The Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC), International Code Council, Inc. (ICC), Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering (OIB), National Research Council Canada (NRC), China Academy of Building Research (CABR), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Deutsches Institut fur Bautechnik (DIBt), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM), TNO, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), Fire Safety Engineering and Civil Engineering Norway Building Authority (DIBK), Scottish Government Building Standards Division (BSD), Building and Construction Authority (BCA), SCFD, Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA), Instituto de Ciencias de la Construccion Eduardo Torroja (CSIC), Boverket The Swedish National Board of Housing and their respective affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, "We," "Us," "Our," "IRCC") are strongly committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. Please carefully read the following Privacy Policy (“Policy”). Any person accessing, browsing or otherwise using any IRCC Web site or online service or other service where this Policy is posted (collectively, the "Site") either manually or via an automated device or program, shall be considered a "User." This Policy explains the type of information that IRCC collects from our Users of the Site, what IRCC does with that information, and with whom IRCC shares this information. The data controllers for your information include all of the above listed IRCC entities, who are located at 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20001.
By accessing, browsing or using the Site, Users acknowledge that they have read, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions of the Policy. Users agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of User information, including information collected from or about you or the device you use to access the Site (together “Information”) pursuant to the terms of this Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not access, browse, or use this Site or otherwise provide Information to IRCC.
IRCC may collect information when you use the Site or when you otherwise provide information to IRCC. IRCC may collect the name, phone and fax number, mailing and billing address, email address, log-in credentials (if you create an IRCC account), payment card information (which is processed by third parties), and any other information provided by a User who contacts or interacts with IRCC or any of IRCC’s representatives through the Site, via email or otherwise, such as when a User: (a) submits an application for membership; (b) submits Information to become a volunteer; (c) submits Information at a seminar or other event; (d) registers for an account; (e) purchases a product through the Site; (f) submits Information through our forums; (g) provides Information to IRCC outside of the Site; (h) participates in a sweepstakes, contest, or survey; or (i) engages in any other activity through the Site in which Information is provided to IRCC.
IRCC may also collect information you provide about your professional expertise and experience, including your title, company name, industry, technical specialty, trade and/or organization(s)/associations(s) to which you belong.
Please note that some parts of our site, such as message boards and advertising listings, allow you to post information that may be publicly viewable and can be collected and used by third parties without IRCC’s knowledge.
Automatically-Collected Information
IRCC and certain third parties that advertise or provide other services on the Site may automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices (including mobile devices) you use to access the Site when you use the Site or certain Site services, or click on advertisements on the Site or in IRCC periodicals, such as the eNews or Building Safety Journal. IRCC and its partners and service providers may collect and analyze information This information is collected passively through the use of certain electronic technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, pixels, clear GIFs, and similar technologies, and is further explained below. As described further below, IRCC may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting this information. As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods.
Browser Cookies: We and certain third party advertising partners may use “cookies.” Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your device. These cookies may be used: (a) to improve or enhance your experience using the Site; (b) to deliver content, including advertising, specific to your interests; and (c) for other purposes, such as security and administrative functions. For example, cookies are used to store your preferences for certain types of information so that you do not have to input those preferences every time you use the Site. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, though different browsers may address cookies differently. Your browser may enable you to set your device to accept all cookies, to notify you when a cookie is issued, or to not receive cookies at any time. If you set your browser to not accept cookies, it may result in certain personalized services or other features not being provided to you when you use that device.
Flash Cookies: We and certain IRCC advertisers may choose to use Flash cookies in advertisements available on or through the Site or in IRCC periodicals. Flash cookies, also called Flash Local Shared Objects, are used by the Adobe Flash Player to store user preferences. Flash cookies operate differently than browser cookies, and cookie management tools available in a web browser may not remove flash cookies. More information concerning flash cookies, including how to remove them from your computer or device is available at here.
Web Beacons, Pixels and Clear GIFs: We and our advertising partners may use web beacons, pixels and clear GIFs. These electronic technologies are transparent image files that, if used, allow us and our advertising partners to track Web site usage information, such as the number of times a given web page has been viewed and whether and when you have opened a HTML email, how many times the email was forwarded and which links in the email were clicked. Unlike cookies, these technologies do not place files on your device. We and our advertising partners use information collected through Web beacons, pixels, and clear GIFs to improve and enhance our Site and measure the effectiveness of these communications with you. These technologies may be used in association with cookies to understand how visitors interact with the Site or advertisements made by our advertising partners.
IRCC uses the information collected from its Users for the following purposes:
The legal bases for using your information as set out in this Policy are as follows:
How IRCC shares information collected in a particular situation will depend on factors including the nature of the information, the purpose and context of the collection, and applicable law. Subject to such factors, we may disclose information that we collect or receive for the purposes described above in the “How IRCC Uses Your Information” section and as described below.
We may use third-party web analytics services on our Site, such as those of Google Analytics. These service providers use the sort of technology described in Section 1.2 to help us analyze how users use the Site, including by noting the third-party Web site from which you arrive. The information (including your IP address) collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Site. We also use Google Analytics for certain purposes related to advertising, as described in the following section. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.
Also, third parties whose products or services are accessible or advertised via the Site may also place cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer, mobile phone, or other device to collect information about your use of the Site in order to (i) inform, optimize, and serve ads based on past visits to our Web sites and other sites and (ii) report how our ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are related to visits to our Web sites and use of our Site. We also allow other third parties (e.g., ad networks and ad servers such as Google Analytics, DoubleClick and others) to serve tailored ads to you on the Site, and to access their own cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer, mobile phone, or other device you use to access the Site. We also may share with third-party advertisers a hashed (i.e., de-identified) version of your email address along with content that you share publicly when using the Site (e.g., user-generated content) for purposes of delivering tailored advertising. We neither have access to, nor does this Policy govern, the use of cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on your device by non-affiliated, third-party ad technology, ad servers, ad networks or any other non-affiliated third parties. Those parties that use these technologies may offer you a way to opt out of ad targeting as described below. You may receive tailored advertising on your computer through a web browser. If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out Link, the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out Link, the TRUSTe’s Advertising Choices Page, or Your Online Choices if you live in the European Union to opt-out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. You may also use the links available in advertisements that appear in the Site to learn more about advertising practices on our Site.
To opt out of Google Analytics for display advertising or customize Google display network ads, you can visit the Google Ad Settings page. Please note that to the extent advertising technology is integrated into the Site, you may still receive advertisements even if you opt-out of tailored advertising, but those ads will not be tailored based on your online activities over time. We do not control any of the above opt-out links and are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms.
When using a mobile application, you may also receive tailored in-application advertisements. Each operating system, iOS for Apple phones, Android for Android devices and Windows for Microsoft devices, provides its own instructions on how to prevent the delivery of tailored in-application advertisements. You may review the support materials and/or the privacy settings for the respective operating systems in order to opt-out of tailored in-application advertisements. For any other devices and/or operating systems, please visit the privacy settings for the applicable device or contact the applicable platform operator.
IRCC is committed to providing you with meaningful choices about the information collected on our Site for third-party purposes, and that is why we provide above the Network Advertising Initiative’s “Consumer Opt-out” link, Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out Link, TRUSTe’s Advertising Choices page, and the Google opt-out link in this Policy. However, we do not recognize or respond to browser-initiated Do Not Track signals, as the Internet industry is currently still working on Do Not Track standards, implementations and solutions.
The information that is discussed in this Policy will be collected, processed, stored, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with applicable U.S. law. Your information will be processed in the U.S. for the purposes described herein. If you are a non-U.S. User, you acknowledge and agree that we may collect and use your information and disclose it to other entities outside your resident jurisdiction, as discussed in “How IRCC Shares Your Information” above. Such third parties may be engaged in, among other things, the provision of services to you, the processing of transactions and/or the provision of support services. By providing us with your information, you acknowledge any such transfer, storage or use. In addition, such information may be stored on servers located outside your resident jurisdiction. U.S. law may not provide the degree of protection for information that is available in other countries. By providing us with your Information, you acknowledge that you have read this Policy, understand it, agree to its terms, and agree to the transfer of such Information outside your resident jurisdiction.
If we provide any information about you to third party information processors, we will take appropriate measures to ensure such companies protect your information adequately in accordance with this Policy. These measures include signing Standard Contractual Clauses in accordance with EU and other data protection laws to govern the transfers of such data. For more information about these transfer mechanisms, please contact us as detailed in the “How to Contact IRCC” section below.
If applicable, you may make a complaint to the data protection supervisory authority in the country where you reside. Alternatively, you may seek a remedy through local courts if you believe your rights have been breached.
You may change or correct inaccuracies to certain information collected from you by logging into your account on the Site and making changes to your information. Your account information can be accessed through the “My IRCC” links on the Site.
You have certain rights with respect to your information as further described in this section.
Your Legal Rights
If you would like further information in relation to your legal rights under applicable law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us by completing this form below at any time. Your local laws (e.g., in the EU) may permit you to request that we:
We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period stated by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.
Marketing Communications and Sharing
You may instruct us not to use your contact information to contact you by email, postal mail, or phone regarding products, services, promotions and special events that might appeal to your interests by contacting us using the information in the “How to Contact IRCC” section below. In commercial email messages, you can also opt out by following the instructions located at the bottom of such emails. Please note that, regardless of your request, we may still use and share certain information as permitted by this Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law. For example, you may not opt out of certain operational emails, such as those reflecting our relationship or transactions with you, or important notifications regarding classes in which you are enrolled.
IRCC values your concerns about the privacy of your Information. Therefore, we offer you the opportunity to opt out of use or sharing of certain Information.
Any commercial emails sent by IRCC will include an option to unsubscribe from further correspondence. In addition, you can always opt-out of receiving commercial emails from IRCC here. Please note that even if you opt-out from receiving commercial emails from IRCC, you will continue to receive transactional messages, such as messages confirming a product purchase, messages about an event you registered for, and certain essential IRCC membership information.
You may also access your “My IRCC” profile to change what profile information is displayed to other IRCC Members or to the public. Please note, however, that the visibility of some profile information, such as your name and location, cannot be changed through “My IRCC.”
IRCC is not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties who may send you correspondence. Please review the privacy policies of those third parties and contact them directly if you have any questions or concerns.
The Site provides hyperlinks, which are highlighted words or pictures within a hypertext document, including advertisements that, when clicked, take you to another place within the document, to another document altogether, or to other Web sites not controlled by IRCC. These hyperlinked Web sites may contain privacy provisions that are different from those provided herein. IRCC is not responsible for the content or collection, use, or disclosure of information collected through these Web sites, and IRCC expressly disclaims any and all liabilities related to such collection, use, or disclosure. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third-parties.
The Site is intended for general audiences and not for children under the age of 13. The Site is not directed towards children under 13 years of age, and IRCC does not knowingly collect any information from children under 13 years of age through the Site. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to submit information to IRCC through the Site. If a child under 13 submits “personal information” (as defined by the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) through any part of Site without valid parental consent, and we become aware that the person submitting the information is a child, we will attempt to delete this information. We do not knowingly process data of EU residents under the age of 16 without parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected data from an EU resident under the age of 16 without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. We also comply with other age restrictions and requirements in accordance with applicable local laws.
We keep your information for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and use it and/or as required to comply with applicable laws. To dispose of personal data, we may anonymize it, delete it or take other appropriate steps. Data may persist in copies made for backup and business continuity purposes for additional time.
IRCC implements measures to protect information that it maintains. These measures vary on the sensitivity of the information that IRCC collects and stores. However, no method of transmission over the internet or means of electronic or physical storage can be completely secure. Therefore, IRCC makes no representations or warranties with regard to the sufficiency of its security measures, and any information transmitted to or through the Site is at your own risk.
IRCC will notify you in accordance with applicable law in the event of a breach of the confidentiality or security of your information. We may notify you under such circumstances using the e-mail address(es) we have on record for you. You should also take care with how you handle and disclose your information. Please refer to the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.
Certain services provided on the Site, such as the Codes and Standards Discussion Forum and eMail Discussion Lists, are provided by third parties for IRCC and its Users. Use of these services is subject to the specific terms and conditions and privacy policies that are provided to a User when signing up these services. Users acknowledge that the collection, use and disclosure of their Information is subject to these policies when using the Codes and Standards Discussion Forum and eMail Discussion Lists.
We may occasionally update this Policy, as noted by the “effective date” at the end of the Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed about our collection, use, and disclosure of Information. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your agreement to this Policy and any updates.
California law permits customers of the IRCC who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, you may do so here or write us:
International Code Council Headquarters
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
We will provide a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for third-party direct marketing purposes, along with the names and addresses of these third parties. This request may be made no more than once per calendar year. We reserve our right not to respond to requests submitted other than to the email or postal address specified above. You should put “California Privacy Rights” in the subject line and in your request. You must provide IRCC with specific information regarding yourself so that IRCC can accurately respond to the request.
If you have any questions about this Policy, you may reach us here.
This Policy was last updated on May 25, 2018.