Privacy Policy

Last Updated July 10, 2024

Protecting your privacy is fundamental to the way Meridian AI, Inc. (“Meridian”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) conducts business. This Privacy Policy explains how we may collect, use and disclose your personal information when you access our digital or online properties or services that link to this Privacy Policy (including, our website (“Site”), our paid web application (“Web App”), our marketing activities, our live events, and other activities described in this Privacy Policy) (collectively, the “Online Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to your use of third-party sites linked to this website.

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will make note of the changes on our website and your continued access to the Online Services is deemed to be your acceptance of those changes, so we encourage you to check back periodically for updates.

You can jump to particular topics by going to the headings below:

How We Collect or Receive Personal Information
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Choices
Data Security
How We Retain Your Personal Information
Other Important Information
Contact Information

We collect personal information in the course of providing the Online Services.

Context	Types of Data	Primary Purpose for Collection and Use of Data
Client Information	We collect the name, usernames, and contact information, of our clients and their employees with whom we may interact.	We have a legitimate interest in contacting our clients and communicating with them concerning normal business administration such as projects, services, and billing.
Client and User Account information	We collect personal information from our clients and users of our Online Services when they create an account to access and use the Online Services. This information could include business contact information such as name, email address, title, company information, and password for the Online Services as well as audiovisual information such as pictures uploaded or used in the Online Services.	We have a legitimate interest in providing account-related functionalities to our users, monitoring account log-ins, and detecting potential fraudulent logins or account misuse. Additionally, we use this information to fulfill our contract to provide you with services.
Cookies and first party tracking	We use cookies and clear GIFs. “Cookies” are small pieces of information that a website sends to a computer’s hard drive while a website is viewed.	We have a legitimate interest in making our website operate efficiently and improving our marketing efforts and Online Services.
Cookies and Third-Party Tracking	We participate in behavior-based advertising, this means that a third party uses technology (e.g., a cookie) to collect information about your use of our website so that they can provide advertising about products and services tailored to your interests on our website, or on other websites.	We have a legitimate interest in engaging in behavior-based advertising and capturing website analytics in improving our marketing efforts.
Demographic Information	We collect personal information, such as your age, identified gender, identified ethnicity, identified race or location.	We have a legitimate interest in understanding our users and providing tailored services that take into account these attributes.
Email Interconnectivity	If you receive an email from us, we may use certain tools to capture data related to when you open our message, click on any links or banners it contains and make purchases.	We have a legitimate interest in understanding how you interact with our communications to you.
Employment	If you apply for a job posting or become an employee, we collect the information necessary to process your application or to retain you as an employee. This may include, among other things, your Social Security Number. Providing this information is required for employment.	We use information about current employees to perform our contract of employment or the anticipation of a contract of employment with you. In some contexts, we are also required by law to collect information about our employees. We also have a legitimate interest in using your information to have efficient staffing and workforce operations.
Feedback / Support	We collect personal information from you contained in any inquiry you submit to us regarding the Online Services, such as completing our online forms, calling, or emailing for the purposes of general inquiries, support requests, or to report an issue. When you communicate with us over the phone, your calls may be recorded and analyzed for training, quality control and for sales and marketing purposes. During such calls, we will notify you of the recording via either voice prompt or script.	We have a legitimate interest in receiving and acting upon, your feedback, issues, or inquiries.
Mailing List	When you sign up for one of our mailing lists we collect your email address or postal address.	We share information about our Online Services with individuals that consent to receive such information. We also have a legitimate interest in sharing information about our Online Services.
Order Placement	We collect your name, billing address, e-mail address, phone number, and use a third party, PCI compliant service to process your payment card number when you place an order.	We use your information to perform our contract to provide you with Online Services.
Payment Information	We collect payment and billing information when you register for certain paid Online Services, such as our Web App. For example, we ask you to designate a billing representative, including name and contact information, upon registration. You might also provide payment information, such as payment card details, which we collect via secure payment processing services.	We have a legitimate interest in getting paid for certain Online Services.
Promotions	Promotions, incentives or giveaways may be made available by us or third parties from time to time. You do not have to participate in these, however, if you choose to participate, you may be asked to disclose some personal information. Additionally, at the time of entering the promotion, we will disclose in the promotion’s materials specific terms and conditions regarding how your personal information will be used. Please do not participate in any promotion if you do not agree to such usage.	We have a legitimate interest in sharing information about our Online Services and providing incentives to our customers.
Surveys	When you participate in a survey, we collect information that you provide through the survey. If the survey is provided by a third-party service provider, the third party’s privacy policy applies to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information.	We have a legitimate interest in understanding your opinions and collecting information relevant to our organization.
Website interactions	We use technology to monitor how you interact with our Online Services. This may include which links you click on, or information that you type into our online forms. This may also include information about your device or browser.	We have a legitimate interest in understanding how you interact with our Online Services to better improve them, and to understand your preferences and interests in order to select offerings that you might find most useful. We also have a legitimate interest in detecting and preventing fraud.
Web logs	We collect information, including your browser type, operating system, Internet Protocol (IP) address (a number that is automatically assigned to a computer when the Internet is used), domain name, click-activity, referring website, and/or a date/time stamp for visitors.	We have a legitimate interest in monitoring our networks and visitors to our Online Services. Among other things, it helps us understand which of our Online Services is the most popular.

In addition to the information that we collect from you directly, we may also receive information about you from other sources, including third parties, business partners, our affiliates, or publicly available sources. For example, if you submit a job application, or become an employee, we may conduct a background check.

How We Use Personal Information

We use the personal information which you provide to us to perform our Online Services as outlined in this Privacy Policy. When you are our prospective or current business client of our Web App, we use personal information about you and your employees to:

•deliver the Site and Web App;
• carry out "Know Your Client" checks and screenings prior to starting a new engagement;
• carry out client communications, services, billing, and administration;
• configure our Online Services and your dashboard access, and other professional services that you may request;
• secure client feedback;
• deal with client complaints and requests;
• create marketing materials such as white papers, case studies, and social media content; or
• contacting and marketing to our clients.

We also process personal information about our clients/prospective clients and employees of our clients/prospective clients to:

contact our prospects and clients in relation to current, future and proposed engagements;
send our prospects and clients newsletters, know-how, promotional material and other marketing communications; or
invite our prospects and clients to events (and arrange and administer those events).

When you are a visitor to our Site, our Web App, attend our live events, or request marketing information, we may use your personal information to:

monitor the performance of our Site and Web App, analyze trends, usage and activities in connection with our Site;
deliver targeted advertising where permitted by applicable law; or
deliver information (including marketing information) to you based on your needs and interest.

We use Google Analytics on our Site and Web App, you can find out more about how Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services by reviewing the privacy policy available at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/.

Although the sections above describe our primary purpose in collecting your information, in many situations we have more than one purpose. For example, if you sign up for our Web App, we may collect your information to complete that transaction, but we also collect your information as we have a legitimate interest in maintaining your information after your transaction is complete so that we can quickly and easily respond to any questions about the Online Services. If we wish to use your personal information for a purpose which is not compatible with the purpose for which it was collected for, we will request your consent, unless there is an exception which applies under applicable law, such as those listed in the section below. In all cases, we balance our legal use of your personal information with your interests, rights, and freedoms in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Disclosure of Personal Information

In addition to the specific situations discussed elsewhere in this Privacy Policy, we may disclose personal information we collect from you: (1) if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of us, our clients or others (2) to our authorized service providers such as our contractors and other third parties we use to support our business; (3) to fulfill the purpose for which you provide it; (4) to a buyer or other successor in the event of a sale, merger, reorganization or transfer of some or all of our business or assets; (5) for any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information; (6) to comply with any court order, law or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request; (7) to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collections; or (8) with your consent. We do not sell your personal information or otherwise share personal information with third parties for direct marketing purposes.

Your Choices

You can make the following choices regarding your personal information:

Right to Access to Your Personal Information. You may request access to your personal information by contacting us at the address described below. If required by law, upon request, we will grant you reasonable access to the personal information that we have about you.
Right to Data Portability. You may have the right to obtain a copy of the personal information that you previously provided. We will provide this information in a portable format, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit your personal information to another controller without hindrance, where the processing is carried out by automated means. Note that California residents may be entitled to ask us for a notice describing what categories of personal information (if any) we share with third parties or affiliates for direct marketing.
Right to make Changes to Your Personal Information. We rely on you to update and correct your personal information. Most of our websites allow you to modify or delete your account profile. If our website does not permit you to update or correct certain information, you contact us at the address described below in order to request that your information be modified. Note that we may keep historical information in our backup files as permitted by law.
Right to Deletion of Your Personal Information. Typically we retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. You may, however, request information about how long we keep a specific type of information, or request that we delete your personal information by contacting us at the address described below. If required by law we will grant a request to delete information, but you should note that in many situations we must keep your personal information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or for another one of our business purposes.
Right to Object to Certain Processing. You may object to our use or disclosure of your personal information by contacting us at the address described below.
Online Tracking. We do not currently recognize automated browser signals regarding tracking mechanisms, which may include “Do Not Track” instructions.
Promotional Emails. You may choose to provide us with your email address for the purpose of allowing us to send free newsletters, surveys, offers, and other promotional materials to you, as well as targeted offers from third parties. You can
stop receiving promotional emails by following the unsubscribe instructions in the e-mails that you receive. If you decide not to receive promotional emails, we may still send you service-related communications.
Promotional Text Messages. If you receive a text message from us that contains promotional information you can opt-out of receiving future text messages by replying “STOP.”
Revocation Of Consent. If you revoke your consent for the processing of personal information then we may no longer be able to provide you services. In some cases, we may limit or deny your request to revoke consent if the law permits or requires us to do so, or if we are unable to adequately verify your identity. You may revoke consent to processing (where such processing is based upon consent) by contacting us at the address described below.

Please address written requests and questions about your rights to privacy@meridian-ai.com

Note that, as required by law, we will require you to prove your identity. We may verify your identity by a phone call or email. Depending on your request, we will ask for information such as your name or other account information. We may also ask you to provide a signed declaration confirming your identity. Following a request, we will use reasonable efforts to supply, correct or delete personal information about you in our files.

In some circumstances, you may designate an authorized agent to submit requests to exercise certain privacy rights on your behalf. We will require verification that you provided the authorized agent permission to make a request on your behalf. You must provide us with a copy of the signed permission you have given to the authorized agent to submit the request on your behalf and verify your own identity directly with us. If you are an authorized agent submitting a request on behalf of an individual you must attach a copy of the following information to the request:

A completed notarized statement executed by you and the consumer indicating that you have the authorization to act on the consumer’s behalf.

Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access and disclosure. The use of, and access to, your personal information by us is restricted to authorized individuals who need to know that information to provide services to you, and who receive training about the importance of protection personal information. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to limit access to your nonpublic personal information. Only authorized individuals access your personal information, and they receive training about the importance of protecting personal information. Our service providers and business partners are also contractually bound to maintain the confidentiality of personal information and may not use the information for any unauthorized purposes.

Unfortunately, no method of transmission of information via the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to us through our website or other electronic means. Any electronic transmission of personal information is at your own risk. In the event that we are required by law to inform you of a breach of your personal information we may notify you electronically, in writing, or by telephone, if permitted to do so by law.

How we retain your personal information

The precise periods for which we keep your personal information vary depending on the nature of the information and why we need it. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use and/or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

We may anonymize your personal information (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research, statistical or other business purposes. We may use this aggregated, anonymized, or de-personalized information indefinitely. We may retain personal information for a commercially reasonable time for backup, archival, audit purposes, and/or to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce agreements. You can request further details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal information by contacting us.

International Data Transfers and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

We are a global business, with our primary location in the US. The personal information (or “personal data”) which we collect from you will be stored in the US and in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), and it may be transferred to a destination outside the EEA or the UK, namely to the US. You acknowledge the transfer to, and storing, or processing outside of the EEA or UK of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy.

Meridian complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF) and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Swiss-U.S. DPF) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Meridian has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (EU-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from the European Union and the United Kingdom in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF. Meridian has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from Switzerland in reliance on the Swiss-U.S. DPF. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the EU-U.S. DPF Principles and/or the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, the Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) Program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/

In compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF, Meridian commits to cooperate and comply respectively with the advice of the panel established by the EU data protection authorities (DPAs) and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) with regard to unresolved complaints concerning our handling of personal data received in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF.

Meridian is responsible for the processing of personal data it receives and subsequently transfers to a third party acting as an agent on its behalf. Meridian complies with the EU-U.S. DPF, UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles for onward transfers of personal data, including the onward transfer liability provisions.

The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over Meridian’s compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF, the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. DPF. In certain situations, Meridian may be required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

In compliance with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. DPF, Meridian recognizes the right of individuals to seek binding arbitration for the resolution of complaints not resolved by other means. This arbitration can be invoked under certain conditions set forth in Annex I of the DPF Principles.

To initiate binding arbitration, an individual must deliver a notice to Meridian outlining the unresolved issues and the attempts made to resolve them through our standard dispute resolution process. Upon receipt of such notice, Meridian will provide the individual with further instructions on the arbitration procedures, subject to the conditions detailed in Annex I of the DPF Principles. This option is designed as a last resort and is intended to address residual claims regarding data privacy and handling.

Other Important Information

Third-Party Providers. Some applications and services may be embedded within our Site or Web App, or linked from our Site or Web App. These third parties may use cookies, alone or in conjunction with other tracking technologies, to collect information about you when you use our Site or Web App or navigate away from our Site or Web App. These third parties may also have privacy policies that differ from ours. For example, they may collect personal information about your online activities over time and across different websites, and other online services, and may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content. We do not control these third-parties or their privacy practices, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to any third-party website or service you may access through our website. If you have any questions about a third-party provider’s privacy policies or advertising, you should contact the responsible provider directly.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Meridian leverages the capabilities of OpenAI to provide our customers with the Scout assistant and search functionalities within the application and to assist with answering user questions. Meridian does not use the inputs into the Scout assistant to train the model used, but instead leverages OpenAI’s Azure AI Search to access and retrieve information from documents, deals, and meetings. This allows the Scout assistant to search the content it accesses to provide accurate answers as well as relevant data mentions to users. We have an enterprise agreement in place with OpenAI which ensures that our data is not used to train their model or for training purposes. For additional information on OpenAI’s privacy practices, please refer to Open AI’s Enterprise Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/enterprise-privacy/.
Non-Personal Information. This Privacy Policy does not restrict our collection, use or disclosure of any aggregated information or information that does not identify, or cannot be reasonably linked to, any individual.‍
Accessibility. If you have a disability and require an alternative format to this Privacy Policy, please email us at: privacyinfo@Meridian.co so that we may provide you with a more suitable format.‍
Changes to Our Privacy Notice. We will post any changes we make to this Privacy Notice on our website. If we make material changes to how we treat personal information we collect from you, we may notify you by email or through a notice on our website homepage. The date this Privacy Policy was last revised is identified above. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting this Privacy Policy on our website to check for any changes.

GDPR Transparency Statement

If you are dissatisfied with Meridian’s transparency regarding data protection and data privacy, you have the right to contact to your local data protection authority. You can find the list at: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm

‍Contact Information

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please call or email us at privacy@meridian-ai.com

Children’s Policy Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we do not knowingly contact or collect personal information from children under 16. Our Site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under 16. It is possible that by fraud or deception we may receive information pertaining to children under 16. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will immediately obtain parental consent or otherwise delete the information from our servers. If you want to notify us of our receipt of information by children under 16, please do so by emailing us at privacyinfo@meridian.com.

Effective Date: March 10, 2024
Last Update: July 10, 2024