Introduction

Boston College is committed to supporting the privacy of individuals who participate in the Cooperation Island research activities available at www.cooperationisland.com (the “Site”). As used in this statement, the terms “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Boston College.

This Privacy Statement explains how we handle and use the personal information we collect about our research participant community.

For participants

The Site uses interactive, web-based activities that allow children to participate from any internet-connected computers and tablets. It is run by researchers at Boston College’s Cooperation Lab, located at 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA, which researchers will have access to all of the data collected on the Site.

What personal information we collect

We collect the following kinds of personal information:

• Account data: parent/guardian name, email address, and IP addresses of the computer used to log on to the Site.

• Child data: Site username and password, gender, age, nationality, zip code, and birth month and year.

• Study data: responses collected during the child’s participation in the research activities at the Site, including, for example, information about the child’s decisions about their avatar’s actions.

How we collect personal information about you

The information we collect and maintain is the information you and your children provide to us when consenting to participate in the research activities, registering your children, requesting information about the research activities, exercising rights you may have under applicable law, or participating in the research activities at the Site.

All children using the Site must have a parent or legal guardian provide consent for their participation in the research activities and for their use of the Site. We will not knowingly provide access to the Site or the research activities to children for whom we have not received a parent/legal guardian consent.

When we share and how we use your personal information

The research team and authorized Boston College personnel will have access to your personal information. We will share such personal information with the following recipients:

• Research collaborators at other organizations who have agreed to confidentiality and use restrictions;

• Processors that act on our behalf, who have agreed to confidentiality and use restrictions;

• Boston College’s Institutional Review Board (a committee that reviews and approves research studies) and its Office of Research Security, Integrity, and Compliance; and

• Public authorities, in those situations in which we receive a lawful order to do so.

We will use personal information for the purposes of the Cooperation Island research effort. We will post data from Cooperation Island in online data repositories (each, a "Data Repository”), provided that all directly identifyinginformation will first be removed. Once in a Data Repository, researchers from around the world will have access to the deidentified data to conduct research studies.

Your child may cease participating in the Cooperation Island research activities at any time by discontinuing their use of the Site. If you choose to withdraw your child from participation in Cooperation Island or exercise a right to have your data deleted (should you live in a jurisdiction which provides that right), you should contact us using the contact information below to ask that we destroy the personal information we have collected about you or your child, such that neither you nor your child may be identified. Once that is done, any data collected through your or your child’s participation in the research activities or on the Site will be anonymized, and no key will exist to link you or your child to any data we have submitted to a Data Repository.

How your information is stored and secured

We have implemented security safeguards designed to protect the personal information that you may provide. Personally identifiable information will be stored on encrypted servers and only authenticated users may access the information. However, you should be aware that we cannot guarantee that those security safeguards will be effective. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your account details, including your child’s username and password.

How long we keep your personal information

The period of time for which we retain personal information depends on the duration of the research effort, including analysis and publication of any papers relating to the research. Once submitted to a Data Repository, the deidentified data collected through Cooperation Island will remain in the Data Repository in accordance with the Data Repository’s data retention policies, unless we request the data’s deletion.

Rights for individuals in the European Economic Area

You have the right in certain circumstances to (1) access your personal information; (2) to correct or erase information; (3) restrict processing; and (4) object to communications, direct marketing, or profiling. To the extent applicable, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation provides further information about your rights. You also have the right to lodge complaints with your national or regional data protection authority.

To protect the personal information we hold, we may also request further information to verify your identity when you exercise these rights. Upon a request to erase information, we will maintain a core set of personal data to ensure we do not contact you inadvertently in the future, as well as any information necessary for archival purposes. In the event of an actual or threatened legal claim, we may retain your information for purposes of establishing, defending against, or exercising our rights with respect to such claim.

By providing information directly to Boston College, you consent to the transfer of your personal information outside of the European Economic Area to the United States. You understand that the current laws and regulations of the United States may not provide the same level of protection as the data and privacy laws and regulations of the EEA.

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide any personal data to us.

Additional Information

We may change this Privacy Statement from time to time.

The controller for your personal information is Boston College. The researcher conducting these research activities is Katherine McAuliffe. You may contact her at Katherine.Mcauliffe.2@bc.edu.

This policy was last updated May 23, 2024.