you access to limited-entry (i.e., member-only) areas of the Sites;
• To tailor content, advertising and marketing to you;
• To answer your emails or online requests;
• To measure the success of any promotional placement we run on the Sites so that we may better match your interests and preferences to any ads or offers we have available; or
• To determine a particular page or area of our Websites you may have visited.

Digital Advertising & Analytics

Use of Cookies

We use cookies to enable you to more easily use our Websites by remembering and using contact information, purchasing information and registration information. We also use cookies to evaluate, monitor and analyze the use of our Sites and their traffic patterns for internal analytics and improvement. And, we use cookies to assist us with ad reporting functions such as to learn which advertisements bring users to our Websites.

If you prefer not to accept any cookies, you can set your Internet browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to prevent cookies from being placed on your hard drive. If you have previously consented to our collection of cookies and you subsequently wish to withdraw your consent, you will need to manage the settings on your web browser to delete all cookies and disallow further acceptance of cookies. Please note that disabling cookies may disable some of the functions and features of the Sites and the Sites may not work properly.

We may also work with third parties that collect information about your use of the Sites and other sites or apps over time for non-advertising purposes. The AUA uses Google Analytics and other third-party services to improve the performance of the Sites and for analytics and marketing purposes.  For more information about how Google Analytics collects and uses data when you use our Site, visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners, and to opt out of Google Analytics, visit tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Targeted Advertising

We may partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers such as Feathr®, Real Magnet® and Facebook® (“Advertising Providers”) to track your activities on the Sites in order to provide you tailored advertising on third-party sites. Through these Advertising Providers (e.g., Feathr®), the AUA may also sell advertising to third-party advertisers. This type of advertising is known as interest-based advertising.

The AUA adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Principles in connection with this interest-based advertising activity. You may visit the DAA Webchoices tool at www.aboutads.info to learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt out of this advertising on Websites by companies participating in the DAA self-regulatory program.  You can also exercise choices regarding interest-based advertising on your mobile device by downloading the appropriate version of the DAA’s AppChoices tool at https://youradchoices.com/appchoices.

If you delete your cookies or use a different browser or mobile device, you may need to renew your opt-out choices exercised through the DAA Webchoices tool.  Note that electing to opt out will not stop advertising from appearing in your browser or applications.  It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. 

The AUA does collect aggregate data on visitors such as time of day and Web browser type, which is shared with advertisers to determine their advertising effectiveness.

AUA Emails

The AUA sends "transactional or relational email messages," which include, but are not limited to, electronically transmitted news, informational bulletins, meetings and member-benefit announcements, and surveys. You may opt-out of a specific email list by communicating your preferences to CustomerService@AUAnet.org or by following the "unsubscribe" instructions of any email message sent to you from the AUA or its component or affiliated organizations.

Email addresses are captured during the AUA Annual Meeting registration process. This information is made available to AUA Annual Meeting exhibitors. Registrants provide affirmative consent to making this information available to exhibiting companies.

In addition, AUA member email addresses are made available to other AUA members through the AUA Member Directory. Members can opt out of having their email included in the AUA Member Directory by emailing CustomerService@AUAnet.org.  

Information Sharing

We share information we collect and maintain with third parties who provide certain services to us to assist us in meeting our business operation needs. These parties are authorized to process information on our behalf and pursuant to our instructions, only as necessary to provide these services to us. These service providers include:

• Providers of payment processing and accounting, as necessary to process payments or donations from our members or customers;
• Learning or customer management systems such as Cadmium and Personify that integrate with our platform;
• Customer service providers;
• Providers helping us fulfill subscription services;
• Providers of marketing, research and analytics services, including Google Analytics, Real Magnet, CVENT, Survey Monkey and Feathr; and
• Providers of cloud computing infrastructure services.

The AUA uses digital advertising platforms such as Feathr®, Facebook®, Twitter® and LinkedIn®. The AUA may share email addresses with these platforms with the purpose of serving advertisements for AUA products and services to you through those platforms.

The AUA may also disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process served on the AUA; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of the AUA; or (c) protect the personal safety of AUA personnel or members of the public in urgent circumstances.

Membership List Rental

The AUA allows the rental of its member mailing list for one-time usage through our third-party vendor, INFOCUS, which handles all list inquiries and orders. Before any mailing list is made available, the proposed mailing must be approved by the AUA. A mailing list will be provided if the following criteria are met:

• The mailing promotes a program, product or service that reasonably can be expected to be of interest to AUA members by virtue of its relevance to the practice of urology;
• The mailing is tastefully designed;
• The mailing does not make claims known or believed to have no basis in fact; and
• To the best of the AUA’s knowledge, the sponsor of the mailing is reputable and can be expected to provide the promoted program, service, or product in accordance with the information in the mailing.

AUA members can opt out of their information being made available for membership list rentals by emailing CustomerService@AUAnet.org.

User ID and Password

Certain aspects of the Sites require the use of a user ID and password. The user ID and password enables the AUA to verify your identity and thereby, allows you access to member information such as your MyAUA account, and helps prevent unauthorized access.

When you have finished using a secure area of the Websites, make sure you always click on the "Log Out" link which appears on every secure page. When you click on the "Log Out" link, you will be given the option to end your secure session. No further secure transactions on restricted areas of the Sites can be conducted without re-entering your user ID and password.

Third-Party Links & Tools

The Websites use interfaces with social media websites or platforms that are owned and/or controlled by third parties, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others ("Social Media Sites"). If you choose to "like", "tweet" or share information from the Sites through any Social Media Sites, these Social Media Sites may collect information about you and your interactions with their services. The information you share with the Social Media Sites will be governed by the specific privacy policies and terms of service of the Social Media Sites and not by this Privacy Policy. You should review the privacy policies of any Social Media Sites you choose to access and use, and for any accounts you create.

Our Sites may also contain links to or from other Websites, such as those of members, federal agencies, and other medical associations. Please be aware the AUA is not responsible for the privacy practices of other Websites, and they are not governed by this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to read the privacy policies and any other terms of other Websites you link to from our Sites.

Information for Members

If you are an AUA member, you may access, correct, amend, or delete inaccurate data on your MyAUA profile page. If you request us to remove data, we will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits California residents to request certain information regarding the AUA's disclosure of personally identifiable information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us:
AUA Communications Office
1000 Corporate Blvd.
Linthicum, MD 21090
1-866-RING-AUA (toll-free)
410-689-3932 direct
communications@AUAnet.org

Residents of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland

Scope

This section applies if you reside in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), United Kingdom (“UK”), or Switzerland.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We may collect and process personal information about you where the laws of your jurisdiction permit it.  We may rely on the following legal bases to process such information:

• Legitimate Interest. We have an important commercial or business interest which we’ve balanced against your privacy rights.  For example, we may engage in direct marketing of products or services that we believe may be of interest to you.
• It may be necessary for us to process personal information related to you to perform a contract with you or because you have requested that we engage in activities that require personal information processing in anticipation of entering a contract with you.  For example, we may process your name, contact information, and billing information to provide a product or service you have requested.
• We may process personal information in accordance with your consent.  For example, if you register for our Annual Meeting, we may share your email address with our Annual Meeting exhibitors with your consent.
• Legal Obligation. It may be necessary for us to use personal information related to you to fulfill our legal and regulatory obligations.  For example, recordkeeping laws may require that we retain certain information about you.

Time Period for Retention of Personal Data

We store and retain personal information as long as necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was collected. If you are an AUA member, the AUA will retain personal information related to you throughout the duration of your AUA membership. If you are not a member of AUA, the AUA will delete personal information related to meeting registration or product purchase within a reasonable time of your registration or purchase from the AUA, unless you have registered for another meeting or course, purchased another AUA product or service, joined as a member, or have otherwise consented to our collection and retention of the relevant personal information. Subject to certain exclusions, we will erase personal information related to you upon your request.

Transfers of Personal Information

The AUA and our Websites are based in the United States, and regardless of where you access the Websites or otherwise interact with us, the information collected as part of that use or interaction will be transferred to and maintained on servers located in the United States. When transferring personal information to the United States, or to other countries outside the EEA or UK, we are required to ensure personal information about you is adequately protected in the country where it is transferred.  We transfer personal information to such countries subject to safeguards to ensure the protection of personal information, such as by entering into contracts with transferee companies called the “standard contractual clauses” and the “UK addendum.”  These contracts require companies outside the EEA or UK to protect personal information to the same extent as if it had remained in the EEA or UK.

Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may be able to exercise the following rights with respect to personal information we maintain about you, subject to certain exceptions and limitations:

Right of access and portability: If you ask us, we will confirm whether we are processing personal information related to you and, if so, provide you with a copy of that personal information (along with certain other details) in a portable format. If you require additional copies, we may need to charge a reasonable fee.

Right to rectification: If you believe personal information we maintain about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that we rectify or complete it.

Right to erasure: You may ask us to delete or remove personal information we maintain about you. To make this request, please contact AUA directly at CustomerService@AUAnet.org or by phone at 410-689-3700.

Right to restrict processing: You may ask us to restrict the processing of personal information related to you in certain circumstances, such as where you contest the accuracy of the relevant information or object to us processing it.

Right to object: You may ask us at any time to stop processing personal information related to you. Where we are relying on a legitimate interest to process such information, we may choose to demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing.

Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling: You have the right to be free from decisions based solely on automated processing of personal information related to you, including profiling, that may affect you, unless such processing is necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between you and us or you provide your explicit consent to such processing.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on your prior consent.

Right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority: If you have a concern about our privacy practices, including the way we may have handled personal information related to you, please contact us at CustomerService@AUAnet.org or by calling Member Services at 410-689-3933. You also have the right to report your concern to the data protection authority that is authorized to hear those concerns in your jurisdiction.

You may exercise the rights described above by contacting us at CustomerService@AUAnet.org.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

The AUA reserves the right to modify, alter, or otherwise update this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We encourage you to visit this page from time to time to learn of any changes to our practices. We will inform you of such changes by revising the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our information practices, please contact us using the information below:

• By email to communications@AUAnet.org
• By phone to 1-866-RING-AUA

By mail to AUA Communications Office, 1000 Corporate Blvd., Linthicum, MD 21090