Privacy Notice – Highlights
Last Updated: February 28, 2024
When you use or interact with a U.S. website or mobile application, widget, or digital subscription product or other digital service (each a “Digital Service”) operated or owned by King Features Syndicate, Inc. and linking to this Privacy Notice, we and third parties may obtain certain information about you. In this Highlights section, we provide an overview of our privacy practices related to the Digital Services and Widgets on Third-Party Sites (defined below). Please review our full Privacy Notice below for a detailed explanation of our practices.
What Information We Obtain
- Information you provide when you use the Digital Services, including when you sign up for newsletters, create an account, interact with a widget (e.g., a Comics Kingdom comic strip, puzzle or game on a site we operate), or buy a product or purchase a subscription to our premium content through the Digital Services. This may include your contact, payment or demographic information.
- Information you submit when you choose to participate in a survey, sweepstakes, contest, promotion, event or similar initiative.
- Information you give us about others, such as a friend’s contact information when you share our content.
- Information collected by automated means such as cookies or pixels. This may include information about your device and browser, including IP address or mobile device advertising identifiers, as well as information about how you and others use, interact with or respond to the Digital Services. This collection may take place while you are using a Digital Service or while the Digital Service is running in the background of your device.
- If you interact with a Comics Kingdom comic strip, puzzle or game displayed on a newspaper publisher or other third-party site, we obtain limited information collected by automated means resulting from your interaction with our widget or similar tool used to power the comic strip, puzzle, or game (each a “Widget on a Third-Party Site” or “Widgets on Third-Party Sites”).
- Information, including your business contact information, we obtain from licensees, entertainment clients or other business representatives (collectively, a “Business-to-Business Contact”) for purposes of entering into a contract or other business relationships, dealings or arrangements related to our content or other offerings.
- Information we obtain from other sources, such as event organizers, business partners, data suppliers, and Social Media Platforms.
Read more in section B. What Information We Obtain..
How We Use The Information We Obtain
- To process your requests and provide you with the Digital Services, including to deliver customized content or recommendations. Note that we use your payment card information (such as your payment card number and expiration date) for limited purposes such as to process your transaction (including recurring payments, if applicable), to provide you with the requested products or services and to protect our rights or the rights of others. If you are a Business-to-Business Contact, we use your information as necessary to provide you with the contracted products or services, and as otherwise appropriate for our business or internal purposes.
- To learn about users of the Digital Services and analyze how you and others interact with and respond to the Digital Services.
- To communicate with you, including to send you marketing and promotional communications.
- For advertising and marketing purposes, including to deliver targeted ads, for cross-device linking and to analyze the performance of advertising and marketing activities.
- To protect our rights and the rights of others.
- If you interact with our Widget on a Third-Party Site, we use your information to deliver the services to the relevant third party who contracted with us to deliver the comic strip, puzzle or game on their site or app.
Read more in section C. How We Use The Information We Obtain.
How We Provide Information to Others
- Within the Hearst family of companies.
- To service providers that perform services or handle transactions on our behalf.
- To advertisers, advertising and marketing-related services providers and partners as well as companies that help us learn how you and others interact with our content.
- To business partners and others, such as when we partner with a third party to offer products or services on a co-branded basis, or for their own advertising, marketing, and other commercial purposes.
- To other parties when required by law or as necessary to protect our rights, and in the context of corporate transactions.
- To relevant newspaper publishers and other third-party clients who license King Features comic strips, puzzles and games and display them through widgets on their sites or apps (i.e., the Widgets on Third-Party Sites).
- With your consent or otherwise at your direction.
Read more in section D. How We Provide Information to Others.
Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs
- Depending on where you live, and subject to applicable laws, you may make requests to access, delete, correct, or convey your opt-out preferences with respect to your personal information. See section E: Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs for more information.
- You may take steps to limit the use of your information for targeted advertising on your browser or mobile device. See section E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs for more information.
- You may unsubscribe from our marketing or promotional emails by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link in our emails, or for certain Digital Services, by logging into your account and adjusting your preferences.
Read more in section E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs.
Additional Information
- We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.
- The Digital Services are operated from the United States. Information may be processed and stored in the United States or other countries.
- The Digital Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 13.
- We are not responsible for the data collection and handling practices of the newspaper publishers and other third-party sites and apps that you may visit to interact with our Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
- If you are a consumer who engaged with the Digital Services, this Privacy Notice is part of the Terms of Use, which govern your use of the Digital Services and any disputes related to your use of the Digital Services (including our use of your information) will be resolved per the dispute resolution provision in the Terms of Use.
- Additional disclosures and rights apply to California residents and European visitors. These are included at the end of this Privacy Notice in section N. Notice at Collection/Additional Information for California Residents and section O. Additional Information for European and UK Visitors.
Contact Us
If you have questions about our Privacy Notice or about the privacy rights described in Section E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs, please contact us by email at [email protected].
PRIVACY NOTICE
Last Updated: February 28, 2024
- Introduction
- What Information We Obtain
- How We Use Information We Obtain
- How We Provide Information to Others
- Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs
- How We Protect Your Information
- Non-U.S. Visitors
- Children’s Privacy Rights
- Links to Third-Party Websites, Mobile Apps or Other Services
- Careers/Job Opportunities
- Dispute Resolution/Terms of Use
- Changes to This Privacy Notice
- Contact Us
- Notice at Collection/Additional Information for California Residents
- Additional Information for European and UK Visitors
A. INTRODUCTION
This Privacy Notice (the “Privacy Notice”) applies to the U.S. website, mobile application, widget, digital subscription product, or other digital service (each a “Digital Service”) owned or operated by King Features Syndicate, Inc. (“we”, “us”, “our” or “King Features”) or Widgets on Third-Party Sites (defined above), and linking to this Privacy Notice. This Privacy Notice describes the privacy practices of King Features only and does not cover the practices of other companies, including those that may advertise or sponsor content, products or services on the Digital Services and the operators of the sites that display the Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
B. WHAT INFORMATION WE OBTAIN
We obtain various types of information related to you and your use of the Digital Services. This may include information that directly identifies you such as your name, address, or contact information (this type of information may be called “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information”). Certain pieces of information we obtain (for example, account login, payment card information, race, or ethnicity) may be considered “sensitive” under privacy laws.
The information we obtain generally consists of information (1) you give us about yourself, (2) you give us about others, (3) automatically collected about your interactions with the Digital Services and our content or ads on third-party websites, apps or other media, including our Widgets on Third-Party Sites, and (4) we get from other sources.
1. The information you give us
We may ask you to provide information about yourself when you use the Digital Services. For example, to subscribe to a newsletter, you will need to give us an email address. You may not be able to use certain features if you choose not to submit the requested information.
The information you give us may include details such as:
- Contact information (e.g., name, mailing address, email address or phone number).
- Demographic, interests, and household information (e.g., age or gender, or education).
- Payment information for purchases made through the Digital Services, such as when you buy a product or subscribe to our premium content (e.g., payment card number, expiration date and billing information collected via our third-party payment processors).
- Comments, photos, and other content or information you choose to publish on the Digital Services or otherwise share with us.
- Information you provide when you choose to participate in surveys, polls, sweepstakes, contests or promotions.
- Location information when you permit the Digital Services to access device location. To prevent the collection of precise location information, please refer to instructions provided by your mobile service provider or device manufacturer.
- Other information you may allow us to access through your device’s permissions settings, such as your contacts or address book.
- Transactional and activity information (e.g., requests, searches or orders).
If you are an entertainment client, licensee or other business representative (collectively, a “Business-to-Business Contact”), we also get the information listed above as well as your business contact information, needed for the purposes of entering into a contract and business relationships.
2. Information you give us about others
You may give us information about other people, such as the name and email of a friend or contact with whom you want to share a comic strip or if you participate in a survey or research initiative. Do not give us information about others unless you are authorized or have their consent to do so. We will use their information for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.
3. Information automatically collected
The Digital Services automatically log certain information about visits to the Digital Services, as applicable, such as the number and frequency of visitors, technical information about browsers and devices used to access the Digital Services, and information about crashes or other technical issues. In addition, we and third parties may automatically collect certain information through automated means about your activities over time across the Digital Services as well as across third-party sites, apps or other media. The tools that collect this information vary depending on the Digital Services and include technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, pixels and software development kits (“SDKs”). These technologies may be included in our web pages, mobile apps, widget, emails, and other digital content. The tools may assign or collect unique cookie IDs or other identifiers associated with your browser or device. The tools may collect information while you are using our Digital Services or while they are running in the background of your device.
The information automatically collected may include:
- Information about your computer, device, browser and operating system (e.g., type, model, or version).
- Internet protocol (IP) address, which may be used to derive your general geographic area (e.g., city and country).
- Device identifiers (e.g., mobile advertising IDs).
- Information about your interactions with the Digital Services, including browsing activities and clickstream data that reflect the content you have accessed, clicked on, or viewed.
- Information about how you accessed the Digital Services, including details about websites or apps visited immediately before or after accessing a Digital Service.
- Demographic, interests, and household information.
- Information about your interactions with email messages and other communications, such as whether you opened or forwarded the email or clicked on links contained in the email.
Widgets on Third-Party Sites also log certain information, such as the number of visits, using the tools such as cookies described above. These technologies may be included on newspaper publishers and other third-party sites or apps that use the Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
For more information about the use of automated means in the context of targeted advertising and how you can limit tracking, see section C. 3. For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising.
4. Information we obtain from other sources
We receive information about you from other sources and it may be combined with other information about you. For example, we may obtain data from:
- Operators of third-party sites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms (e.g., Roku, Amazon Fire TV), voice-activated assistants (e.g., Amazon Alexa, Google Home) or other devices and technologies when you interact with our content, products, services or ads available on those channels and platforms. The information we receive may include information about the content you view or access, as well as your demographic information and information about your interests.
- Third-party data suppliers such as data aggregators, data resellers, public databases and business partners. They may provide us with demographic information, information about your purchases, and other information that helps us learn about you and other users of the Digital Services.
- Social Media Platforms and similar services (“Social Media Platforms”). When you engage with our content or ads on Social Media Platforms, or interact with features on the Digital Services that contain content or features provided by Social Media Platforms (e.g., login or sign in features or tools that allow you to share our content with others on Social Media Platforms), we may obtain information from Social Media Platforms, including your username, user ID, demographic information and other information, subject to the settings and privacy practices of the relevant Social Media Platform. We may obtain this information directly from the Social Media Platform or through plug-ins, integrations or applications. Please keep in mind that the operators of the Social Media Platforms may also gather information about your use of the Digital Services and their features and tools.
C. HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION WE OBTAIN
If you make a purchase or place an order through or in connection with a Digital Service (including for paid content), we use your payment card information (e.g., your card number and expiration date) for limited purposes such as to process your transaction (including recurring payments, if applicable), to provide you with the requested products or services and for the purposes described under the section “To protect our rights or the rights of others” below.
With respect to information other than your payment card information, we use that information:
1. To provide you with the Digital Services and Widgets on Third-Party Sites. This includes:
- If you are a consumer, processing your requests regarding the Digital Services and our products or services, including your subscription to our premium content, or administering your participation in a survey, sweepstakes, contest, promotion, event or similar initiative. If you are a Business-to-Business Contact, providing you with the contracted products or services, and as otherwise appropriate for our business or internal purposes.
- Providing customer assistance or technical support.
- Customizing content, providing recommendations and enhancing the quality and your overall experience with the Digital Services, including by retaining your user preferences or presenting content in the most effective manner for the browser or device you use to access the Digital Services.
- Maintaining, operating, improving and developing the Digital Services and related content, products or services, including developing new products and features based on users’ interactions with the Digital Services.
- Learning about users of the Digital Services and analyzing how you and others interact with and respond to the Digital Services, including by measuring and optimizing usage, reliability and performance, conducting market research, analyzing trends, and supporting our operations (e.g., for accounting, auditing, financial, legal or other purposes).
- If you interact with our Widget on a Third-Party Site, we use your information to deliver the services to the relevant third party who contracted with us to deliver the comic strip, puzzle or game on their site or app, to enhance the quality of your experience, and analyze how you interact with the Widget on a Third-Party Site as described above.
2. To communicate with you. This includes:
- Sending you informational messages about the Digital Services (e.g., to verify your registration when you create an account or notify you of changes to the Digital Services).
- Delivering marketing or promotional communications, including offers or promotions about our or third parties’ products, services or other initiatives.
- Responding to your questions or addressing your requests.
- Communicating with you about surveys, sweepstakes, contests, promotions or events.
3. For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising. This includes:
- Developing, managing and conducting advertising and marketing campaigns, promotions and offers, including about our content, products and services or third parties’ products, services and other initiatives.
- Targeted advertising (also known as online behavioral advertising) is advertising based on your interests in topics and content based on your activities over time on the Digital Services, other online services operated by third parties, as well as information from other sources, including information collected offline. Targeted ads may consist of text ads, images, animations or videos and may be displayed to you based on various factors, including the context of the site or app in which they appear, information you provided to the operator of the site or app (e.g., when you created an account), your activities on the site or app (e.g., pages viewed, searches performed or ads clicked), and information such as your demographic, interests and household information.
- On the Digital Services and on third-party sites, apps or other media, we, our service providers and third parties may use automated means to (a) collect information for targeted advertising purposes or (b) serve you targeted ads. These automated means vary depending on the Digital Services and include technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, pixels and SDKs. These technologies may use unique identifiers associated with your browser or device to support targeted advertising.
- We may use and/or combine online and offline information we obtain about you, including your personal information, for targeted advertising purposes. We may aggregate the information we obtain to create audiences that are most likely to respond to ads based on demographic, interests, or household information.
- Targeted ads may be displayed to you by third parties, such as ad networks or exchanges.
- There are steps you can take to limit the collection of your information for targeted advertising purposes. These steps vary for the web and mobile app environments and are browser and device specific. To learn more about targeted advertising and opt-out choices, see http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and in the section DAA Industry Opt-Out.
- In serving targeted ads, we adhere to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising developed by the Digital Advertising Alliance.
- Cross-device linking. If you access the Digital Services from multiple browsers or devices, we, our service providers and third parties may try to establish connections among and link the different browsers and devices you use to access the Digital Services and our content or ads published elsewhere. This helps us provide you with a seamless experience across the browsers and devices you use and serve you with more relevant content and ads (e.g., so that we don’t show you the same content twice). See section Website (Browser) Opt-Outs for steps you can take to limit browser and mobile app tracking for targeted advertising purposes.
- Analyzing and measuring the performance, effectiveness and reach of our advertising (including targeted ads) and marketing efforts on the Digital Services and elsewhere.
- Targeted advertising, as described above, may also take place on the client websites where the Widgets on Third-Party sites are embedded, and on the Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
4. To protect our rights or the rights of others. This includes:
- Detecting, preventing and responding to fraud or potentially illegal activities, misuse of the Digital Services, intellectual property infringement or other violations of law, this Privacy Notice, our Terms of Use or other King Features or Hearst policies and applicable terms.
- Performing audits, assessments and testing or troubleshooting activities.
- Backing up our systems (including for disaster recovery purposes) and enhancing the overall security of the Digital Services.
- Complying with and enforcing applicable industry and legal requirements (including legal process such as court orders, warrants or subpoenas) and fulfilling contractual obligations.
- Detecting, preventing and responding to fraud or illegal activities, including misuse of the Widgets on Third-Party Sites as described above, and enhancing the security of the Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
D. HOW WE PROVIDE INFORMATION TO OTHERS
We may provide the information we obtain to:
- Affiliates and Subsidiaries. We work closely with affiliates and subsidiaries within the Hearst family of companies with to whom we provide your information as necessary or appropriate.
- Service Providers. In connection with the operation and provision of the Digital Services, we engage various vendors to provide services or handle transactions on our behalf, such as payment card processing, email distribution, list processing, cloud computing, analytics, digital content performance measurement, ad serving and managing sweepstakes, contests, promotions or events. These service providers use the information we provide to them as necessary or appropriate for the performance of their services.
- Advertisers, Advertising and Marketing-Related Service Providers and Partners. We may provide your information to advertisers, advertising agencies, ad networks, ad exchanges, marketing businesses, technology vendors and other entities that create, deliver and assess advertising or marketing campaigns, including targeted ads.
- Social Media Platforms. If you interact with social media widgets, share content using social media share buttons, or access features of the Digital Services that contain content or features provided by Social Media Platforms, the relevant Social Media Platforms may collect information. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of the Social Media Platforms that you engage with as we are not responsible for their privacy practices.
- Business Partners, Newspaper Publishers and Other Clients. We may provide your information to business partners including, without limitation, the clients who embed our widgets on their sites or apps and license King Features comic strips, puzzles and games and joint marketing partners and content sponsors, for various purposes. For example, we may partner with a third party to offer products on a co-branded, co-sponsored or cross-promotional basis that involves providing your information to others. These initiatives may be offered on the Digital Services or on other media.
- Other Parties When Required by Law or As Necessary to Protect Our Rights. We may provide your information to others as we believe is necessary or appropriate to protect, enforce, or defend our legal rights, the privacy or safety of our employees, users of the Digital Services or other individuals and entities, or to comply with or enforce applicable industry standards, law or legal process, including responding to court orders, warrants, subpoenas and other requests from public and government authorities.
- Corporate Transactions. We reserve the right to transfer any of the information we have about you to proceed with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a sale or transfer of all or a portion of our business or assets to a third party, such as in the event of a merger, acquisition or other disposition, or in connection with a bankruptcy reorganization, dissolution, or liquidation.
- With Your Consent or Otherwise at Your Direction. In addition, we may provide your information to others with your consent or at your request.
E. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS, INCLUDING MARKETING AND TARGETED ADS OPT-OUTS
Your U.S. State Privacy Rights
Residents of states with applicable privacy laws are afforded certain rights with respect to their personal information. Depending on where you live, and subject to certain exceptions, you may be entitled to the rights described below. Please note that if you submit a request to exercise any of the below rights (a “Privacy Rights Request”), we may request additional information to enable us to process your request. We will use the information you provide to make Privacy Rights Requests to verify your identity, locate your personal information that we may hold about you, and to fulfill your request. If you have any questions regarding your privacy rights, please contact us at [email protected]
- Right to Access Your Personal Information. Under applicable privacy laws, you have the right to know the types and the specific pieces of the personal information we hold about you. To exercise this right, please send an email to [email protected] with “Privacy Request” in the subject line of the email, and include your first and last name and the email you use to subscribe to the Digital Services including one of our newsletters.
- Right to Delete Your Personal Information. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To request that we delete your personal information, please send an email to [email protected] and include your first and last name and the email you use to subscribe to the Digital Services including one of our newsletters.
- Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To request that we modify or update your personal information, please log on to your Comics Kingdom account and select “Profile” to update your name or email address. Please note that if you would like to correct the email you use to receive newsletters from us, you must unsubscribe from the newsletters and re-subscribe using your preferred email address.
- Right to Opt Out. Applicable privacy laws may provide you with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:
- Please remember that cookie-level opt-outs are browser and device-specific and applied to the website (domain) with respect to which you complete your opt-out request. If you use multiple devices, such as your smartphone, laptop, or tablet, you will need to submit separate requests from these devices.
- Right to Opt out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: We may provide your personal information to third parties for “targeted advertising” purposes or in ways that constitute “sales” under applicable laws. You may request that we not “sell” or provide your data to others for “targeted advertising” purposes on a going-forward basis. To do so, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of our website. Please note that if you choose to exercise your opt-out rights, you may still see certain ads on sites and mobile apps. If you re-engage with us after opting out of “selling” or providing your personal information for “targeted advertising,” such as by signing up for a newsletter and/or entering a sweepstakes or contest, you acknowledge that your personal information may be used and shared in accordance with this Privacy Notice, including in ways that may constitute “selling” or providing personal information for “targeted advertising” under applicable laws.
- We may participate in the IAB U.S. privacy framework (“IAB Framework”) for some of our Digital Services. This means that once you submit a request to opt out of sale/targeted ads by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of our website, we will notify relevant participants of the IAB Framework of your opt-out preferences. You can learn more about the IAB Framework participants at https://www.iabprivacy.com/optout.html. Please note that the scope of the IAB Framework opt out may apply only to personal information from the specific browser or device from which you opt out. In addition, exercising your right to opt out of the sale of your personal information does not mean that you will stop seeing ads or that you will stop seeing targeted ads. To learn more about targeted advertising across sites and additional opt-out choices, you should visit one or more of the following industry opt-out links: http://optout.aboutads.info, http://optout.networkadvertising.org and http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices. Where you exercise a right to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” for the purposes of applicable privacy laws, but do not opt out of targeted advertising more generally, you may continue to receive ads tailored to your interests, including based upon personal information not sold by us or sold by other sources from which you have not opted out. We are not responsible for any downstream participants’ compliance with the IAB Framework or the accuracy of their privacy policies or statements regarding their opt-out options or programs.
- Right Regarding Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under applicable laws, including information needed to provide access to the Digital Services (i.e., account login and payment card information). These pieces of information are not subject to the right to limit.
- Right to be Free from Discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.
For additional information regarding our California-specific data practices, please see section N below, titled Notice at Collection/Additional Information for California Residents.
Authorized Agents
You may designate an authorized agent to make a request in relation to the privacy rights listed above. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide us with sufficient information for us to verify both the identity of your agent and that your agent has been authorized to act on your behalf. This may result in your Privacy Rights Request taking additional time to process. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and provide the consumer’s information via email for us to process a Privacy Rights Request.
Privacy Rights Appeal Process
Certain U.S. state privacy laws afford eligible residents the right to appeal a denial of a Privacy Rights Request in whole or in part. For additional information regarding how to submit a Privacy Rights Request appeal, please send an email to [email protected].
Direct Marketing Opt-Out
- Email marketing. You may opt out of receiving marketing or promotional emails from us by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link contained in such emails. Depending on the Digital Service you use, you may also be able to opt out of marketing or promotional emails by logging into your account and managing your email preferences. Please keep in mind that if you opt out of receiving marketing or promotional emails, we may still send you transactional emails or other communications relating to your use of the Digital Services (e.g., to confirm your subscription, to inform you of changes to the Digital Services or in response to your password recovery request).
- Direct mail. You may request that we stop sending you postal mail offers through the US post office by notifying us in writing at Office of General Counsel, Attn: Privacy, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. Please indicate in your correspondence the name of the Digital Service to which your request applies.
- Marketing by Third Parties. If you are a consumer who interacted with the Digital Services, we may provide your contact information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. To request that third parties do not use your postal mailing contact information for their own marketing purposes (if we have your postal address), you may notify us in writing at Office of General Counsel, Attn: Privacy, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. Please indicate in your correspondence the name of the Digital Service to which your request applies.
- Co-Branded, Co-Sponsored or Cross-Promotional Offerings. If you choose to participate in a co-branded, co-sponsored or cross-promotional offering, the brand, sponsor or other third party involved in that offering may use your information for its own purposes, including advertising and marketing purposes. You must contact the relevant third party directly to exercise your opt out choices with respect to such party’s use of your information.
Additional Opt-Out Methods
In addition to the rights afforded throughout this Privacy Notice, there are industry frameworks and settings made available to you by device manufacturers that enable you to adjust your preferences with respect to the data collected about you and the ads that you may see. The section below provides more information about these settings.
DAA Industry Opt-Out
Some of the ads you see on the Digital Services are targeted ads (this is also known as online behavioral advertising) described in section C. 3 For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising . We describe below steps you can take to limit tracking of your activities and the delivery of targeted ads in browsers and mobile apps you use to access the Digital Services. Please keep in mind that if you opt out of targeted ads, you will still see ads, but these ads will not be based on your inferred interests. In addition, if you take the steps described below, some automated means may still be used to collect information about your interactions with the Digital Services for the other purposes described in this Privacy Notice (e.g., to remember user preferences or enable specific functionality).
The technologies used to deliver ads on websites and mobile apps differ. Please also remember that opt-outs are browser and device-specific.
Website (Browser) Opt-Out
- Disabling Cookies: Most browsers accept cookies by default. You may be able to change the settings to have your browser refuse certain cookies or notify you before accepting cookies.
- If you choose to disable the use of cookies in your web browser, some features of the Digital Services may become difficult to use or unavailable.
- Opt-out Cookies: You can follow the instructions provided by the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) at https://optout.aboutads.info and/or the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) at http://optout.networkadvertising.org to place an opt-out cookie on your browser. These opt-out cookies enable you to block participating companies from installing future cookies on your computer or browser.
- If you place opt-out cookies but subsequently clear or delete cookies on your computer or device browser, your opt-out cookies may be deleted and you may have to renew your opt- out choices for that specific browser.
- The opt-out mechanisms offered by the DAA and NAI are provided by third parties. King Features does not control or operate these mechanisms or the choices provided through these mechanisms.
Mobile App Opt-Out
- Device Settings. To limit targeted advertising on your mobile device, you can review and adjust the settings provided by your device manufacturer, such as guidance published for iOS or guidance published for Android .
- AppChoices Application. You can download the “AppChoices” application provided by the DAA from your app store. AppChoices offers a mechanism to limit the collection of app data used for targeted ads by participating companies. See the AppChoices provided by the DAA for more.
Please keep in mind that as the mobile environment continues to evolve, additional opt-out mechanisms or privacy settings may become available to you. We encourage you to review the information on opt-outs and settings that device manufacturers, technology companies and industry associations make available to you.
Additional Choices
- User account. If you have created an account on a Digital Service, you may be able to review some of your information for that account by logging in and updating your information or user preferences.
- Device Settings. For relevant Digital Services, you may be able to review and adjust your preferences by updating the settings on your device (e.g., permitting us to collect precise location information.
- Push Notifications. If a Digital Service enables push notifications on your device, you may review and update your push notification preferences by adjusting the settings on your device. For example, you can select the relevant app from “Notifications” (for iOS devices) or “App notifications” (for Android devices) and turn off alerts accordingly.
Do Not Track/Global Privacy Control
King Features does not currently take steps to respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals as no uniform standard to respond to such signals has been developed at this time. We do, however, respond to the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) to the extent required by applicable law, and allow eligible individuals to convey opt-out preferences when we detect the signal. You can learn more about the GPC on the Global Privacy Control website.
F. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION
We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we make reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
G. NON-U.S. VISITORS
We operate the Digital Services and Widgets on Third-Party Sites from the United States. Any information we obtain about you in connection with your use of the Digital Services and Widgets on Third-Party Sites may be processed and stored in the United States or other countries.
H. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY RIGHTS
The Digital Services are not intended for use by children, especially those under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.
I. LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES, MOBILE APPS OR OTHER SERVICES
The Digital Services may contain links to websites, mobile apps or other services operated by companies not affiliated with King Features. In addition, the Digital Services may be made available to you through third-party platforms (such as app stores or Social Media Platforms) or other channels. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any non-King Features operated websites, mobile apps or other services and channels, including those that display the Widgets on Third-Party Sites, and we encourage you to review the privacy policies or notices published by relevant third parties.
J. CAREERS/JOB OPPORTUNITIES
This Privacy Notice does not apply to web pages hosting our careers or job opportunities. Any information obtained through such pages is governed by the privacy notice published thereon.
K. DISPUTE RESOLUTION/TERMS OF USE
If you are a consumer who engaged with the Digital Services, any dispute concerning the Digital Services (including our use of your personal information) will be resolved per the dispute resolution provision in the Terms of Use, which govern your use of the Digital Services. Please take a few minutes to read the Terms of Use before using the Digital Services.
L. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our privacy practices or applicable laws. In accordance with applicable law, we may make such changes without prior notice. We will publish the updated version on the relevant Digital Services and indicate at the top of the Privacy Notice when it was most recently updated. Your use of the Digital Services will be governed by the then-current version of the Privacy Notice.
M. CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or Privacy Rights Requests, please contact us by email at [email protected].
N. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Under California law, specific disclosures are required and California residents have additional rights regarding their personal information. If you are a “consumer” as such term is defined under the relevant California law, please review this section to learn more.
Your California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) Rights
Categories of Personal Information We Collect
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CCPA”), requires specific disclosures for each category of personal information that we collect and may provide to others. Some of the ways in which we provide personal information to others may constitute “selling” or “sharing” for targeted advertising. The table below summarizes our general data handling practices which are more fully described in Sections B, C and D of this Privacy Notice.
Category of Personal Information | Categories of Sources from Which Personal Information Was Collected (See Section B of this Privacy Notice for additional information) | Business or Commercial Purpose for Collecting and Providing the Category of Personal Information (See Sections C and D of this Privacy Notice for additional information) | Categories of Third Parties and Other Entities to Which We Provide Personal Information (See Section D of this Privacy Notice for additional information) |
Identifiers (§1798.140 (v)(1)(A) and (B)) which include elements such as: (i) contact information (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, phone number); and (ii) online identifiers (e.g., Internet protocol (IP) address, account numbers, device identifiers such as mobile advertising IDs) | • Directly from you • From your friends or contacts (for example, if they forward you one of our comics) • From cookies and similar technologies • From third-party sites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms • From business partners • From social media platforms and similar services | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • To communicate with you • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Demographics (§1798.140 (v)(1)(C)) which include elements such as age and gender | • Directly from you • From cookies and similar technologies • From third-party sites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms • From business partners • From social media platforms and similar services | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Personal Information under subdivision (e) of Section 1798.80 of the California Civil Code (§1798.140 (v)(1)(B)) which includes payment information (e.g., payment card number, expiration date and billing information) | • Directly from you | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Commercial Information (§1798.140 (o)(1)(D)) which includes elements such as transactional information (e.g., activity, subscriptions, requests, purchases, items in your cart but not completed purchases) | • Directly from you • From cookies and similar technologies | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • To communicate with you • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Internet or other electronic network activity (§1798.140 (v)(1)(F)) which includes elements such as information about how you use, access, or interact with the Digital Services such as comments and other content you choose to publish on the Digital Services, information about your device, browser or operating system | • From cookies and similar technologies • From third-party sites and apps, content distribution channels and platforms • From third-party data suppliers and business partners • From social media platforms and similar services | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • To communicate with you • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Geolocation Data (§1798.140 (v)(1)(G)) which includes elements such as location information (e.g., city and state) | • Directly from you • From cookies and similar technologies | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Professional or Employment-Related Information (§1798.140 (v)(1)(I)) which includes elements such as your professional email address, phone number or other contact information if you have used such professional or employment related personal information to order a subscription, register for an account or to receive communications | • Directly from you • From third-party data suppliers and business partners • From social media platforms and similar services | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services; or for Business-to-Business Contacts, to provide you with the contracted products or services • To communicate with you • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Inferences (§1798.140 (v)(1)(K)) which include elements such as inferences regarding your preferences or other characteristics (e.g., being interested in comics) | • Directly from you • From cookies and similar technologies • From third-party sites and apps, content distribution channels and platforms • From business partners • From social media platforms and similar services | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services • To communicate with you • For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising • To protect our or others’ rights | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers • With advertising and marketing service providers and partners • With content measurement companies • With social media platforms • With business partners • With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights |
Sensitive Personal Information (§1798.140 (ae)(1),(2)) which includes account login and payment information. | • Directly from you | • To provide you with and to improve the Digital Services | • With affiliates and subsidiaries • With service providers |
For each of the categories listed above, we will retain your personal information for as long as needed or permitted, depending on the purpose for obtaining that data and consistent with applicable laws. We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you (e.g., to provide you with the Digital Services or to complete transactions that you request). Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:
- Maintain business records for analysis, understanding market trends, and/or audit purposes and to improve the Digital Services.
- Comply with record retention requirements under applicable laws or other relevant legal or regulatory requirements.
- Defend, establish, exercise, or bring any existing or potential legal claims.
- Carry out fraud detection and prevention.
- Deal with any complaints regarding the Digital Services, our products, and services.
Residents of California who engage directly with the Digital Services may have the following rights:
- 1. Right to know and access your personal information. Under CCPA, you have the right to:
- Know the categories of personal information, including sensitive personal information, that we collect and the categories of sources from which we got the information;
- Know the business or commercial purposes for which we collect and provide personal information to others;
- Know the categories of third parties and other entities to whom we provide personal information; and
- Access the specific pieces of personal information that we collected about you.
- To do so, please send an email to [email protected] and include your first and last name and the email you use to subscribe to a newsletter or paid content.
- 2. Right to deletion. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To do so, please send an email to [email protected] and include your first and last name and the email you use to subscribe to the Digital Services, including one of our newsletters.
- 3. Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To request that we modify or update your personal information, please log on to your Comics Kingdom account and select “Profile” to update your name or email address. Please note that if you would like to correct the email you use to receive newsletters from us, you must unsubscribe from the newsletters and re-subscribe using your preferred email address.
- 4. Right to Opt Out. The CCPA provides California residents with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:
Please remember that cookie-level opt-outs are browser and device-specific and applied to the website (domain) with respect to which you complete your opt-out request. If you use multiple devices such as your smartphone, laptop or tablet you will need to submit separate requests from these devices.
Right to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: We may “share” your personal information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes or in ways that constitute “sales” under the CCPA. You may request that we not “sell” or “share” your personal information on a going-forward basis for these purposes. To do so, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” in the footer of our website. Please note that if you choose to exercise your opt out rights, you may still see certain ads on our sites and mobile apps. If you reengage with us after opting out of “selling” or “sharing” of your personal information, such as by signing up for a newsletter and/or entering a sweepstakes or contest, you acknowledge that your personal information may be used in accordance with this Privacy Notice, including in ways that may constitutes “selling” or “sharing” under CCPA. When you engage with a Widget on a Third-Party Site, you direct King Features to share your information with the operator of such site or app in order to enable you to intentionally interact with the Widget on a Third-Party Site. This type of interaction does not constitute a “sale” of your personal information by King Features or the operator of the site or app on which our widget is made available to you.
We may participate in the IAB U.S. privacy framework (“IAB Framework”) for some of our Digital Services. This means that once you submit a request to opt out of sale/targeted ads, we will notify relevant participants of the IAB Framework of your opt-out preferences. You can learn more about IAB Framework participants at https://www.iabprivacy.com/optout.html. Please note that the scope of the IAB Framework opt-out may only apply to personal information from the specific browser or device from which you opt out. In addition, exercising your right to opt out of the sale of your personal information does not mean that you will stop seeing ads or that you will stop seeing targeted ads. To learn more about targeted advertising across sites and additional opt-out choices, you should visit one or more of the following industry opt-out links: http://optout.aboutads.info, http://optout.networkadvertising.org and http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices. Where you opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” for purposes of CCPA, but do not opt out of targeted advertising more generally, you may continue to receive ads tailored to your interests, including based upon personal information not sold by us or sold by other sources from which you have not opted out. We are not responsible for any downstream participants’ compliance with the IAB Framework or the accuracy of their privacy policies or statements regarding their opt-out options or programs.
Right Regarding Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under applicable laws, including information needed to provide access to the Digital Services (i.e., account login information and payment card information). These pieces of information are not subject to the right to limit.
- 5. Right to be free from discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.
If you have interacted with our Widget on a Third-Party Site and would like to exercise CCPA rights with respect to such widget and/or information collected by the operator of the site or app on which our widget was displayed, you need to contact directly the operator of such site and app to exercise your rights.
We use the information you provide to make your CCPA rights requests to verify your identity, locate the personal information we may hold about you and act upon your request. We strongly recommend that you submit the email and postal address that you used when you created accounts, ordered subscriptions or signed up for a newsletter. If you are a California resident and have any questions regarding your CCPA rights under this Privacy Notice, please contact us at [email protected].
Authorized Agents
For any of the CCPA rights, you may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide information sufficient for us to verify the identity of your agent and that your agent has been properly authorized to act on your behalf. This may take additional time to fulfill your request. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and provide the consumer’s information via email for us to process a Privacy Rights Request.
Minors
We do not knowingly collect or provide the personal information of minors under the age of 16 to others, without affirmative authorization.
Your Shine the Light California Rights (CA Civil Code § 1798.83)
You may also have the right to request a list of third parties to which certain personal information (as defined by California Civil Code § 1798.83) obtained through a Digital Service was disclosed to others by King Features during the preceding year for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you are a consumer and a California resident and want such a list, please contact us at Office of General Counsel, Attn: Privacy, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. For such requests, you must put the statement “Your CA- Privacy Rights/Shine the Light” in the body of your request, as well as your name, street address, city, state, and zip code. In your request, you need to attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California address for our response. Please also indicate in your request the name of the Digital Service to which your request applies. Please note that we will not accept requests via the telephone, email, or by facsimile.
O. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EUROPEAN AND UK VISITORS
In order to address our legal obligations in Europe (including the UK), King Features provides the following additional information for Europe-based visitors to King Features’ U.S. Digital Services and Widgets on Third-Party Sites.
Who is Responsible for Your Information?
If you use or interact with a King Features U.S. Digital Service then the data controller will be the entity listed at the top of this Privacy Notice. The contact details for this entity are provided in the “Contact Us” section above.
When you interact with a Widget on a Third-Party Site, the data controller is the operator of the site or app on which such widget is displayed. To opt out of the use of Google Analytics on Widgets on Third-Party Sites please click on the following link.
Legal Bases for Using Your Information
We process personal information for different purposes (as described in the “How We Use Information We Obtain” section, above) on the following legal bases:
- To perform our contractual obligations to you. We and our service providers process your information to perform our contractual obligations to you when we use your information to provide you with the Digital Services and related content, products or services and to communicate with you. For example, when you purchase a subscription to our premium content, we process your payment and contact information as necessary to confirm the subscription. We process your contact information and other details to provide you with support services you request. We also send you informational communications on this basis, including to confirm a subscription or to notify you of a change to a Digital Service. Similarly, if you interact with our Widget on a Third-Party Site, we use your information to deliver the services to the relevant third party who contracted with us to deliver the comic strip, puzzle or game on their site or app and fulfill our contractual obligations to the relevant third party. Failure to provide requested information could prevent or delay the fulfilment of our contractual obligations.
- To pursue our legitimate interests. We process your information to meet our legitimate interests when we use your information to provide you with the Digital Services, Widgets on Third-Party Sites and related content, products or services, to communicate with you and for our advertising and marketing purposes. For example, our legitimate interests include making improvements to, customizing and understanding how you interact with the Digital Services and related content, products or services, and sending you communications about products and services we think may be of interest to you. To accomplish our legitimate interests, we may share your information with our affiliates and subsidiaries, service providers and business partners (including for our advertising and marketing purposes) and in the context of a corporate transaction. We maintain safeguards to protect the information we process to pursue our legitimate interests.
- To comply with our legal obligations. We process and share your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations when we use your information to protect our rights or the rights of others and when we share your information with other parties where required by law or as necessary to protect our rights. For example, we are required to collect certain information from you when processing your subscription payment for tax or financial reporting reasons.
- With your consent. We obtain your consent to process your information when we are required to do so by law. If consent is the legal basis on which we process your personal information, you can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us using the information provided in the “Contact Us” section above.
Your Rights Over Your Information
In certain circumstances, you have a right to access or object to the use of personal information held about you (including in relation to direct marketing). You can also ask us to rectify, update, erase, restrict or to share your information in a usable format with another company. Such requests are subject to applicable law. We encourage you to contact us to update or correct your information if it changes or if the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate.
If you would like to discuss or exercise such rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will contact you if we need additional information from you in order to honor your requests. If you have interacted with our Widget on a Third-Party Site and would like to exercise your rights with respect to such widget and/or information collected by the operator of the site or app on which our widget was displayed, you need to contact directly the operator of such site and app to exercise your rights.
Storing Your Information
We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:
- Maintain business records for analysis, understanding market trends and/or audit purposes and to improve the Digital Services.
- Comply with record retention requirements under applicable laws or other relevant legal or regulatory requirements.
- Defend, establish, exercise or bring any existing or potential legal claims.
- Carry out fraud detection and prevention.
- Deal with any complaints regarding the Digital Services, our products and services.
International Data Transfers
Information collected through the Digital Services will be processed in and subject to the laws of the United States, which may not provide the same level of protection for your personal information as your home country. If we transfer personal data from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland we put in place safeguards. In particular, such safeguards include European Commission-approved standard contractual clauses. For more information on these safeguards, please contact us at the details provided in the “Contact Us” section above.
Changes to the Privacy Notice
Where changes to this Privacy Notice have a fundamental impact on the nature of the processing or otherwise have a substantial impact on you, we will give you advanced notice so that you have the opportunity to exercise your rights (e.g., to object to the processing).
Complaints
Our Privacy Officer can be contacted at [email protected].
We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution in the event you have a complaint or concern about privacy. If, however, you believe that we have not been able to assist with your complaint or concern, you have the right to make a complaint to a data protection authority.