Privacy and Security Statement
The purpose of this statement is to inform website users of the use of information that may be collected while they are visiting the Department of Justice's website (www.doj.mt.gov).
The Department of Justice respects each individual website user's right to privacy. Any personal information that is collected will not be disclosed to any third party except as required by applicable law, unless the website user has expressly permitted the disclosure or "opted in" to allow the disclosure.
Citizens and businesses are not routinely asked to provide personal information to visit the website. We may request personally identifiable information from you in order to provide requested specialized services, but such information is handled as it would during an in-person visit to our office.
Montana law controls the level of access to personally identifiable information maintained in public records at state and local levels of government. Information that is generally available under Montana law may be posted for electronic access through the website.
Use of Constituent E-mail Addresses
E-mail addresses obtained as a result of a request to the website will not be sold or given to other private companies for marketing purposes unless it is specifically stated when the e-mail address is requested and the user "opts in" to having their e-mail used in the stated fashion. The information collected is subject to the access and confidentiality provisions of Montana Code and Federal law. E-mail or other information requests sent to the website may be maintained in order to respond to the request, forward that request to the appropriate agency, communicate updates to the website that may be of interest to citizens, or to provide the website designers with customer feedback to assist in improving the site. Individuals will be provided with the ability to "opt in" at any time to receive communication regarding new service updates.
Data Security and Quality
The department is committed to data security and the data quality of personally identifiable information that is either available from or collected by the website, and has taken reasonable precautions to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse or alteration. Any third parties responsible for this information are committed to the same principles, and also are required by contract to follow the same policies and guidelines as the State of Montana in protecting this information. Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, the individual is granted the ability to access and correct personally identifiable information whether or not the information inaccuracy was accidental or created by unauthorized access.
Other Websites
Various websites may be linked through the website. Since the department has no control over these websites, visitors to those sites are advised to check their privacy statements and be cautious about providing personally identifiable information without a clear understanding of how the information will be used. The department accepts no liability for other entities that are linked to the website.
Website Security
For information security purposes, the computer systems that host the website employ software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to compromise its devices. These attempts to cause damage could be subject to legal action.
Definitions
Personally identifiable information: means individually identifiable information about an individual collected online, including:
- first and last name
- residence or other physical address, including a street name and name of a city or town
- e-mail address
- telephone number
- Social Security number
- unique identifying information that an Internet service provider or a government website operator collects and combines with any information described above
State of Montana Policy
- Internet Privacy and Security Policy (an external website)