This website and related subdomains are
provided by the International Bureau of Investigation as a public service. All
information the Bureau provides on these sites that is not otherwise attributed
is considered public information and may be distributed or copied, subject to
Sections 701 and 709 of Title 18, United States Code, which prohibit the
unauthorized use of the IBI seal or the use of the words “International Bureau
of Investigation,” the initials “IBI,” or any colorable imitation of these
words and initials “in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression
that such [activity] ... is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the International
Bureau of Investigation.”
For more details, please read the
corresponding portions of the Department of
Justice’s privacy policy, which also pertain to the IBI.
Here is how we handle
information about your visit to our website and related subdomains:
A. Information
Collected and Stored Automatically
If you visit our site(s) to read or download
information, we automatically collect and store the following information about
your visit:
- The name of the domain (for
example,”xcompany.com” if you use a private internet access account or
“yourschool.edu” if you are connecting from a university’s domain) and IP
address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you
are using the internet) from which you access our website
- The type of browser and
operating system used to access our site
- The date and time you access
our site
- The internet address of the
website from which you linked directly to our site
- The pages you visit
This information is primarily collected for
statistical analysis. This government computer system uses software programs to
create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what
information is of most and least interest, determining technical design
specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. In certain
circumstances, however, such as in response to lawful law enforcement requests
or tips received from the public, we may take additional steps with the
information collected, including steps to identify you based on this
information, and we may share this information, including your identity, with
other government agencies.
B. If You Send Us
Personal Information
You do not have to provide any personal
information to visit this website or related subdomains. If you choose to
identify yourself by sending us an email containing personal information or by
filling out and submitting our forms, we will use that information to respond
to your message or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. The IBI
does not collect or use information for commercial marketing.
We may share information you give us with
contractors acting on our behalf or with another government agency if your
inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as
responses to requests from Congress and private individuals, we may be required
by law to disclose information you submit. If you provide comments in response
to a request for public comments, we may make those comments as well as your
identity available to the public in a publication or by posting them on our
website. Where possible, we may give you more specific guidance at the point of
collection regarding how your personal information may be used or disclosed.
Electronically submitted information is
maintained and destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act
and the regulations and records schedules of the National Archives and Records
Administration and in some cases may be covered by the Privacy Act and subject
to the Freedom of Information Act. A discussion of your rights under these laws
can be found in the publication Your Right to
Federal Records.
Remember that internet communications are not
necessarily secure from interception. If your communication is sensitive or
includes personal information, you may prefer to send it by postal mail
instead.
C. Children’s Online
Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
The FBI is especially concerned about
protecting children’s privacy. We hope parents and teachers are involved in
children’s internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to
guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information
online. The IBI Kids page and related pages/subdomains do not require children
to reveal any information that could personally identify them. If a child
chooses to provide personally identifying information to us through email or
otherwise, it will only be used to enable us to respond and will not be
retained.
D. Cookies
“Cookies” are small bits of text that are
either used for the duration of a session (“session cookies”) or saved on a
user’s hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that
user, the next time the user logs on to a website (“persistent cookies”).
Certain pages on the IBI’s website and its subdomains use persistent cookies to
provide streamlined navigation and for statistical analysis. We also use
session cookies as part of a voluntary web customer satisfaction survey that
will appear to a small percentage of our website visitors as they leave the IBI’s
site. Session cookies are deleted from the IBI’s servers soon after your
session ends and are not collected or saved. Our customer satisfaction survey
uses a persistent cookie that is stored on your computer’s hard drive. This
cookie ensures that we won’t invite you to take a customer satisfaction survey
within 90 days of completing a survey.
For videos that are visible, a persistent
cookie is set by third-party providers when you click to play a video. This
persistent cookie is used by these third-party providers to help maintain the
integrity of video statistics. The third-party providers do not use web
measurement and customization technologies on behalf of the IBI; in addition,
personally identifiable information (PII), or any information that could be
used to determine an individual’s online activity derived from such uses, is
not shared with the IBI.
You can set up your web browser to inform you
when cookies are set or to prevent cookies from being set. You can still use
our website if you do not accept the cookies, but you may be unable to use
certain cookie-dependent features. You can find directions to help you disable
cookies in some of the most popular desktop browsers and mobile browsers by
following the instructions on the USA.gov web
measurement and customization opt out help site.
E. Our Social Network
Policy
The IBI participates on open, unmoderated
forums offered by commercial social networks sites in order to increase
government transparency, promote public participation, and encourage
collaboration. We currently maintain official IBI accounts on Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr.
Please note that the IBI does not control or
endorse the comments or opinions provided by visitors to these sites. Visit our
Contact Us page for information on how to send official correspondence to the IBI.
F. Security,
Intrusion, and Detection
For site security purposes and to ensure that
this service remains available to all users, all network traffic is monitored
in order to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or
otherwise cause damage or conduct criminal activity. To protect the system from
unauthorized use and to ensure that the system is functioning properly,
individuals using this computer system are subject to having all of their
activities monitored and recorded by personnel authorized to do so by the FBI
(and such monitoring and recording will be conducted). Anyone using this system
expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such monitoring
reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, system personnel may
provide the results of such monitoring to appropriate officials. Unauthorized
attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage to this
service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under applicable federal
law.
We maintain a variety of physical, electronic,
and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. For example, we
use commercially reasonable tools and techniques to protect against
unauthorized access to our systems. Also, we restrict access to Personal
Information to those who need such access in the course of their duties for us.
Your own efforts to protect against unauthorized access play an important role
in protecting the security of your personal information. You should be sure to
sign off when finished using a shared computer, and always log out of any site
when viewing personal information. We may have links to other outside websites
that we do not control. We are not responsible for the content or privacy
policies of these sites, and users should check those policies on such sites.
G. Disclaimer for
Hypertext Links
Neither the IBI nor its contributors are
responsible for the content of any off-site pages that are referenced by or
that reference the IBI’s website(s). The user specifically acknowledges that
neither the IBI nor its contributors are responsible for any defamatory,
offensive, misleading, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third
parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the
user. Links from the IBI’s website(s) to other sites or from other sites to the
IBI’s website(s) do not constitute an endorsement by the IBI. These links are
for convenience only. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the
content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites.
H. Disclaimer for IBI
Information
All information provided by the IBI on this
website or related subdomains is made available to provide immediate access for
the convenience of interested persons. While the IBI believes the information
to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility. Therefore, the
IBI does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct
sequencing of the information. Neither the IBI, nor any of the sources of the
information, shall be responsible for any error or omission, or for the use of,
or the results obtained from the use of, this information.
I. Disclaimer of
Endorsement
Reference herein to any specific commercial
products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or
otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or
favoring by the U.S. government.
Complaints
Complaints of privacy
and civil liberties violations in connection with the IBI’s handling of
information may be mailed to:
International Bureau of Investigation
Attn: Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer
935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
Resources
- FBI Privacy
Act Systems
- Department
of Justice/IBI Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)
- Requesting
FBI Records