Privacy and Security Policy

This policy is effective as of March 29, 2024. 

This Privacy Policy applies to the information and data that Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB, 1200 N. Oak St., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 collects when you use our website or our products and services.

Summary

This policy applies to: 

• Visitors to our website
• Customers
• Users of our products and service

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to let you know how we collect, use, store, share, retain, transfer and process your Personal Information.  This policy also describes your choices and rights with respect to your Personal Information and how to exercise those rights. “Personal Information” is any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.  

We may amend this policy from time to time. We encourage you to review this policy periodically, as changes will be posted on this page. If we make any material changes to this policy we will provide a prominent notice. If you do not agree with this policy, you should not use our website, products or services.

This Policy covers:

COOKIE POLICY LINK 

What Personal Information We Collect

We collect various types of information depending on how you interact with us and what products or services you use. 

Personal Information you provide to us
If you fill out a form on our website that requires contact information such as signing up for a newsletter, submitting a request for information or products and services we will collect and process that information to provide you with the communication, products or services.  These types of Personal Information may include your name, email address, your physical address, telephone number and birthday. 

Personal Information collected when you visit our website 
When you use our website, we may automatically collect Personal Information such as IP address, user - agent information (which is automatically sent by your web browser and may include device type) and information collected by cookies and other similar technologies.  Our cookie policy can be found here.

Personal Information collected when you use our products or services
When you use our products and services, we collect other types of Personal Information.  These types of Personal Information may include:

• Username 
• IP Address
• Name
• Email address
• Street Address
• Telephone Number
• Birth date 
• Age 

We may also collect usage data regarding your use of our products and services and this data may contain Personal Information.

Unless otherwise noted in this policy, we act as the “controller” of personal data that we collect and process.

How We Collect Information

We collect Personal Information from you when you visit our website or use our products and services.  Some of this information is provided by you and some is collected automatically.  We collect Personal Information in the following ways: 
 Online form such as a visitor guide, e-newsletter or contest 
We may collect personal information from other sources, such as data provided via third-party advertising. 

How We Use Your Information

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide our services
• To personalize and provide visitor information 
• To respond to your requests for information.
• To contact you with updates about our services.
• To market and advertise our services, including sending marketing communications, with your consent.
• To analyze and improve our website and services.

The Legal Basis For Collecting and Processing Information

We use the following legal bases for collecting Personal Information:

• We may collect or process information with your consent, such as when you subscribe to our newsletter, ask for information, or sign up for services or enter contests.
• We may collect or process information we need to provide our services or fulfill a contractual obligation. 
• We may collect or process information to fulfill a legal obligation.
• We may collect information when we have a legitimate interest to do so, such as for marketing, as long as our legitimate interests are not outweighed by your rights.
• We may collect or process information if necessary to protect the vital interests of the user or another individual.

How We Share Information

We share Personal Information with our affiliates and partners, as needed to provide our services. We share Personal Information with service providers such as accountants, and other vendors we use to operate our website and provide our products and services.

Our vendors and service providers are not permitted to use your personal information for any other purpose than to provide contracted services. Vendors are not permitted to use your personal information for their own marketing and are not allowed to share your information for marketing purposes.

We may share personal information in response to a legal summons or subpoena, or if required by law enforcement agencies.

How Long We Retain Your Information

How long we keep Personal Information that we have collected depends on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected.  After a reasonable period of time or the completion of the purpose for which it was collected, we will either delete or anonymize personal information.

We retain Personal Information where we have an ongoing legitimate business purpose to do so, for example to resolve disputes or to comply with ongoing legal obligations.

We retain your personal information for as long as it is needed to provide our services to you and to fulfill our legal obligations and for a reasonable period of time after such services are completed.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small files stored on your web browser when you visit our website. Some cookies last only as long as you remain on the website; others, called “persistent cookies” may be stored for longer periods of time. These cookies can make browsing easier by storing your password or your preferences regarding how you use the website. Cookies collect information such as the IP address of your computer, your browser settings, and information about how you use the website. Your general location may be estimated from your IP address. Some cookies track users’ activity on our website, apps, and services in order to deliver personalized advertising to you on this and other websites. 

If you would like to opt out of cookies, you may change the settings on your web browser to reject or delete cookies. You may also find more information about cookies, including how to opt out of interest-based advertising, at www.cookiesandyou.com. 

More information about how we use cookies may be found here.

Your Rights Regarding Access to and Control over Personal Information

If you reside in the EU/EEA, you may have the following rights with regard to your personal information:

• Right of information and access - You have the right to access your Personal Information we have about you and to be provided with a copy of your Personal Information.
• Right to rectification - You have the right to correct or update your inaccurate or out of date Personal Information.
• Right of erasure - You have the right to request that your Personal Information be permanently erased/deleted.
• Right to restrict processing - You have the right to restrict the processing of your Personal Information.
• Right to object to processing - You have the right to object to specific types of processing of your Personal Information.
• Right to portability - You may ask to receive a portable copy of your personal information in a format that may be transferred to another organization.
• Right not to be subject to decisions based solely on Automated Decision Making - You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing.
• Right to complain to a data protection authority - You have the right to complain to a supervisory authority in the country in which you reside, details of which can be provided upon request or to the lead supervisory authority for Visit Myrtle Beach which is [email protected].
• Right to withdraw consent - If you have given us consent to collect or process your Personal Information, you may withdraw that consent at any time. 
• The Right to Non-Discrimination - We may not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please submit a request to [email protected] 

We may charge a reasonable fee if your request is not valid under applicable law, repetitive or excessive.  We may also request additional information from you in order to verify your identity before processing your request.

Information for California Residents

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) applies to information collected from California residents. Residents of California have the following rights with regard to their personal information:

• The Right to Know and Access Information
• The categories of personal information we collect is described above in the section entitled “The Information We Collect”. California residents may submit a verifiable 
• request regarding the information collected, the types of sources from which personal 
• Information is collected, the purposes for which information is collected, and the specific 
• personal information collected about them.
• The Right to Have Personal Information Deleted 
• The Right to Portability 
• California residents may request a copy of their personal information in a format that can be transferred to another person or entity.
• The Right to Non-Discrimination
• We may not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.

You may be asked for more information in order for us to verify your identity when you make a request. You may exercise your rights by [email protected] 
We do not sell Personal Information to third parties (pursuant to California Civil Code Sections 1798.100-1798.99, also known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. 

The sections above “What Personal Information We Collect” lists the categories of Personal Information we have collected in the preceding 12 months.

California Do Not Sell/Share Statement

Your privacy is important to us.

We use technologies, such as cookies, that gather information on our website. That information is used for a variety of purposes such as to understand how visitors interact with our websites, or to serve advertisements on our websites or on other websites. The use of technologies, such as cookies, constitutes a “sale” of personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

My Personal Information”(insert name of whatever link is called in the footer)  link at the bottom of our website and selecting your preferences below or broadcasting the global privacy control signal. Note that due to technological limitations, if you visit our website from a different computer or device, or clear cookies on your browser that store your preferences, you will need to return to this screen to select your preferences and/or rebroadcast the signal. 

International Data Transfers

Personal Information may be transferred from users residing in the European Union to our servers, partners, or vendors located in the United States and other non-EU countries where there may not be an adequacy opinion issued with respect to that country. We have taken appropriate safeguards to ensure that Personal Information remains protected wherever it is transferred.  When we transfer Personal Information of individuals in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland or the United Kingdom (“UK”) to the US, we make use of the Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK Addendum as well as additional safeguards where appropriate.  To obtain a copy of our Standard Contractual Clauses, please contact [email protected] 

Security

We take all reasonable steps to protect the information we receive from you from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, and unauthorized disclosure or access. We have put in place appropriate physical, technical, and administrative measures to safeguard and secure your information, but no security measures are perfect; the risk of a data breach is possible. 

Personal data is encrypted during transmission. 
Personal information is encrypted at rest at our data centers.
Employees are given access to users’ personal information only on a “need to know” basis.
All employees are required to receive training on information security.
All employees with access to personal information are subject to background checks.
All employees with access to personal information are required to sign a binding confidentiality agreement.
Before sharing personal information with our vendors, we make sure they have implemented security procedures to protect your data. Our vendors and affiliates are not permitted to use or share your information for any purpose other than to provide the services for which they have been contracted. 

Automated Decision Making and Profiling

Blueshift provides a powerful AI-powered decisioning engine that allows businesses to automate decision making based on customer behavior and preferences. The platform analyzes real-time customer data from multiple sources, such as website interactions and email clicks, to determine the best course of action for each individual customer. Using machine learning algorithms, Blueshift's decisioning engine can predict customer behavior and preferences or which marketing message will resonate with them the most. This allows businesses to deliver personalized and relevant content to customers at the right time, increasing engagement and driving conversions.

Blueshift's automated decision making also includes features like predictive segmentation, which automatically segments customers into targeted groups based on their behavior and preferences, as well as AI-powered product recommendations, which suggests things to do, and accommodations to customers based on their browsing and past interactions.

Overall, Blueshift's automated decision making capabilities help businesses optimize their marketing efforts and deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience.

Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under age 13 without parental consent, unless permitted by law.  If we become aware that we have collected personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent (or as permitted by law), we will delete it.  If you believe that a child may have provided us with personal information without such parental consent, please contact us.

California consumers:  We will not sell the information of California consumers who are 16 years old or younger unless we have prior parental authorization.  If a California consumer is under the age of 13, a parent or guardian must consent to the sale of such minor’s personal information.  If the California consumer is between the ages of 13 and 16 years old, the minor may consent on an opt-in basis to the sale of their personal information.  Our sites directed toward children will ask for age verification and will require appropriate consent.

EU residents: We do not collect or process personal information of data subjects in the EU under the age of 16 without explicit consent from a parent or guardian.  Our sites directed toward children will ask for age verification and will require appropriate consent.

Sensitive Information

Unless specifically requested, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose on or through our websites or otherwise to us sensitive personal Information unless specifically requested by us or required by law.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, or if you want to exercise your privacy rights as outlined above, please contact us at [email protected].