last updated January 10, 2024
Terms of Privacy
Higher Ground Productions (“Higher Ground,” “we,” or “us”) is a production company founded by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama to tell powerful stories that entertain, inform, and inspire— while elevating new and diverse voices in the entertainment industry. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose information when you visit or use www.highergroundmedia.com and www.yourmamaskitchen.com or other websites that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, our “Sites”) or when you otherwise interact with us, such as by email, at an event, or on social media.
Higher Ground works with third-party distribution platforms to make our productions, including podcasts and documentaries, available. Please review the privacy policies of these platforms to learn more about information they collect and the choices they offer to you. Higher Ground does not disclose or receive personal information from these platforms.
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this policy. If we make material changes, we will provide you with additional notice (such as by adding a statement to the Sites or sending you a notification). We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy regularly to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you.
CONTENTS
Your Privacy Rights and Choices
Additional Information for Consumers Residing in Certain States
Additional Disclosures for Individuals in Europe
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
The information we collect about you depends on how you use our Sites or otherwise interact with us. In this section, we describe the categories of information we collect and the sources of this information.
Information You Provide to Us
We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information you directly provide to us when you fill out a webform on our Sites, such as to volunteer a story or ask a question for one of our podcasts, or when you sign up to receive emails from us. The personal information we collect may include, for example, your first and last name, email address, contents of your story or question, social media handle, and any other information you choose to provide.
Information We Collect Automatically
We automatically collect certain information about your interactions with us or our Sites, including:
● Device and Usage Information: We collect information about how you access our Sites, including data about the device and network you use, such as your hardware model, operating system version, mobile network, IP address, unique device identifiers, and browser type. We also collect information about your activity on our Sites, such as access times, pages viewed, links clicked, and the page you visited before navigating to our Site.
● Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: Higher Ground and our service providers may use tracking technologies, such as cookies and web beacons, to collect information about your interactions with the Sites. These technologies help us improve our Sites and your experience, see which areas and features of our Sites are popular, and count visits. For more information about the cookies and other tracking technologies we use, and the choices available to you, see the Analytics [A2] section and the Your Privacy Rights and Choices [A3] section below.
USE OF INFORMATION
We use the information we collect to provide, maintain, improve, and develop our Sites and other products and services. We also use the information we collect to:
● Personalize your experience with us;
● If you ask questions, share stories, or volunteer ideas to us for productions, we may use these in future productions, on our social media, or feature them on our Sites;
● Send you technical notices, security alerts, and other transactional or relationship messages;
● Communicate with you about services and events offered by Higher Ground and others
(see the Your Privacy Rights and Choices[A4] section below for information about how to opt out of these communications at any time);
● Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Sites;
● Detect, investigate, and help prevent security incidents and other malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity and help protect the rights and property of Higher Ground and others; and
● Comply with our legal and financial obligations.
ANALYTICS
We engage others to analyze and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, and better understand activity on our Sites. To do so, these entities may use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies to collect information about your use of our Sites, such as your IP address, web browser and mobile network information, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked, and conversion information. You can usually adjust your browser settings to remove or reject all or some browser cookies.
DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION
In certain circumstances, we disclose information about you. We disclose personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and in the following scenarios:
● Vendors and Service Providers. We make personal information available to our vendors, service providers, contractors, and consultants who perform services on our behalf, such as companies that assist us with web hosting, email marketing, and fraud prevention.
● Law Enforcement Authorities and Those Involved in Legal Proceedings. We disclose personal information in response to a request for information if we believe that disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law, regulation or legal process, including lawful requests by public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
● To Protect the Rights of Higher Ground and Others. We disclose personal information if we believe that your actions are inconsistent with our user agreements or policies, if we believe that you have violated the law, or if we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property, and safety of Higher Ground, our users, the public, or others.
● Professional Advisors. We disclose personal information to our legal, financial, insurance, and other professional advisors where necessary to obtain advice or otherwise protect and manage our business interests.
● Corporate Transactions. We disclose personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of certain corporate transactions, including the merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.
● Consent. We make personal information available to third parties when we have your consent or you intentionally direct us to do so. For example, if you share a story with us that you volunteer to have us include in one of our productions, we may share that story publicly, such as on social media or our Sites, or use it in future productions.
● Aggregated Data: We may disclose aggregated or de-identified personal information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. We will not attempt to re-identify such information, except as permitted by law.
YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS AND CHOICES
Opting Out of Marketing Communications
You may opt out of receiving promotional emails from Higher Ground by following the instructions in those communications. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about our ongoing business relations.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Higher Ground uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to analyze visits to and use of our Sites and how consumers are interacting with our marketing communications. You can usually adjust your browser settings to remove or reject all or some browser cookies.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS RESIDING IN CERTAIN STATES
Numerous states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia, have enacted consumer privacy laws that grant their residents certain rights and require additional disclosures (“State Privacy Laws”). If you are a resident of one of these states and to the extent Higher Ground is subject to the State Privacy Laws, this section applies to you.
Additional Disclosures
Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect[A5] , use[A6] , and disclose [A7] information about you, as well as our analytics [A8] practices. We collect information directly from you and automatically when you visit our Sites. Below, we use a table to explain this same information in accordance with the State Privacy Laws.
Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information for Business Purposes.
Categories of Personal Information
Use of Personal Information
● Identifiers (such as your name and email address)
● Internet and other electronic network activity information (such as information about your activity on our Services)
● Vendors and service providers such as data analytics providers and cloud service providers
● Law enforcement
● Professional advisors
● Recipients in connection with efforts to protect rights of Higher Ground and others
● Recipients in connection with corporate transactions
● Others with your consent or at your direction
● Provide, maintain, improve, and develop our Sites and other products and services;
● Personalize your experience with us;
● If you ask questions, share stories, or volunteer ideas to us for productions, we may use these in future productions or on our social media or Sites;
● Send you technical notices, security alerts, and other transactional or relationship messages;
● Communicate with you about services and events offered by Higher Ground and others;
● Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities; and
● Comply with legal and financial obligations.
Categories of Recipients
● Vendors and service providers such as data analytics providers and cloud service providers
● Law enforcement
● Professional advisors
● Recipients in connection with efforts to protect rights of Higher Ground and others
● Recipients in connection with corporate transactions
● Others with your consent or at your direction
Use of Personal Information
● Provide, maintain, improve, and develop our Sites and other products and services;
● Personalize your experience with us;
● If you ask questions, share stories, or volunteer ideas to us for productions, we may use these in future productions or on our social media or Sites; [A1] [A2]
● Send you technical notices, security alerts, and other transactional or relationship messages;
● Communicate with you about services and events offered by Higher Ground and others;
● Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities; and
● Comply with legal and financial obligations.
Other Details About Our Information Practices
● We do not “sell” or “share” your personal information of any users (including those under 16 years of age) nor do we use it for “targeted advertising” as those terms are defined in State Privacy Laws.
● We do not use or disclose information that is considered “sensitive” personal information under State Privacy Laws for the purpose of inferring characteristics about you.
● Our retention periods for personal information are based on business needs and legal requirements. We retain personal information for as long as is necessary for the processing purpose(s) for which we originally collected it and for other business purposes explained in this Privacy Policy. For example, we may retain your email address and information about your marketing preferences to ensure that we can honor those preferences.
Your Privacy Rights
Access, Deletion, Correction
Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to request access to, or deletion or correction of, your personal information. To make such a request with respect to your personal information, please contact us at info@highergroundproductions.com.
Appeals
If we deny your request, you may have the right to appeal our decision by contacting us at info@highergroundproductions.com. If you have concerns about the result of an appeal, you may contact the attorney general in the state where you reside.
Authorized Agents
Depending upon where you reside, you may work with an authorized agent to submit rights requests on your behalf. If you are submitting a rights request as an authorized agent, you are required to submit proof of your authorization to make the request, such as a valid power of attorney or signed permission from the individual who is the subject of the request. If you are an authorized agent looking to make a request, please contact us at info@highergroundproductions.com.
Nondiscrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES FOR INDIVIDUALS IN EUROPE[A11] [A12]
If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following section applies to you.
Legal Basis for Processing
When we process your personal data as described above, we do so in reliance on the following lawful bases:
● Legitimate Interest. When we have a legitimate interest in processing your personal data to operate our business or protect our interests (e.g., to provide, maintain, and improve our products and services).
● Legal Obligations. To comply with our legal obligations (e.g., to maintain a record of your consents and track those who have opted out of marketing communications).
● Consent. When we have your consent to do so (e.g., when you opt in to receive marketing communications from us, or when you consent to us using a story you have shared in one of our productions). When consent is the legal basis for our processing of your personal data, you may withdraw such consent at any time.
Data Subject Requests
You may request deletion, erasure, or correction of your personal data, and you may have the right to object to certain processing or request we restrict certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, please email us at info@highergroundproductions.com.
If you have a concern about our processing of personal data that we are not able to resolve, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority where you reside. Contact details for your Data Protection Authority can be found using the links below:
For individuals in the EEA: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en
For individuals in the UK: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
For individuals in Switzerland: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home/the-fdpic/contact.html
Data Transfers
Higher Grounds is headquartered in the United States and we have operations and vendors in the United States and other countries. Therefore, we and those that perform work for us may transfer your personal data to, or store or access it in, jurisdictions that may not provide levels of data protection that are equivalent to those of your home jurisdiction. Where required by law, we provide adequate protection for the transfer of personal data in accordance with applicable law, such as by obtaining your consent, relying on the European Commission’s adequacy decisions, or executing Standard Contractual Clauses. Where relevant, you may request a copy of these Standard Contractual Clauses by contacting us at info@highergroundproductions.com.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@highergroundproductions.com.