Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Meridian Daily Media, LLC ("Meridian Daily", "we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, shares and protects information about you when you visit https://www.meridiandaily.com (the "Site"). It also explains the choices and rights available to you. Please read it together with our Cookie Policy and Terms of Service.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, contact us at privacy@meridiandaily.com.

Who We Are

Meridian Daily is an independent online news and magazine publication operated by Meridian Daily Media, LLC, 1450 Harbor View Drive, Suite 210, San Diego, CA 92101, United States. For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR, Meridian Daily Media, LLC is the controller of the personal data described in this policy, except where a third party (such as Google) acts as an independent controller for data it collects through its own cookies and technologies.

Summary

We do not offer user accounts, paid subscriptions or comments, so we collect very little information directly from you.
We use cookies and similar technologies for essential site functions, audience measurement (Google Analytics 4) and advertising (Google AdSense, Google Ad Manager and other certified partners).
Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.
Visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and Switzerland are asked for consent before non-essential cookies are used.
You can change your choices at any time via the Cookie Settings link in the footer of every page.
We do not sell personal information for money. Some advertising cookies may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" under California law, and you can opt out.

Information We Collect

Information you provide to us

When you contact us through our contact form or by email, we receive the information you choose to provide, such as your name, email address, the subject of your message and its contents, and any attachments. If you send us a news tip, a correction request or an advertising inquiry, we receive the details you include in that message.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, certain information is collected automatically by us and by our service providers and advertising partners, including:

Device and browser information, such as browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution and language settings.
Log and usage information, such as your IP address, the pages you view, the time and date of your visit, the referring page, links you click and how long you spend on pages.
Approximate location, derived from your IP address (typically at the city or region level).
Cookie and online identifiers, such as cookie IDs, advertising identifiers and similar unique identifiers stored in your browser.

Information from third parties

We may receive aggregated or de-identified reports from our analytics and advertising partners about how visitors use the Site and how ads perform. These reports generally do not identify you personally.

How We Use Information

We use information for the following purposes:

To operate, maintain, secure and improve the Site, including troubleshooting and preventing abuse, fraud and security incidents.
To respond to your messages, news tips, correction requests and business inquiries.
To understand how readers use the Site, which articles are popular and how we can improve our journalism and site performance.
To display advertising, which funds our free journalism, and to measure the performance of ads. Where permitted and where you have consented if required, this may include personalized advertising.
To comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms and protect our rights and the rights of others.

We do not use your information to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We and our partners also use similar technologies such as pixels, web beacons, local storage and scripts. We use:

Strictly necessary cookies, for example to remember your cookie consent choices.
Analytics cookies, to measure traffic and usage through Google Analytics 4.
Advertising cookies, to serve, limit the frequency of and measure ads, and, where permitted, to personalize ads.

For a detailed description, including examples of specific cookies, see our Cookie Policy.

Meridian Daily is supported by advertising. We use Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager (including the Google Publisher Tag) to display ads, and we may work with other Google-certified advertising partners.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google's use of advertising cookies, including the DoubleClick cookie, enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this Site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info or, in Europe, www.youronlinechoices.eu.
If you opt out of personalized ads, you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to you and may be based on contextual information such as the content of the page you are viewing.

Third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on the Site. Their use of cookies is governed by their own privacy policies, and we do not control those cookies. A list of the advertising technology providers that Google works with is available in Google's ad technology providers documentation. To learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services, visit How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. Google's own privacy practices are described in the Google Privacy Policy.

For visitors in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, we use a consent management solution that supports the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework and Google's consent requirements. Personalized ads and non-essential advertising cookies are only used if you give consent. If you decline, Google may still serve non-personalized ads, which use cookies or similar technologies for purposes such as frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting and combating fraud and abuse, where permitted by law.

Analytics: Google Analytics 4

We use Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, to understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics uses cookies (such as _ga and a property-specific _ga cookie) to collect information such as pages visited, time spent on the Site, approximate location and device information. We use this information in aggregated form to improve our content and services. We have configured Google Analytics so that IP addresses are not logged or stored, in line with Google Analytics 4 defaults, and we do not use it to identify individual visitors.

You can learn more at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and opt out of Google Analytics across websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. Where consent is required, analytics cookies are only set after you have agreed to them.

Legal Bases for Processing (EEA and UK)

If you are located in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases:

Consent, for non-essential cookies, analytics and personalized advertising. You can withdraw consent at any time via the Cookie Settings link in the footer.
Legitimate interests, for operating and securing the Site, responding to inquiries, and serving non-personalized ads where permitted. We balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation, where we must process information to comply with applicable law.
Performance of a contract, where we process information to enter into or perform an agreement with you, for example an advertising agreement.

We do not sell your personal information for money. We share information only as described below:

Service providers that host the Site, deliver content, provide email and security services and help us operate our business, under contracts that limit their use of the information.
Advertising and analytics partners, including Google, which may collect information directly through cookies and similar technologies on the Site as described above.
Legal and safety, when we believe disclosure is required by law, court order or legal process, or is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Meridian Daily, our readers or others.
Business transfers, in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of all or part of our business, subject to this policy.
With your consent or at your direction.

Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

Contact form submissions and emails are generally kept for up to 24 months after our last correspondence, unless a longer period is needed for legal reasons or ongoing matters.
Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months, after which it is automatically deleted.
Cookie lifetimes vary; see our Cookie Policy for typical durations. Your consent choices are stored for up to 12 months.
Server logs are typically kept for no more than 90 days, unless needed to investigate security incidents.

International Data Transfers

Meridian Daily is based in the United States, and our service providers and partners may process information in the United States and other countries. These countries may have data protection laws different from those in your country. Where we transfer personal data from the EEA, UK or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and its UK and Swiss extensions where the recipient is certified.

If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erase your data in certain circumstances.
Restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling, and to direct marketing at any time.
Data portability, to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority, such as the data protection authority in your EU member state or the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

To exercise these rights, email privacy@meridiandaily.com. We will respond within one month, which may be extended where permitted by law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. Because we do not operate user accounts, much of the data collected through cookies is held by our partners; for those data you can also use the tools provided by Google and other vendors.

Your Rights Under California Law (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, gives you the following rights:

Right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, the purposes and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
Right to delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, including sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Right to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We do not collect sensitive personal information for purposes that require this right.
Right to non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.

In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information: identifiers (such as IP address, cookie IDs and email address if you contact us), internet or other electronic network activity information, approximate geolocation data, and inferences drawn from this information by advertising partners. These are used for the business and commercial purposes described in this policy.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell personal information for money. However, allowing advertising partners to place cookies on the Site for personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" under California law. You can opt out by clicking the Cookie Settings link in the footer and turning off advertising cookies, or by emailing privacy@meridiandaily.com with the subject line "Do Not Sell or Share". We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signals as a valid opt-out request for the browser or device sending the signal. Google's Restricted Data Processing mode is enabled for California users who opt out.

To exercise your rights, contact us by email at privacy@meridiandaily.com or by phone at +1 (619) 555-0148. We will verify your request by matching information you provide with information we hold. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, subject to proof of authorization. We will respond within 45 days, which may be extended by a further 45 days where necessary.

Other U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws, such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas and Oregon, may have similar rights to access, correct, delete and opt out of targeted advertising. You can exercise these rights using the same methods described above. If we deny your request, you may appeal by replying to our decision with the subject line "Privacy Appeal".

Children's Privacy

The Site is a general-audience publication and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, in accordance with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), or from children under 16 in the EEA and UK without verified parental consent where required. We do not knowingly serve personalized ads to users we know to be under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact privacy@meridiandaily.com and we will delete it promptly.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect information, including encrypted HTTPS connections across the Site, access controls and reputable hosting providers. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Links to Other Websites

Our articles may link to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where the changes are significant, provide a more prominent notice. Your continued use of the Site after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions, requests or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact:

Meridian Daily Media, LLC Attn: Privacy 1450 Harbor View Drive, Suite 210, San Diego, CA 92101, United States

Email: privacy@meridiandaily.com
Phone: +1 (619) 555-0148 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm PT)
Online: our contact page