Privacy Policy

MDA Privacy and Legal Policy

Legal

MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY LEGAL STATEMENT AND DISCLAIMER

Although the information at this Internet Web site (hereafter “Information”) is presented in good faith and believed to be correct, the Mississippi Development Authority makes no representations or warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of the Information.

The information is supplied upon the condition that the persons receiving the same will make their own determination as to its suitability for their purposes prior to use. In no event will the Mississippi Development Authority be responsible for damages of any nature whatsoever resulting from the use of or reliance upon the Information or the product to which the Information may refer.

The Mississippi Development Authority makes no commitment to update, replace or correct any Information that appears on the Internet or that is contained on this Internet Web site.

HOWEVER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY, NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OF ANY OTHER NATURE ARE MADE HEREUNDER WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION OR THE PRODUCT OF WHICH THE INFORMATION MAY REFER. THIS DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMS TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY NATURE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE LISTED ABOVE.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) collects, uses, processes, and shares information obtained through our website and related services. Certain privacy rights and obligations may apply depending on the jurisdiction in which a user is located. Additional disclosures applicable to individuals located in the European Union are described below.

MDA operates the www.mississippi.org website (the Service). MDA uses your data to provide and improve the Service and to provide information regarding MDA. It is necessary for MDA to collect, process, use and maintain data of customers, applicants, interested parties, and employees. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

Lawful Basis for Collecting and Processing Personal Information

MDA has a lawful basis to collect, process, use, and maintain data of customers, applicants, interested parties, employees, and others involved in its mission and purpose. The lawful basis includes, without limitation:

• Communications
• To provide and maintain our Service
• To notify you about changes to our Service
• To provide customer support
• To gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our Service and provide information about MDA
• To monitor the usage of our Service
• To detect, prevent and address technical issues
• Records retention.

Most of MDA’s data collection and processing will fall into the following categories:

• Necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interests pursued by MDA or third parties in providing incentives, assistance, employment, or development
• Necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party, or to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering a contract
• Necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which MDA is subject
• The data subject has given consent for MDA to use his or her personal data for one or more specified purposes

Information Collected

Types of personal information MDA may collect, process and/or maintain include:

• Personal details such as name, title, address, telephone number, email address, and nationality
• Employment information or career development opportunity
• Information about your engagement with MDA
• Usage data
• Location

When you view pages on our site, the web server and related systems automatically collect certain technical information from your computer and about your connection. This information includes:

• Your IP address
• Domain name from which you visit our site
• User-specific information on which pages are visited
• Aggregate information on pages visited
• Referring website
• Date and time of visit
• Duration of visit
• Browser type
• Screen resolution
• Interactions with the web page
• Aggregate information collected by Google Analytics

We also collect information using the following methods:

Cookies and Web Beacons: A cookie is a file that is written to your computer containing information about your visit. A web beacon (also known as a pixel tag or clear GIF) is a tiny transparent image embedded in a webpage or an email to measure usage and activity. In some cases, a web beacon triggers the placement of a persistent cookie on your device. If you prefer not to receive cookies, you may configure your browser not to accept them at all, or to notify and require approval before accepting new cookies. Some web pages may not function properly if the cookies are turned off, or you may have to provide the same information each time you visit those pages.

Third Party Services: This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., including Demographics and Interest Reporting. Google Analytics uses cookies to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google. You can use the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on to disable tracking by Google Analytics. For more information, please visit Google’s Privacy Policy.

How We Use Information We Collect

By providing this information you acknowledge that, where permitted by federal or state law, MDA may use this information for the express purposes for which the information was provided, which may include to:

• Respond to your request for information
• Process information for administrative purposes
• Notify you of services or events
• Improve online content and communications
• Improve services
• Marketing
• Process information for purposes as may be detailed on MDA’s website.

Sharing Information with Third Parties

MDA works with many vendors and contractors who assist MDA. Personal information that you provide to MDA, or which MDA automatically collects, is used or shared with these organizations for the express purposes for which the information was collected or as otherwise expressed in this privacy statement. MDA’s vendors and contractors are only permitted to use personal information for the express purposes permitted in their agreements with MDA. Otherwise, personal information is not released to third parties unless permitted by applicable law, including in instances where MDA is legally compelled by law or judicial order.

Opting Out

If you would like to opt-out of information collected automatically (via cookies and analytics), visit here to opt-out. Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out portal at: http://optout.aboutads.info/.

Rights of the Data Subject Under the EU GDPR

In some circumstances, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) extends to entities with no physical presence in the European Union (EU) that control and process personal information from persons in the EU. Without waving any defense and when applicable, the GDPR provides when and how MDA can collect, process, store, and use certain personal information received from persons in the EU. Under the GDPR, MDA may be a data “controller” or “processor”.

Information protected under the GDPR includes information that can be used to identify an individual (e.g., name, address, identification number, location data, IP address, and photographs).

If you are an individual data subject under the EU GDPR, you may obtain the following information and exercise the following rights:

• Identity and the contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the controller’s representative
• Explanation of the purposes and legal basis/legitimate interests of the data collection/processing
• Identification of the recipients of the personal data
• Notice if MDA intends to transfer personal data to another country or international organization
• Notice of the time period that the personal data will be stored
• Right to access personal data, rectify incorrect personal data, erase personal data, restrict or object to processing, and the right to data portability
• Right to withdraw consent at any time, if processing is based on consent
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (established in the EU)
• Explanation of why the personal data are required, and possible consequences of the failure to provide the data
• Notice of the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling
• Notice if the collected data are going to be further processed for a purpose other than that for which the information was collected

Exercising of these rights is a guarantee to be afforded a process and not the guarantee of an outcome.

Any data subject who wishes to exercise any of the above-mentioned rights may do so by submitting such request to marketing&comm@mississippi.org.

MDA Public Records

Public Records as defined in Section 25-61-3, Miss. Code Ann. shall mean all books, records, papers, accounts, letters, maps, photographs, films, cards, tapes, recordings or reproductions thereof, and any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed or retained for use in the conduct, transaction or performance of any business, transaction, work, duty or function of any public body, or required to be maintained by any public body.

Exceptions to Public Records

Some documents exempted from public records requests include, but are not limited to, personnel records, trade secrets, confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature as set out in Section 25-61-9, Section 79-23-1, Miss. Code Ann. and records containing confidential client information and project proposals as set out in Section 57-1-14, Miss. Code Ann.

Submission of Requests

All requests for information under the Public Records Act must be submitted in writing to the following address:

MDA Communications Office

Mississippi Development Authority

P.O. Box 849 Jackson, MS 39205

No verbal, email or telephone requests can be accepted for any public records request.

Assessment of Costs to Requestor

The requestor will be required to reimburse MDA for reasonable costs associated with the information request. (Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-7)

Such costs include, but are not limited to, time of the lowest paid but qualified staff member to search, review and/or, if applicable, mail copies of the public records. If necessary, the agency may engage third parties to perform these tasks. The requestor is required to pay the actual costs of these engagements.

Payment must be in the form of a certified check, money order or corporate check made payable to MDA for the amount specified. No cash or personal checks can be accepted. Please note that the following types of public records requests tend to require additional research and staff time and can have significant costs associated with filling the request: (1) Requests for very large volumes of material (2) Requests that are overly broad and/or (3) Requests that are unspecific in scope (4) Requests for information that has already been archived and (5) Requests for documents that are unusual in size.

If reproduction must be out-sourced due to type and/or volume of documents, requestor will pay actual reproduction costs. The requestor may choose to waive the 7-day response requirement to allow sufficient time for MDA to copy the material.

MDA reproduction charges are as follows: (duplex double)

8 ½ x 11″ – $.25 per page

8 ½ x 14″ – $.25 per page

11″ x 17″ – $.50 per page

Timetable for Processing

Upon receipt of a written request, MDA staff will evaluate the request; conduct a search to determine what information is available and in what format the information is stored and will furnish the requestor a cost estimate and projected schedule for providing the information. When payment in the amount of the estimated cost is received from the requestor, MDA will begin compiling the requested information.

If the actual cost is higher than the estimate, the requestor will be required to pay the difference before receiving the information. If the actual cost is lower than the estimate, MDA will refund the difference.

MDA staff will provide the requested information within seven working days of the receipt of the cost estimate payment, except where searches yield voluminous documents or where third party information is requested. In such instances, MDA staff will provide the requestor written explanation why the records cannot be produced within the seven-day period. (Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-5 (1) (b) and Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-9)

Access of Public Records

Documents requested may be inspected at the MDA’s main office at 501 North West Street, Jackson, MS 39201, after a formal written request has been submitted and the agency has responded. Appointments will be scheduled with the requestor. Such inspection will be held at MDA’s main office at 501 North West Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Original documents may not be removed from the MDA office. Inspections will be observed by an MDA staff person and the requestor will be charged based upon the hourly rate of the lowest paid but qualified staff person multiplied by the number of hours incurred. Cost estimates provided to the requestor will include the cost of an observer. In person inspection is subject to actual cost of searching, reviewing and/or duplicating public records.

In lieu of physical inspection, the requestor may choose the reproduction of such documents. If so, the cost of searching and/or duplicating and mailing, if applicable, will be included in the estimate provided.

Third-Party Information

MDA must give notice to third parties who have provided records that contain trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information and allow said third party a reasonable period of time to obtain a court order to protect the records before said information can be released pursuant to Section 25-61-9, Miss. Code Ann. (1972), as amended.

P.O. Box 849

Jackson, MS 39205

We can be reached via email at marketing&comm@mississippi.org, or you can reach us by telephone at 601.359.3449.