Bedford County, Virginia

Website Privacy Policy

Date of last revision: March 16, 2021

Information we collect and how we use it

The following information explains the Internet Privacy Policy and practice for the bedfordcountyva.gov website, but shall not be interpreted as a contract of any nature, either stated or implied. We reserve the right to amend our Internet Privacy Policy statement at any time without notice. Note that this policy only applies to pages on the bedfordcountyva.gov. The website has links to those operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you move via such links to another website, this policy will not apply.

Protection of information via established security procedures

We maintain security standards and procedures to prevent unauthorized removal or alteration of data, to ensure that this service remains available to all users, and to prevent unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage.

Virginia law

We protect our records in accordance with our obligations as defined by applicable Virginia statutes, including, but not limited to, the “Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act,” Chapter 38 of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-3800 and 2.2-3803), “Administration of systems including personal information; Internet privacy policy; exceptions” Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3803, the “Virginia Freedom of Information Act” § 2.2-3700, et seq., and by any applicable U.S. federal laws. Any personal information that is collected and retained is maintained in compliance with these statutes; however, in certain circumstances, disclosure of information may be compelled by court order in accordance with such laws.

Information we collect

We collect only the minimum amount of information needed to provide services. If you do nothing during your visit to the bedfordcountyva.gov website but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet domain and IP address from which you accessed our site;
2. The type of browser and operating system you used;
3. The date and time you visited this site;
4. The pages visited; and
5. If you arrived from another website, the address of that website.

The information in our web logs is not personally identifiable, and no attempt is made to link it with the individuals that browse our website.

If, during your visit, you send us an e-mail message, we will collect the e-mail address and contents of the message, including audio, video and graphic information formats you send us. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website or to forward your message to another agency for appropriate action.

We do collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to complete forms or participate in surveys, in order to deliver the services requested. We only collect, retain and use personal information where we believe it is essential to administer our business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by our customers.

How the collected information is used

Your input is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our pages. Routing information is used to send requested web pages to your computer for viewing. Transaction routing information is used primarily in a statistical summary format to assess content and server performance. We may share this summary information with our business partners when needed.

We may keep your information indefinitely, but we ordinarily delete routing information regularly after the web page is transmitted. However, on rare occasions when a “hacker” attempts to breach computer security, logs and any other relevant information in our possession may be shared with law enforcement agencies.

Optional information is retained in accordance with the records retention schedule at the Library of Virginia.

Under the “Virginia Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA), any records in our possession at the time of a “Freedom of Information Request” might be subject to inspection by or disclosure to members of the public. However, identifiable personal information will be removed prior to such release in accordance with FOIA.

Restrictions on the disclosure of customer information

We do not sell or rent our subscribers’ information to any outside company or organization. We do not reveal specific information about users or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by FOIA or other law.

Cookies

“Cookies” are small files either stored on a server or sent back to a visiting computer. In certain applications user information is stored as cookies, which are then sent back to and stored on the user’s computer. Some sections of the website use cookies to customize the information presented to you. Cookies are also used to aggregate site usage information to help us improve our users’ experience.

Copyright

The copyright to the bedfordcountyva.gov website is owned by the County of Bedford, Virginia and pages are marked with the notice “© County of Bedford, Virginia.” Permission is granted to website visitors to make fair use of the contents, as per http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html.

Linking Policy

This website contains links to external websites and pages containing information created and maintained by public and private organizations. The inclusion of a link to an external website is not intended as an endorsement of any product or service offered or referenced on the linked website, the organizations sponsoring said website, or any views that might be expressed or referenced in the website. Links to external websites and pages may be removed or replaced at any time without notice.

Disclaimer

Neither the County of Bedford, nor any employee, agent, or contractor thereof, warrant the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorse any content, viewpoints, products or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or outdated. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or other mark does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the County of Bedford, Virginia. The information and statements contained on this site shall not be used for the purposes of advertising, nor to imply the endorsement or recommendation of the County of Bedford, Virginia.

Contacting the website administrator

If you have general questions regarding this statement or the website, email publicinfo@bedfordcountyva.gov.