fbpx

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)

Click here for the Athlete Connect application

USADA logo.

Global DRO logo in whiteSearch Medications & Ingredients

Search
Search
Close this search box.

privacy policy

LAST MODIFIED: January 4, 2024

United States Anti-Doping Agency (“USADA,” “us,” “we” or “our”) is a not-for-profit, independent national anti-doping organization for Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American sports. We have created this privacy policy (“Policy”) in order to comprehensively inform individuals about our privacy practices and to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. This Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, store, retain or otherwise process your personal information in the course of performing our anti-doping activities, which includes through its Athlete Connect mobile application (“Application”) and performing anti-doping educational, testing, scientific, outreach, investigative (including working with law enforcement and regulatory entities on related criminal or disciplinary matters) and results management activities (collectively, “Anti-Doping Activities”) and administration of the Internet domain(s) owned or operated by USADA, which include but are not limited to:

We refer to the above websites, it’s subdomains, and all related websites as “Websites” and to each of them as a “Website.” Please read this Policy carefully. By continuing to interact with our Anti-Doping Services, you are consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

1. GENERAL DISCLOSURES

Our data centers, this Website, and the Application are hosted in the United States. If you are visiting this Website from outside of the United States, please note that by providing us your information it is being stored or processed in the United States where our data center and servers are located and operated. This Policy sets forth our privacy practices for the United States and for other jurisdictions not otherwise specifically covered in our International Privacy Policy. Depending on your country of residence, you may have a right to additional disclosures as well as special consumer rights. Therefore, if you are outside of the United States, please also see the provisions in our International Privacy Policy, which supplement the disclosures of this Policy.

If you are outside the United States and do not wish to allow the collection and storage of your personal information by this Website or the Application within the United States, you should not use this Website or the Application and you should opt-out of the collection of cookies by following the guidelines in our section titled How To Restrict Cookies. For more information about how we utilize cookies, view our Cookie Policy.

2. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE

In the course of performing our Anti-Doping Activities, we collect a variety of different kinds of personal information from a variety of different people[1]. What information we collect and the purposes for which it is collected will depend on the context of the Anti-Doping Activity that is being performed. Therefore, just because this Policy lists a particular data collection practice does not mean that we have necessarily collected this data from you if you have interacted with USADA before.

A. Information Collected from You.

  1. Website and Application Administration

When you visit the Website or access the Application, we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Online Identifier

the information we may collect includes your IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you connect to the Internet)

we may collect this information to maintain the security of the Website by stopping “denial of service” attacks as well as preventing bot activity

Cookie, Internet and Electronic Network Activity Information

the information we may collect includes:

·       your language preference

·       the type of device, browser and operating system used to access the Website

·       geolocation information

·       the date and time of access to the Website

·       the sub-pages within the Website visited

·       the searches run on the Website

·       age and sex

·       web browsing history and tracking information

we collect this information in order to:

·       measure, track and analyze trends and usage in connection with the use of our Website

·       provide you the Website in your preferred language

·       see how we can better optimize our Website

·       maintain and improve our Website

·       provide you with contextual messages while browsing other websites

  1. Educational Activities

USADA educates a wide variety of individuals, including athletes, coaches, medical professionals, and other support personnel about their rights and responsibilities within various anti-doping programs. Additionally, USADA educates individuals about the potential anti-doping risks in connection with certain dietary supplements. USADA provides these educational services through a number of means such as in-person presentations and online content available on its Websites for free and for purchase. In the course of performing these activities, we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Account Login Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·        username

·        password

·        courses taken

·        assessment scores

·        dates of completion

we collect this information to:

·        administer the education platforms used in our anti-doping educational activities

·        provide you with information or products that you have requested

·        respond to your questions or concerns

·        manage your account preferences, establish your profile and registration information

·        detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or may be otherwise fraudulent or illegal.

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·        full name

·        date of birth

·        physical address

·        e-mail address

·        phone number

·        social media handle

we collect this information to:

·        provide you with information that you have requested

·        send you details about our activities and programs and about anti-doping risks for supplements

·        send you details about educational programs that you have signed-up for or shown an interest in

·        use in connection with our Anti-Doping Activities for results management purposes

Athletic Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·        sport/discipline

·        role

Commercial Information

the information we may collect includes:

·        details about the products you have purchased from us and the corresponding transactions, including the title of any videos you purchase and how often you view the video

·        your communication preferences.

we collect this information in order to:

·        provide you with information or products that you have requested

·        send you details about our activities and programs and about anti-doping risks for supplements

·        send you details about educational programs that you have signed-up for or shown an interest in

Online Identifier

the information we may collect includes your IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you connect to the Internet)

we may collect this information to maintain the security of the Website by stopping “denial of service” attacks as well as preventing bot activity

Cookie, Internet and Electronic Network Activity Information

the information we may collect includes:

·        your language preference

·        the type of device, browser and operating system used to access the Website

·        geolocation information

·        the date and time of access to the Website

·        the sub-pages within the Website visited

·        the searches run on the Website

·        age and sex

·        web browsing history and tracking information

we collect this information in order to:

·        measure, track and analyze trends and usage in connection with the use of our Website

·        provide you the Website in your preferred language

·        see how we can better optimize our Website

·        maintain and improve our Website

·        provide you with contextual messages while browsing other websites

  1. Testing Activities

As part of our testing activities, USADA engages in strategic test planning and no-notice testing of athletes, both in-competition and out-of-competition. In the course of performing this activity, we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Samples

the samples we may collect includes:

·       blood samples

·       urine samples

·       Other WADA-approved sample matrices

we collect this information to administer our anti-doping activities including detecting, investigating and initiating proceedings relating to known or suspected anti-doping violations as well as performing laboratory analysis, results management and any other relevant investigations or proceedings

we also collect this information to develop Athlete Biological Passports (ABPs), which allow us to identify doping based on the analysis of laboratory results obtained from anti-doping samples, or to process Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), where you have a medical condition and need to use a substance or a method that is normally not allowed to be used

we also use this information to plan and conduct anti-doping tests, and locate you for these tests

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       full name

·       date of birth

·       e-mail address

·       phone number

·       physical address

·       passport number

·       country of residence

·       driver’s license number

·       nationality

·       gender

·       university affiliation

·       photographic image

Athletic Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       sport/discipline

·       membership status

·       competition history

·       relationship with coaches, doctors, agents and athletic support staff

·       classification within para sport

Medical History

the information we may collect includes your:

·       prescription and non-prescription medications

·       dietary supplements

·       prohibited substances

·       biometric[2] and genetic information  

·       treatments indicated in medical records

·       other information in medical records

Geolocation Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       regular place of residence

·       regular training locations

·       regular place of work/schooling

·       other regularly attended activities and locations

·       past and planned travel

·       temporary lodging information

·       competition schedule

·       location one hour each day

Testing Results Information

the information we may collect includes the results of any anti-doping tests that we perform or that is performed by another anti-doping organization, including information relating to when you may have missed or failed to submit to a test

  1. Investigation and Results Management Activities

USADA engages in investigations, information gathering, and processing relating to results from anti-doping tests, such as disciplinary hearings, appeals and adjudications for suspected anti-doping rule violations. In the course of performing these activities we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       full name

·       date of birth

·       e-mail address

·       phone number

·       physical address

·       passport number

·       country of residence

·       driver’s license number

·       nationality

·       gender

·       university affiliation

·       social media handles

·       photographic image(s)

we collect this information to administer investigations and proceedings relating to suspected anti-doping rule violations

Athletic Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       sport/discipline

·       membership status

·       competition history

·       relationship with coaches, doctors, agents and athletic support staff

·       other information relevant to the investigation

Medical History

the information we may collect includes your:

·       prescription and non-prescription medications

·       dietary supplements

·       prohibited substances

·       biometric and genetic information  

·       treatments indicated in medical records

·       other information in medical records

Geolocation Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       regular place of residence

·       regular training locations

·       regular place of work

·       other regularly attended activities and locations

·       past and planned travel

·       temporary lodging information

·       competition schedule

·       location one hour each day

Investigation Results

the information we may collect includes your:

·       answers to interview questions

·       communications and other information stored on your mobile device

·       activities recorded by visual and audio surveillance

·       social media content

·       information found in publicly available records

·       itemized telephone bills

·       bank and credit card statements

·       correspondence including emails and text messages

·       recorded interviews

·       disciplinary and sanctions information

·       court, tribunal or arbitration decisions

  1. Scientific Activities

USADA contributes to research on performance enhancing substances, detection methods, and deterrence strategies. In the course of performing this activity we may collect personal information from athletes as described in the Testing Activities and Investigation and Results Management Activities sections above for the purposes of providing scientific expertise to anti-doping research efforts and partnerships as well as managing and evaluating scientific research grants and other scientific research advancement opportunities. However, when athletes select that their samples may be used for research purposes on their doping control form, the sample will be anonymized prior to conducting research.  

  1. Outreach Activities

We perform outreach activities to provide you with educational information about USADA and our mission. In the course of performing these activities we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       name

·       e-mail address

we collect this information to send you press releases or news updates from USADA, if you have requested them

Internet and Electronic Network Activity Information

the information we may collect includes your web browsing activity

we collect this information to provide you with USADA outreach messages as you browse the internet

  1. Employment and Contractor Engagement

If you are an employee of USADA or are one of our independent contractors, we may collect the below personal information from you for the specified purposes.

Category of Information

Examples

Purpose of Collection

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       name

·       e-mail address

·       physical address

·       Social Security number

·       phone number

·       race

·       sex/gender

·       date of birth

·       marital/civil partnership status

we collect this information to administer our employment or contractor relationship with you

Employment Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       business address and contact

·       employment records

·       dates of employment

·       pay or salary rate

·       assessments and reviews

Financial Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       account name and number

·       paycheck information

·       tax information

·       garnishment information for purposes of administering payroll and/or providing expense reimbursements

we collect this information so that we can pay you and process expenses and reimbursements

Background and Personal History

the information we may collect includes your:

·       educational records

·       employment history

·       disability, military or veteran status

·       previous addresses

·       criminal records

·       professional certifications

·       drug test results

we collect this information to perform employment and contractor screening and to perform background checks

B. Information Received From Third Parties

1.    Independent Contractors, Service Providers, Anonymous Individuals, and Other Organizations

We may receive information about you from anonymous third parties, national governing bodies, other affiliate organizations, and our independent contractors; as an example, blood collection officer(s) may collect information in order to facilitate our Anti-Doping Activities. We may also utilize select and vetted service providers that give us information about you relevant to our Anti-Doping Activities. These service providers may include our investigative services providers.

Category of Information

Examples

Source of Information

Purpose of Collection

Identifier Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       full name

·       date of birth

·       e-mail address

·       phone number

·       physical address

·       passport number

·       country of residence

·       nationality

·       gender

·       university affiliation

·       social media handles

·       photographic image

We collect this information from information gathering and risk monitoring companies, sample collection and testing personnel, national governing bodies, other affiliate organizations, and anonymous individuals reporting to the USADA tip hotline

we collect this information to administer investigations and proceedings relating to suspected anti-doping rule violations

Athletic Information

the information we may collect includes your:

·       sport/discipline

·       membership status

·       competition history

·       relationship with coaches, doctors, agents and athletic support staff

·       other information relevant to the investigation

We collect this information from information gathering and risk monitoring companies, national governing bodies, other affiliate organizations, and anonymous individuals reporting to the USADA tip hotline

We collect this information to administer investigations and proceedings relating to suspected anti-doping rule violations

We collect this information to administer anti-doping educational programs

Investigation Results

the information we may collect includes your:

·       social media content

·       information found in publicly available records

·       disciplinary and sanctions information

·       court, tribunal or arbitration decisions

We collect this information from information gathering and risk monitoring companies and anonymous individuals reporting to the USADA tip hotline

We collect this information to administer investigations and proceedings relating to suspected anti-doping rule violations

2.    Social Media Platforms

We may collect information from other sources, such as social media platforms that may share information about how you interact with our social media content. We do not control how your personal information is collected, stored, or used by such third-party websites or to whom it is disclosed. You should review the privacy policies and settings on any social media website that you subscribe to so that you understand the information they collect and may be sharing. If you do not want your social media websites to share information about you, you must contact that website and determine whether it gives you the opportunity to opt-out of sharing such information. USADA is not responsible for how these third-party websites may use information collected from or about you.

[1] As a non-profit entity, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §§6501-6508) does not apply to USADA. Minor athletes should refer to the World Anti Doping Code International Standard for Testing and Investigations (“ISTI”) Annex B – Modifications for Athletes.

[2] USADA retains any athlete’s biometric information 10 years from the athlete’s last formal contact with USADA.

3. TO WHOM WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION AND WHY

The personal information that we collect about you through our Anti-Doping Activities is only used to achieve the goals of those activities and for no other purposes. However, we disclose your personal information to a number of other external entities as may be necessary to perform our Anti-Doping Activities or their own legal purposes. We will only disclose those categories of personal information that are necessary for the external entity to facilitate the relevant Anti-Doping Activity or that are necessary for the governmental or administrative entities to achieve their own obligations and responsibilities, e.g., law enforcement, professional disciplinary bodies. Your personal information may be externally disclosed to the below entities or in the following circumstances.

  • To the World Anti-Doping Agency, various national anti-doping organizations, International Federations, National Governing Bodies, Major Event Organizers, and local event organizers. In order to perform the Anti-Doping Activities, we disclose your personal information to entities that have testing authority, sample collection authority, or results management authority over you, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) or the national anti-doping agencies, entities or organizations that may be applicable where you are competing. WADA also acts as a central clearinghouse for doping testing data and results and prevents unnecessary duplication in testing by the various anti-doping organizations all over the world.
  • To the International Testing Agency. In order to conduct investigations into actual or suspected doping violations, we may disclose your personal information to the International Testing Agency (ITA). The ITA helps to manage anti-doping testing programs throughout the world.
  • To your Member and Area Association. These associations may assist us in performing investigations into actual or suspected doping activity.
  • To agents acting on our behalf. We may disclose your personal information to individuals whom we have engaged to act on our behalf when performing Anti-Doping Activities. For example, these could be doping control officers, blood collection officers, collection agencies, or other third-party agents essential to our Anti-Doping Activities.
  • To our database hosting vendors. Like many organizations, we utilize cloud databases to host our data, including your personal information, so that we can effectively and safely operate the Website and perform our Anti-Doping Activities.
  • To testing laboratories. In order to perform testing for prohibited substances, we must disclose certain personal information to third-party laboratories who perform the necessary testing and analysis. Your name is not disclosed to the third-party laboratories prior to analysis of your A sample.
  • To our auditors. We may be subject to audits from a number of entities, such as WADA, as well as due to our own internal auditing policies. In order to accomplish an effective audit, we must provide information, which may include your personal information, to external auditors. We always ensure that your information is safely disclosed and stored and that auditors can only use your information for the purposes of completing an audit.
  • To our organizational service providers. We may utilize a variety of service providers to facilitate our performance of the Anti-Doping Activities. These service providers include our data analytics providers, payment processors, background check providers, e-mail messaging vendor, translation service providers, online presentation or webinar providers, press release vendor, and our online survey tool providers.
  • To our research partners. We provide scientific expertise to various organizations for purposes of managing and evaluating scientific research grants and other scientific research advancement opportunities. Pursuant to this, we may disclose your personal information to our research partners, such as universities, to perform research on performance enhancing substances, detection methods, and deterrence strategies.
  • To individuals you authorize. We may disclose your personal information to individuals at your direction, like an agent, coach, doctor, or a parent or guardian, or who are serving as your representative.
  • In corporate transactions. We may share all or part of your personal information with other entities in connection with the sale, assignment, merger or other transfer of all or a portion of our organization or assets to such entities (including due to a sale in connection with a bankruptcy). We will require any such purchaser, assignee or other successor organization to honor the terms of this Policy.
  • For legal purposes. We may disclose all or part of your personal information to courts, litigants, regulators, arbitrators, administrative bodies or law enforcement when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information may facilitate investigations into actual or suspected anti-doping or criminal activities (or violation of rules of the relevant regulatory body) and processing relating to disciplinary hearings, appeals and adjudications. We may also disclose your personal information to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating any agreement with us, or may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property, other users of the Website or the Application, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. We may disclose information in response to a subpoena, search warrant, in connection with judicial proceedings, or pursuant to court orders, legal process, Congressional inquiry, or other law enforcement measures. We may disclose or access personal information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, to establish our legal rights or to defend against legal claims.
  • In circumstances where personal information may be publicly disclosed. If you are found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation and receive a sanction as a result, then we will publish your name, sport, the anti-doping rule violated and any additional information related to the violation, including the consequences for you as required by the World Anti-Doping Code and in USADA’s sole discretion when such discretion is permitted.

We have not and do not sell your personal information.

4. YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONAL INFORMATION

You have the right to be informed about the who, what, why and how relating to the processing of your personal information. Please refer to the table of contents at the beginning of this Policy to quickly find the specific disclosures relating to your right to be informed about how we collect and process your personal information, and for what purposes. Further, you may have the ability to request: (i) confirmation regarding whether or not USADA currently has or processes personal information about you; (ii) a copy of the personal information that USADA has or processes about you in a readily intelligible format; and (iii) to have your personal information rectified, amended, blocked or deleted if our processing of your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete, or excessive. You can request to exercise these rights by following the instructions provided under Contact Us. Please be as specific as possible in your request.

However, we may not be able to comply with your request for a number of reasons:

  • the information that you request is not subject to the regulation that grants you the right to make a request in relation to your personal information;
  • we are not able to comply with your request without incurring disproportionate burden or expense;
  • if complying with your request conflicts with the integrity of our Anti-Doping Activities or the ability to plan or conduct no advance notice testing or to investigate and establish anti-doping rule violations or other legal claims; or
  • we may not comply with your request due to compliance with our legal obligations or as permitted under the law or our retention policy.

If any of the above reasons apply, we will let you know in our response to your request. You have the right to initiate a complaint by sending us a message by following the instructions provided under Contact Us. If your complaint is not resolved, you may notify the World Anti-Doping Agency of your complaint through https://www.wada-ama.org/en/contact-us or at compliance@wada-ama.org or privacy@wada-ama.org.

Note that we may be required to gather additional information from you to process your request. We will only use this information in the context of evaluating and responding to your request.

5. CONSENT

Except when otherwise permitted by law or binding regulation, we will obtain the requisite consent from you prior to collecting and, in any case, prior to using or disclosing your personal information for any purpose other than as disclosed in this Policy. You may provide your consent to us orally, in writing, by electronic communication, through your actions (such as participating in athletic competitions where anti-doping testing is required) or any other means reasonably capable of conveying your consent.

Generally, we will seek to obtain your explicit consent if we collect, use or disclose sensitive personal information about you. However, your refusal to provide consent, or your withdrawal of previously given consent can have negative consequences. For those individuals who are subject to USADA’s jurisdiction, refusal to participate in Anti-Doping Activities may prevent your continued involvement in organized sport, constitute a violation of the applicable anti-doping rules, and may invalidate competition results, among other things.

Further, there may be certain circumstances where we may be required to process your personal information even when you do not give consent or have withdrawn your previously given consent. For example, we may still be required to commence or pursue investigations of anti-doping rule violations, to conduct or participate in proceedings or establish or defend legal claims involving your personal information.

6. HOW LONG WE RETAIN YOUR INFORMATION

We may retain your personal information for a period of time that is consistent for USADA to perform our Anti-Doping Activities, as well as with applicable law, applicable statute of limitations and our data retention practices. We may also retain your personal information as we believe is reasonably necessary to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, to detect or prevent fraud, to collect fees owed, to resolve disputes, to address problems, to assist with investigations, to enforce other applicable agreements or policies or to take any other actions consistent with applicable law.

7. LINKS TO OTHER SITES

This Website has links to other websites. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site and its operator. We encourage you to carefully review the privacy policy of each entity to which you provide information.

8. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may amend this Policy at any time by posting revisions on our Website. If we make any material changes in the way we collect or process your personal information, we will notify you by prominently posting notice of the changes on our Website.

9. CONTACT US

You can contact us, including the person responsible for compliance (Compliance Manager) with any applicable privacy and data protection laws, regulations or codes, by email at privacy@USADA.org.

You can also contact us by writing to:

United States Anti-Doping Agency
5555 Tech Center Drive, Suite 200,
Colorado Springs, CO 80919-2372, USA

USADA is the data controller with regards to the personal information that we collect and process about you. However, depending on your country of residence and which national anti-doping organization you interact with, your personal information may be controlled by another organization and will be subject to that organization’s privacy policy. This Policy only applies to how USADA deals with personal information. It does not apply to WADA, other anti-doping organizations or to any other organization’s activities or websites even if you access them through this Website, the Application or through USADA’s Anti-Doping Activities. If you disclose your personal information to other organizations, your information will be dealt with according to their privacy practices.

INTERNATIONAL PRIVACY POLICY

The above general Policy still applies to those individuals who reside outside of the United States or who have had personal information collected by USADA or its agents in a country other than the United States. However, due to various international regulations, those individuals may have additional rights. This International Privacy Policy (the “International Policy”) supplements the above general Policy, but where the provisions of the general Policy and this International Policy cannot be construed consistently, this International Policy will govern.

Please note that by visiting the Website, accessing the Application or by having personal information collected by USADA, your personal information is being stored or processed in the United States where our data center and servers are located and operated. The United States may not have privacy laws that are as strong or comprehensive as the privacy laws in your own country. Your personal information may also be stored in a multi-tenant cloud environment hosted by USADA’s service providers.

Depending on your country of residence, you may have data rights as provided by various laws, regulations and codes, which can include the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral Protecao de Dados Pessoais), the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the Swiss Revised Federal Act on Data Protection 1992 and Ordinance on the Federal Act on Data Protection, the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, the Japanese Amended Act on Protection of Personal Information or the Australian Privacy Act 1988, among others.

THIS INTERNATIONAL POLICY APPLIES TO ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU THAT WE COLLECT, HOLD, USE AND DISCLOSE, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY IN WHICH WE COLLECT IT (I.E. WHETHER THROUGH THE WEBSITE, THE ANTI-DOPING ACTIVITIES OR OTHERWISE).

1. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

USADA collects personal information from you through our Anti-Doping Activities. You can find specific details about the personal information that we collect from you in the section titled What Information We Collect of the general Policy.

Where we are the data controller with regards to the personal information that we process, you may exercise your rights as a data subject, including the right to object to the processing of your personal information when it is processed based on legitimate interests, as described in this International Policy. Where we are collecting your personal information on behalf of another entity (i.e., we are not the data controller), we will provide you with the identity of the data controller so that you may exercise your rights as a data subject directly with them.

2. HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

As a general matter, we collect your personal information to perform our Anti-Doping Activities. You can find specific details about the purposes for which USADA collects personal information from you in the section titled What Information We Collect.

3. THE BASIS ON WHICH WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will only collect and process your personal information as is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of USADA’s functions or activities, including the Anti-Doping Activities.

Where required by law, we rely on the following legal grounds to process your personal information, namely:

  • Performance of a contract: We may need to collect and use your personal information to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract or provide services that you have requested from us.
  • Consent: Where required by law, we will obtain your explicit consent for collecting and processing of your personal information.
  • Legitimate interests: We may use your personal information for our legitimate interests of detecting and preventing fraud as well as maintaining the security of USADA’s network and information systems.
  • Legal matters: We may process your personal information when its collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of a legal or equitable claim.
  • Safety and protection: We may need to collect and/or use your personal information to protect the life or physical safety of you or a third party.
  • Public policies: We may need to collect and/or use your personal information to support the execution of public policies provided in laws or regulations, or based on contracts, agreements, or similar instruments.

4. OBTAINING CONSENT

Except when otherwise permitted by law or binding regulation, we will obtain the requisite consent from you prior to collecting and, in any case, prior to using or disclosing your personal information for any purpose other than as disclosed in this International Policy. You may provide your consent to us orally, in writing, by electronic communication, through your actions (such as participating in athletic competitions where anti-doping testing is required) or any other means reasonably capable of conveying your consent.

Generally, we will seek to obtain your explicit consent if we collect, use or disclose sensitive personal information about you. However, your refusal to provide consent, or your withdrawal of previously given consent can have negative consequences. For those individuals who are subject to USADA’s jurisdiction, refusal to participate in Anti-Doping Activities may prevent your continued involvement in organized sport, constitute a violation of the applicable anti-doping rules, and may invalidate competition results, among other things.

Further, there may be certain circumstances where we may be required to process your personal information even when you do not give consent or have withdrawn your previously given consent. For example, we may still be required to commence or pursue investigations of anti-doping rule violations, to conduct or participate in proceedings or establish or defend legal claims involving your personal information.

5. THIRD PARTIES

We remain responsible for all personal information communicated to other entities for processing. As such, we ensure that other entities that are engaged to provide products or services on our behalf and are provided with personal information are required to observe the intent of this International Policy by having comparable levels of security protection or, when required, by assuring us (through a confidentiality agreement) that they will not use or disclose the personal information for any purpose other than the purpose for which the personal information was communicated. You can find specific details about to whom USADA discloses your personal information in the section titled To Whom Do We Disclose Your Information And Why.

6. LIMITATIONS

We only collect the personal information necessary to fulfill the purposes identified to you prior to or at the time of collection, or any other reasonable and legitimate purposes or as required by law.

We do not use or disclose your personal information, except for the purposes for which it was collected, or new purposes to which you have consented, or as required or otherwise permitted by applicable law.

We do not, as a condition of providing the Website, the Application or performing the Anti-Doping Activities, or as an administrative or management requirement, require consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information beyond what is reasonably required for such purposes, or to comply with our obligations under applicable law or regulation.

7. RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may keep a record of your personal information, including correspondence or comments, in a file specific to you. We will utilize, disclose, or retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and for legal or business requirements. We will establish retention periods and procedures for maintaining and destroying your personal information. When personal information is retained to make a decision about you, we will retain such information for the period required in order to comply with our internal data retention policies. You can find more information about how long USADA stores your personal information in the section titled How Long We Retain Your Information.

8. ACCESS AND RIGHTS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

There are a number of data privacy laws that provide specific data subject rights to residents of certain jurisdictions. This section of this International Policy describes the rights available to those individuals who are entitled to them. Not all individuals about whom we possess information will have access to these rights and we may not be able to provide these rights to everyone due to legal and jurisdictional limitations. We may not be able to comply with your request for a number of reasons, including:

  • you do not live in a jurisdiction that grants you the specific right that you have requested;
  • the information that you’ve requested is not subject to the regulation that grants you the right to make a request in relation to your personal information;
  • we are prevented by law, regulation or rule from complying with your request;
  • our continued processing and possession of your personal data is necessary for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims or pursuant to an important public interest;
  • we are not able to comply with your request without incurring disproportionate burden or expense; or
  • if complying with your request conflicts with the integrity of our services or the ability to administer our business, to administer our business and related relationships or to establish, defend or administer legal claims.

If any of the above reasons apply, we will let you know in our response to your request. Note that we may be required to gather additional information from you in order to process your request. We will only use this information in the context of evaluating and responding to your request. If you fail or refuse to provide the necessary information, we may not be able to process your request.

Subject to the exceptions provided herein or by applicable law or regulation, and depending on your country of residence, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • The right to request confirmation that USADA maintains or processes personal information about you.
  • The right to know what categories of personal information USADA maintains or processes about you.
  • The right to access the personal information that USADA maintains or processes about you.
  • The right to request that a copy of your personal information that USADA maintains or processes about you be provided to you or another data controller in a portable format.
  • The right to know the purpose for USADA maintaining and processing your personal information.
  • The right to withdraw your consent for USADA’s processing of your personal information, if our processing is based upon your consent.
  • The right to request the correction of inaccurate personal information that USADA maintains about you.
  • The right to request that USADA delete the personal information that it maintains about you.
  • The right to request that USADA restrict the processing of your personal information due to the following reasons:
    • That the personal information as maintained by USADA is inaccurate and has not yet been corrected.
    • That USADA’s processing is unlawful, but you do not want USADA to delete your personal information.
    • That USADA no longer needs your personal information for the purposes of its processing, but USADA has stated that we need your personal information for establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
    • Because you object to USADA’s processing of your personal information.
  • The right to know the envisaged period for which USADA will maintain your personal information, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period.
  • The right to know the categories of recipients to whom USADA has disclosed your personal information, including if those recipients are located outside of your country of residence.
  • The right to know the safeguards put into place by USADA to protect your personal information when it is disclosed outside of your country of residence.
  • The right to know the sources from which USADA collected personal information about you.
  • The right to know whether USADA engages in automated decision-making, including profiling, relating to you.
  • The right to opt-out of USADA’s automated decision-making programs.
  • The right to object to USADA’s processing of your personal information that is based upon USADA’s legitimate interests, as described herein.
  • The right to object to USADA’s processing of your personal information for the purposes of direct marketing.
  • The right to object to USADA’s processing of your personal information for the purposes of scientific or historical research or statistical analysis.

You can request to exercise these rights by using the information provided under Contact Us. Please be as specific as possible in your request so that we can meet the applicable handling timelines.

Finally, you have the right to raise a complaint with USADA or the appropriate data protection authority of your country of residence if you feel that USADA’s processing of your personal information violates your individual rights, is not in line with this International Policy or violates the privacy principals, laws or regulations of your country of residence.

  • You can contact USADA’s Compliance Manager by using the information provided under Contact Us. We will promptly investigate any complaint and will respond within the timeframes describe in this International Policy.
  • If you are a resident of the European Union, you can find your appropriate data protection authority by following this link.
  • If you are a resident of Switzerland, you can contact your data protection authority through the information provided in this link.
  • If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, you can contact your data protection authority through the information provided in this link.
  • If you are a resident of Australia, you can contact your data protection authority through the information provided in this link. You can view the Australian Privacy Principles through this link.
  • If you are a resident of Canada, you can contact your data protection authority through the information provided in this link.

An interactive map showing the various Data Protection Authorities around the world and how to contact them can be found here.

9. RESPONSE TIME

We will make every reasonable effort to respond to your written request not later than 30 days after receipt of such request. We will advise you in writing if we cannot meet your request within this time limit. When applicable, you have the right to make a complaint to the appropriate supervisory authority, as detailed in this International Policy, with respect to this time limit.

10. COSTS

We expect to be able to respond to your request without charge as a general matter.  However, where allowed by law, we reserve the right to collect a reasonable charge when you request the transcription, reproduction or transmission of such information. We will notify you, following your request of the appropriate amount that will be charged. You will then have the opportunity to withdraw your request.

11. IDENTIFYING YOU IN CONNECTION WITH REQUESTS

We may require that you provide to us additional information to identify yourself before we provide information about the existence, use or disclosure of your personal information in our possession. Any such information that you provide to us shall be used only for this purpose.

12. OPT-OUT AND UNSUBSCRIBE

We respect your privacy and give you an opportunity to opt-out of receiving marketing and promotional messages from us, to the extent that you receive any. You may opt-out by using the instructions located in e-mails sent by USADA or by contacting us using the information under Contact Us.We respect your privacy and give you an opportunity to opt-out of receiving marketing and promotional messages from us, to the extent that you receive any. You may opt-out by using the instructions located in e-mails sent by USADA or by contacting us using the information under Contact Us.

13. ACCURACY

We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal information is kept as accurate, complete and up to date as possible. We do not routinely update your personal information in our possession, unless such a process is necessary. In order to help us maintain and ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date, you must inform us, without delay, of any change in the data that you have provided to us.

You can at any time, challenge the accuracy or completeness of the personal information we have about you, subject to the exceptions provided by applicable law. If you demonstrate that the personal information we have on you is inaccurate or incomplete, we will amend the personal information as required. Where appropriate, we will transmit the amended data to third parties to whom we have communicated your personal information.

14. SAFEGUARDS

We use security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of personal information to protect it from loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. These safeguards include physical measures, such as restricted access to offices and equipment, organizational measures, such as security clearances and publishing this policy to appropriate personnel with instructions to act in accordance with its principles (for example, limiting access on a “need to know” basis), and technological measures, such as the use of passwords and/or encryption.

Personal information is generally stored with our database service provider.

15. CONTACT

To submit questions or to inquire about or submit a request relating to data rights, you can contact us via the contact provided in the Contact Us.

COOKIES POLICY

Like many website operators, USADA and its analytics vendors use server logs and automated data collection tools, such as browser cookies, pixel tags, scripts and web beacons. These tools are used for analytics purposes to enable us to understand how users interact with our Website. USADA and our analytics vendors may tie the information gathered by these means to the identity of users.

Cookies are small text files placed on a computer or device while browsing the Internet. Cookies are used to collect, store and share bits of information about user activities. USADA uses both session cookies and persistent cookies.

Session cookies are used to identify a particular visit to USADA’s Website. These cookies expire after a short time or when the user closes their web browser after using the Website.

A persistent cookie will remain on a user’s device for a set period of time specified in the cookie. We use these cookies to identify and recognize a specific user over a longer period of time. They allow us to:

  • measure, track and analyze trends and usage in connection with the use of our Website
  • provide you the Website in your preferred language
  • see how we can better optimize our Website
  • maintain and improve our Website
  • provide you with contextual messages while browsing other websites

Do Not Track (“DNT”) is an optional browser setting that allows you to express your preferences regarding tracking across websites. Most modern web browsers give you the option to send a Do Not Track signal to the websites you visit, indicating that you do not wish to be tracked. However, there is no accepted standard for how a website should respond to this signal, so we do not take any action in response to this signal. USADA does not have a mechanism in place to respond to DNT signals. Instead, in addition to publicly available external tools, we offer you the choices described in this Cookie Policy to manage the collection and use of information about you.

THIRD PARTY COOKIES

The Website allows third parties to place cookies on your Internet-connected device in order to deliver advertisements based upon your web-browsing habits and history. Further, in order to provide interoperability and plug-ins from various social media websites (like LinkedIn), the Website allows these third parties to place and collect cookies on your Internet-connected device.

HOW TO RESTRICT COOKIES

You can adjust the settings in your browser in order to restrict or block cookies that are set by the Website (or any other website on the Internet). Your browser may include information on how to adjust your settings. Alternatively, you may visit U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s website www.consumer.ftc.gov to obtain comprehensive general information about cookies and how to adjust the cookie settings on various browsers.

You can control and delete these cookies through your browser settings through the following:

Or you can also use the following cookie management and disposal tool from Google Analytics by downloading and installing the browser plug-in from the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact the functionality of the Website. For example, refusing cookies will not allow USADA to present the Website in your preferred language. Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies. Additional general information about cookies, including how to be notified about the placement of new cookies and how to disable cookies, can be found at www.allaboutcookies.org.

Scroll to Top