TheDigitel.com, is owned and operated by Giant Hawk Media LLC. Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. At TheDigitel.com, we want to make your experience online satisfying and safe.

Because we gather certain types of information about our users, we feel you should fully understand our policy and the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we gather and how we use it.

Information Giant Hawk Media LLC gathers and tracks

TheDigitel.com gathers two types of information about users:

• Information that users provide through optional, voluntary submissions. These are voluntary submissions to participate in our comments boards, to e-mail links, and to participate in polls and surveys:
• Information TheDigitel.com gathers through aggregated tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views throughout our sites. This information allows us to better tailor our content to readers' needs and to help our advertisers and sponsors better understand the demographics of our audience. Because TheDigitel.com derives its revenue mainly from sponsorships and advertising, providing such aggregated demographic data is essential to keeping our service free to users. Under no circumstances does TheDigitel.com divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.
  TheDigitel.com gathers user information in the following processes:
• Optional voluntary information: We offer the following free services, which require some type of voluntary submission of personal information by users:
  1. Comments policy: Users of the Web site's comments boards must register separately for this service (the service is free of charge) in order to post messages, although they needn't register to visit the site. During registration the user is required to supply a username, password, and e-mail address.
  2. "E-mail this to a friend" policy: Our site users can choose to electronically forward a link, page, or documents to someone else by clicking "e-mail this to a friend." The user must provide their email address, as well as that of the recipient. This information is used only in the case of transmission errors and, of course, to let the recipient know who sent the email. The information is not used for any other purpose.
     
  3. Polling: We may offer interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions with other users and see what our audience thinks about important issues. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated and are not identifiable to any particular user. TheDigitel.com may use a system to "tag" users after they have voted, so they can vote only once on a particular question. This tag is not correlated with information about individual users.
  4. Surveys: TheDigitel.com may occasionally conduct user surveys to better target our content to our audience. We sometimes share the aggregated demographic information in these surveys with our sponsors, advertisers and partners. We never share any of this information about specific individuals with any third party.
• Usage data: TheDigitel.com tracks user traffic patterns throughout all of our sites. However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users. TheDigitel.com does break down overall usage statistics according to a user's domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user's browser).
  TheDigitel.com sometimes tracks and catalogs the search terms that users enter in our Search function, but this tracking is never associated with individual users. We use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do not track what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue to build a better service for you.
• Cookies: We may place a text file called a "cookie" in the browser files of your computer. The cookie itself does not contain Personal Information although it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have specifically and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. TheDigitel.com uses cookies to track user traffic patterns (as described above). Our advertising system delivers a one-time cookie to better track ad impressions and click rates.
  You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. If you've set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use this site. However, you do need cookies to participate actively in message boards, forums, polling and surveys.

Children's information

Consistent with the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental consent.

Use of information

Giant Hawk Media LLC uses any information voluntarily given by our users to enhance their experience in our network of sites, whether to provide interactive or personalized elements on the sites or to better prepare future content based on the interests of our users.
As stated above, we use information that users voluntarily provide in order to enable users to participate in polls, surveys, and comments boards. 
When we use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don't like based on traffic to those areas. We do not track what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue to build a better service for you. We track search terms entered in Search function as one of many measures of what interests our users. But we don't track which terms a particular user enters.
TheDigitel.com creates aggregate reports on user demographics and traffic patterns for advertisers, sponsors and partners. This allows our advertisers to advertise more effectively, and allows our users to receive advertisements that are pertinent to their needs. Because we don't track the usage patterns of individual users, an advertiser or sponsor will never know that a specific user clicked their ad. We will not disclose any information about any individual user except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.

Sharing of the information

TheDigitel.com uses the above-described information to tailor our content to suit your needs and help our advertisers better understand our audience's demographics. This is essential to keeping our service free. We will not share information about individual users with any third party, except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.

Security

TheDigitel.com operates secure data networks protected by industry standard firewall and password protection systems. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorized individuals have access to the information provided by our customers.

Opt-out policy

We give users options wherever necessary and practical. Such choices include:

• Opting not to participate in certain interactive areas, which completely alleviates the need to gather any personally identifiable information from our users.

User consent

By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by TheDigitel.com. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

While Giant Hawk Media strives to maintain an open community conversation through TheDigitel.com Web sites and welcomes comments by any member of the public on any stories posted on those Web sites, the editors reserve the right to delete any comments that do not serve to further dialogue on the topic at hand. If a user persists in posting objectionable comments, that user's IP address will be permanently banned from the site, and all comments by that user will be deleted immediately.

Some examples of comments that will not be allowed on the TheDigitel.com include, but are not limited to:

• Irrelevant posts, in which in the comment has nothing to do with the story at hand or consists of incomprehensible symbols or characters.
• Solicitations or advertisements of any kind, whether in content or through a link to a site providing such content.
• Obscene comments, including but not limited to swearing, racist remarks, or pornographic remarks.
• Attacks directed at other users on the Web site.
• Information that is confidential or illegal to share, including anything that would infringe on copyrights.
• Comments that include threatening, harassing, defamatory or libelous material.

If you have a concern about a comment posted on any TheDigitel.com Web sites, please contact contact@thedigitel.com and we will investigate the matter immediately and respond accordingly. Giant Hawk Media holds sole discretion over the removal of comments on the Web site.

Also, please note that TheDigitel.com will only remove comments by users that violate the terms of use for comments, not simply due to a user's change of heart regarding a post. Please do not post something unless you are sure you want it visible in a public forum, for anyone to read. If you would like your comments to remain anonymous, we advise you to register under a username that will not draw attention to your identity.

TheDigitel.com provides links to external, third party Web sites. Though we provide these links, TheDigitel.com shall not be held responsible for the content on those Web sites. TheDigitel.com does not guarantee, approve of, or endorse any information or products available on these Web sites. Links on TheDigitel.com do not indicate any association between TheDigitel.com and the external Web site.

Furthermore, TheDigitel.com does not operate or have any control or responsibility whatsoever over the information, products or services found on external, third party Web sites linked to through TheDigitel.com. We cannot guarantee in any way the accuracy of this information, nor does TheDigitel.com make endorsement to that effect, including, but not limited to, warranties of any kind regarding title, noninfringement, or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Users of TheDigitel.com assume complete responsibility for their use or reliance on information from external Web sites. Any concerns regarding content, services or products on external Web sites should be addressed to the administrators of those Web sites, and NOT to TheDigitel.com.

TheDigitel.com Web sites, produced and administered by Giant Hawk Media, typically display images as part of posts written by our editors. The types of images editors are authorized to use on TheDigitel.com Web sites include:

• Images licensed from photographic archive vendors.
• Images supplied to our editors or released into the public domain by public relations and marketing companies for press purposes.
• Reader-submitted images, with the implied representation that the person submitting the image owns the copyright in the image and the right to give it to us for use on our site(s).
• Images published on Flickr or other public photo sites in instances where the photographer has chosen to license their work under the Creative Commons license.
• Images commissioned by TheDigitel.com.
• Thumbnail images of 200x200 pixels or less.
• Images used to illustrate a newsworthy story under the Fair Use doctrine.
• Images where the use is transformative, such as for satire.
• Images so widely distributed on the Internet that they are deemed to have become part of the public domain.

If you think we have published an image or text that infringes upon your copyright, we will address your concerns; however, if the image falls into one of the categories listed above, we believe that our use of the image is legitimate and we will not remove it from TheDigitel.com Web sites.

Please note that we will respond only to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The text of the Act can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by e-mail with an attached and signed PDF or by fax) that sets forth the items specified below. Please do not send us regular mail, as we may not receive it in a timely fashion. In all cases, please telephone us at 843 608-1011 to confirm that we have received your original complaint.

To enable us to address your concerns, please provide the following information:

1. For each allegedly infringing image or piece of text that you wish to have removed from one of our sites, provide the exact permanent URL for the page containing the material.
2. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you; an e-mail address is preferred, as well as a telephone number.
3. Provide the following information detailing your claim to ownership of the copyright in the allegedly infringing material:
   - proof of copyright in the image or text concerned, namely proof of registration of the image under the DMCA,
   OR, absent such registration,
   - a detailed description of where the photograph was taken, by whom, who or what the subject of the image is, AND
   - evidence to support your claim that you own the copyright in the image.
   We will not comply with requests to remove an image where the complainant cannot prove that they own the copyright in the image in question.
4. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
5. Sign the document and fax it to (843) 603-3383 / Attn: Giant Hawk Media Legal or e-mail it to legal@gianthawk.com.

Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you materially misrepresent that any material on our sites is infringing upon your copyrights.

In a recent case, a company that sent an infringement notification seeking removal of online materials that were protected by the Fair Use doctrine was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys’ fees. The company agreed to pay more than $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

Please note that a copy of each legal notice we receive will be sent (with your personal information removed) to Chilling Effects for publication. You can see an example of such a publication at http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice.cgi?NoticeID=861.

We also reserve the right to publish your letter on any Giant Hawk Media Web sites.

Giant Hawk Media is happy to allow users to submit a wide array of online content for publication on TheDigitel.com Web sites, however this invitation does not constitute a guarantee of publication by Giant Hawk Media. It will be at Giant Hawk Media's full and sole discretion as to whether to publish any submissions by a user, and we reserve the right to reject any submission for whatever reason we see fit.

If a user's submission is chosen for publication, this acceptance comes with the implication, as stated in Giant Hawk's Fair Use Policy, that the user submitting the work is the true and proper owner of the content in question. Giant Hawk Media will not be held responsible for any plagiarism on the part of a user, and the submitter of such copyright-infringing content will be fully liable for any legal consequences related to the publication of such content, including, but not limited to, any attorneys' fees and legal penalties.

Furthermore, we live in a digital age, where photograph manipulation has become common-place and is as easy as the click of a mouse in Photoshop, and in the modern world, as in any age, gossip is frequent and widespread. Therefore, while Giant Hawk strives to maintain an open and honest conversation on the community at hand, we cannot guarantee the reliability of reader submissions, nor will we be held responsible for any libel, factual errors, or misinformation contained within such submissions. If you see evidence of such, please contact us at legal@gianthawk.com and we will examine the matter further and immediately remove any content that is found to be erroneous or misleading. Also, it should be noted that while Giant Hawk Media has the ability to remove conent from TheDigitel.com if and when neccesary, we have a limited ability to remove content that is quoted, copied, cached or otherwise duplicated by other parties.

Lastly, the user retains relevant copyrights for content submitted to and, if applicable, published on TheDigitel.com, however Giant Hawk Media reserves the right to use any submitted content, whether in its original form or edited for grammar, style, formatting, consistency, size or any other reasons, indefinitely on TheDigitel.com Web sites. Giant Hawk Media also reserves the right to allow user-submitted content to be edited and improved by other users.

Giant Hawk Media will not remove user-submitted content simply due to a user's change of heart, and a user should not submit content that they do not wish to be in the public forum indefinitely.

If and when Giant Hawk Media makes changes to its Terms of Use, those changes will be posted to this statement, as well as any other places Giant Hawk Media deems appropriate in order to make users aware of such changes.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Terms of Use, or to notify Giant Hawk Media of any violations, please contact us by e-mail at contact@gianthawk.com or by mail at Giant Hawk Media, 164 Market St. #281, Charleston, SC 29401.

Any and all correspondence with Giant Hawk Media or TheDigitel.com Web sites, including, but not limited to, documentation or images, are considered the property of Giant Hawk Media. Giant Hawk Media reserves the right to publish any and all correspondence, in whole or in part, on its Web sites.