Privacy Policy

Cops & Congress respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected when you visit, subscribe to, or otherwise interact with Cops & Congress and how that information may be used.

Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with Cops & Congress, we may receive information such as:

• Your name and email address when you voluntarily subscribe to our newsletter or contact us.

• Information you provide when submitting a news tip, comment, correction, question, or other communication.

• Basic technical information collected automatically by our website or publishing platform, such as browser type, device information, approximate location, and pages visited.

• Information processed by third-party services used to operate the publication, including Substack, payment processors, analytics providers, email services, and other technology providers.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information unless you voluntarily provide it to us.

How We Use Information

Information may be used to:

• Deliver Cops & Congress newsletters and other publication communications you request.

• Respond to emails, questions, tips, corrections, and other communications.

• Operate, maintain, and improve the publication.

• Understand readership and website traffic.

• Process subscriptions and payments through third-party providers.

• Protect the publication and its users from fraud, abuse, or security threats.

• Comply with applicable laws and legal obligations.

We Do Not Sell Subscriber Lists

Cops & Congress does not sell, rent, or trade its subscriber email lists or personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We may use third-party service providers to operate the publication. Those providers may process information on our behalf as necessary to provide services such as email delivery, payment processing, website hosting, analytics, or other publication-related functions.

Those third parties’ handling of information is governed by their own privacy policies and terms.

Substack and Third-Party Services

Cops & Congress is published using Substack and may use other third-party services to provide publication, payment, analytics, communications, and related functions.

Cops & Congress does not control what Substack or other third-party services do or do not do with information they process. Their collection and use of information is subject to their own policies and terms.

Readers should review the privacy policies of those services for information about their practices.

Cookies and Analytics

Cops & Congress and its service providers may use cookies, pixels, analytics tools, or similar technologies to operate the website, understand readership, measure traffic, and improve the publication.

You may be able to control cookies through your browser or device settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect how some website features function.

Email Communications

If you subscribe to Cops & Congress, you may receive newsletters, publication updates, and other communications associated with your subscription.

You can unsubscribe from marketing or newsletter communications using the unsubscribe option included in applicable emails, subject to communications necessary to provide services you have requested or to comply with legal obligations.

News Tips and Communications

If you voluntarily provide information to Cops & Congress through email, a news tip, public-records-related communication, interview request, or other correspondence, we may retain and use that information for legitimate journalistic, editorial, administrative, or legal purposes.

Submitting information does not guarantee confidentiality. If you need to discuss whether a communication can be treated as confidential or off the record, please make that request before providing sensitive information.

Accessibility and Assistive Technology

Cops & Congress may use assistive technology and accessibility tools in the course of operating and producing the publication. As a mostly deaf journalist, I may use technology such as transcription, accessibility, or other assistive tools to help with communication and reporting.

Everything published by Cops & Congress is reviewed by a human before publication.

The use of assistive or artificial-intelligence-enabled technology does not mean that automated systems independently determine what Cops & Congress publishes.

Children’s Privacy

Cops & Congress is not directed toward children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Public records that may be published that identify minors are not controlled by Cops & Congress, please contact that source with questions (for example, court records).

If you believe a child has provided personal information to Cops & Congress, please contact us so we can evaluate and, where appropriate, remove the information.

Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect information within our control. However, no method of transmitting or storing information online is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Public Records and Published Information

Cops & Congress reports on government, law enforcement, courts, elections, public records, and matters of public interest.

Information that is already publicly available, including information contained in government records, court records, public meeting materials, or other lawful public sources, may be reported or republished as part of our journalism.

Once information has been lawfully published as news, removing or changing it may not always be possible.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our publication, technology, legal requirements, or practices.

The effective date of this policy will indicate when the policy was most recently updated.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or the privacy practices of Cops & Congress may be directed to:

Cops & Congress by Annie Dance
Email: CopsandCongress@gmail.com

Effective Date: August 16, 2026