for ABC7 LISTENS Polls Conducted by Hertz Research

The ABC7 Listens Polls are conducted by Hertz Research of Petaluma, California. This policy covers how the information acquired by Hertz Research on behalf of ABC7 Television in San Francisco is governed. It does not apply to companies or individuals not under the control or employ of Hertz Research.

Under the Privacy Policy of Hertz Research, your responses to our ABC7 Listens Polls are given the same privacy and security protections that people who take telephone, mail or in person interviews receive. The answers you give to our poll questions are combined with those of other poll respondents. The results of this combined database is what we provide our clients for their reporting or internal use of our poll results.

Unless you check the Willing to be Appear on Camera box when you register to join our ABC7 Polling team, your individual opinions will remain completely confidential.

If you check the Willing to Appear on Camera box, you might be contacted by an ABC7 news reporter to see if you’re willing to be interviewed for a news story about the poll results. Your name and opinions will never be used unless you give your permission to do so.

Use of Registration Information

When you register to participate in ABC7 Listens Polls, we ask you to provide us with a limited amount of categorical information such as your gender and age group. We ask you to provide that information so that we can ensure that our polls are scientific and demographically representative of the Bay Area.

Not every member of the ABC7 Polling Team is asked to participate in every ABC7 Listens news poll. We use the registration information as well as our users history of poll participation to help us determine who we send e-mail invitations of participation for each poll. We also use the registration information to limit the scope of certain polls to certain areas or groups of people when the news story about a poll is about a specific region or group of people.

Other Use of Demographic Information

In many ABC7 Listens Polls, we ask you similar or additional demographic questions. The reason we do this is so that our news clients can report how certain groups such as people of different age groups or genders responded to the poll questions. The answers you give to these questions is combined with the responses of other poll respondents and then categorized into group information.

Right to Discontinue Participation

You have the right at any time to terminate your future participation in ABC7 Listens Polls. By going into the account maintenance section, you can discontinue your participation. A record of your participation as a Polling Team member will remain in the custody of Hertz Research for archival purposes.

Change in Privacy Policy

Any changes to the privacy policy of Hertz Research will be posted our web site. In the event that Hertz Research is merged or acquired by another company, your information may be transferred or governed by the privacy policy of the new company. Before any such transfer or change, you will be notified.

If you have further questions about the privacy policy of Hertz Research, you may e-mail us at feedback@hertzresearch.com.