Real Media Works Inc. – Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 25th, 2025
1. Introduction and Scope
Welcome to Real Media Works Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our”). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect information obtained from visitors to our website, located at realmediaworks.com (the “Site”).
This policy applies only to information collected through our Site. It does not apply to information collected offline or to the data practices of third-party websites or platforms, including news outlets that syndicate our content. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
By using our Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information that you provide to us directly and information that we collect automatically when you use our Site.
A. Information You Provide to Us and Political Preferences
· Contact Information and Political Preferences: When you contact us via a form, sign up for a newsletter, or otherwise communicate with us, we may collect your name, email address, political preferences, voting district information, and any other information you choose to provide in your message. We treat information about political views and affiliations with additional care as sensitive personal information.
B. Information We Collect Automatically
· Log and Usage Data: Our servers automatically record information when you access our Site, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, operating system, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, and time spent on those pages.
· Geolocation Data: We may infer your general geographic location based on your IP address. We use this information for analytical purposes and to understand where our audience is located. We do not collect precise, real-time geolocation data from your mobile device.
· Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to operate and analyze our Site. Cookies are small files stored on your device that help us understand user preferences and trends. For more detail, see Section 7 below.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following business and commercial purposes:
· To Provide and Maintain Our Service: To operate our Site, deliver content, and ensure its technical functionality and security.
· To Communicate with You: To respond to your inquiries, send you newsletters or other information you have requested, and provide customer support.
· To Analyze and Improve Our Site: To understand how our audience interacts with our content, measure the effectiveness of our Site, and improve the user experience.
· To Meet Legal and Regulatory Obligations: To comply with applicable laws, respond to lawful requests and legal process (such as subpoenas or court orders), and to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or that of you or others.
4. How We Share and Disclose Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose your information in the following limited circumstances:
· Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as website hosting, data analytics, and email delivery. These include analytics providers (like Google Analytics), advertising networks (such as Google Ads and Meta Ads), and marketing automation platforms (like HubSpot or Mailchimp). These service providers are contractually bound to use the information solely to provide services to us and to maintain its confidentiality. We specifically prohibit our service providers from using political preference data or voting district information for any purpose other than providing our requested services. We do not share political preference data with political campaigns, parties, or advocacy groups without your explicit consent. We regularly review our service providers' privacy practices to ensure they align with our privacy standards.
· Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice on our Site of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.
· Legal Compliance and Protection: We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is necessary to: (a) comply with a legal obligation; (b) protect and defend our rights or property; (c) prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site; or (d) protect the personal safety of users of the Site or the public.
· Content Syndication: Our primary business is syndicating content to other media organizations. This syndication involves the transfer of our journalistic work product, not the personal information of our Site visitors.
5. Video Privacy and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)
We are aware of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and its requirements regarding the disclosure of video viewing information. “Video viewing information” refers to data that identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific audiovisual materials from us.
We do not knowingly disclose such information to any third party in a manner that would violate the VPPA. Should our practices change, we will obtain your distinct and separate consent as required by law before any such disclosure is made.
6. Third-Party Social Plugins
Our Site may use social plugins (e.g., “Share” buttons for platforms like X or Facebook) to enable you to easily share content, as well as third-party analytics and advertising services. When you interact with these features, you may be transmitting information, including your IP address and the page you are visiting, directly to the third-party platform. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the plugin or service.
7. Cookies and Do Not Track Signals
A. Cookies
Our Site uses various types of cookies and similar tracking technologies. Specifically, we use the following categories of cookies:
· Essential Cookies: These cookies are strictly necessary for the Site to function properly and cannot be switched off. They include cookies that enable basic functions like page navigation, access to secure areas, and authentication. Without these cookies, the Site cannot operate properly.
· Performance and Analytics Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our Site, such as which pages are visited most frequently, how visitors move around the Site, and if they encounter error messages. We partner with analytics providers (such as Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and Mixpanel) to collect this data. All information collected by these cookies is aggregated and anonymized. We use this data to improve our Site's performance and user experience. You can opt-out of analytics tracking by installing browser add-ons like Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or adjusting your cookie preferences.
· Functionality Cookies: These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization, such as remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages.
· Advertising/Targeting Cookies: These cookies may be set through our Site by our advertising partners (including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and other ad networks). They may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. They do not directly store personal information but uniquely identify your browser and device. You can opt-out of personalized advertising by visiting your cookie preferences or our advertising partners' opt-out pages.
Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings at any time:
• To delete existing cookies: Access your browser's settings/preferences and locate the privacy/security section
• To block future cookies: Adjust your browser settings to reject all or certain types of cookies
• To allow only essential cookies: Most browsers allow you to configure settings to accept only necessary cookies
Please note that blocking or deleting cookies may impact your experience and limit certain functionalities of our Site. For detailed instructions on managing cookies in your specific browser, please visit your browser's help section.
We also provide a cookie preference center on our Site where you can choose which non-essential cookies to accept or reject. Additionally, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative (www.networkadvertising.org) or Digital Advertising Alliance (www.aboutads.info) to learn more about online advertising and your choices regarding third-party advertising cookies.
B. Do Not Track Signals
Some web browsers may transmit “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals. At this time, we do not take action in response to these signals because a uniform standard for DNT has not been adopted.
8. Data Security and Breach Notification
We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect the information we collect against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We employ enhanced security measures for political preference data and other sensitive information, including encryption and access controls. However, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We maintain strict editorial independence and our security measures are designed to prevent unauthorized manipulation or misuse of user data for political purposes.
In the event of a data breach involving your personal information, we will promptly investigate the incident and notify affected individuals without unreasonable delay, and no later than required by applicable laws (which may be as short as 72 hours for certain jurisdictions). Our notification will include information about the breach, steps we are taking to address it, and recommendations for protecting your information.
9. Data Retention
When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it. If this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.
10. Your Data Privacy Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. We treat political preference data as sensitive personal information subject to enhanced privacy protections and rights.
A. Notice to California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have rights to:
· Know: Request information about the personal information we have collected about you.
· Delete: Request the deletion of personal information we have collected from you.
· Correct: Request the correction of inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
· Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: We do not “sell” or “share” your personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA.
To exercise your rights, please contact us using the information below. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
B. Other Jurisdictions
Residents of other states may have similar rights. To inquire about or exercise any rights you may have under your local law, please contact us.
11. International Users
Our Site is hosted and operated in the United States. If you are accessing the Site from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. If we transfer personal information from other regions (such as the European Economic Area), we do so in compliance with applicable legal requirements, including through the use of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, or other approved transfer mechanisms. For transfers relying on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, we comply with the Framework's Principles regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union to the United States.
12. Children’s Privacy
This Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take prompt steps to delete it.
13. Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that our Site and its content, including this Privacy Policy, are accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you have any difficulty accessing any part of our Site, please contact us accessibility@realmediaworks.com.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. For any material changes, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice on our Site prior to the change becoming effective and by updating the “Effective Date.” We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
15. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Real Media Works Inc.
Attn: Privacy Officer
1501 NW K Street, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
Email: privacy@realmediaworks.com