Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 9, 2025

1. Information We Collect

KDRT News aggregates publicly available information from official government sources. We do not collect personal information from visitors unless voluntarily provided through our contact forms.

Automatically Collected Information:

• Standard web server logs (IP addresses, browser types, pages visited)
• Cookies for website functionality (no tracking cookies)
• Analytics data to improve our service

2. Data Sources and Attribution

All content is sourced from official government websites and public records including:

• City of Lubbock official website (ci.lubbock.tx.us)
• Lubbock County government (lubbockcounty.gov)
• Police and fire department press releases
• Public meeting minutes and agendas
• Court records and public safety announcements

3. Ethical Scraping Practices

We follow strict ethical guidelines when collecting information:

• Robots.txt Compliance: We respect all robots.txt directives
• Rate Limiting: Use appropriate delays between requests
• Public Data Only: Only access publicly available information
• Proper Attribution: All content includes links to original sources
• User Agent Identification: Clearly identify as KDRT-News-Bot/1.0

4. How We Use Information

Information is used solely for:

• Providing public transparency and civic engagement tools
• Aggregating government information for community access
• Generating reports and visualizations of public data
• Improving website functionality and user experience

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or transfer personal information to third parties. Public information sourced from government websites remains publicly accessible as originally intended.

6. Data Retention

Government information is retained to provide historical context and transparency. Personal information submitted through contact forms is deleted after responding to inquiries.

7. Third-Party Services

We may use third-party services for:

• Website hosting and content delivery
• Analytics to improve our service
• Advertising (Google AdSense) - subject to their privacy policies

8. User Rights

Users have the right to:

• Request information about data collection practices
• Report inaccurate information for correction
• Submit public information for consideration
• Contact us with privacy concerns

9. Legal Compliance

KDRT News operates in compliance with:

• Texas Public Information Act
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Copyright laws and fair use provisions

10. Contact Information

For privacy concerns or questions about our data practices:

• Website: Contact Form
• Purpose: Local government transparency and civic engagement
• Location: Lubbock, Texas

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Updates will be posted on this page with the revision date.