Terms of Use & Privacy Notice

1. Introduction

Change.org, PBC (“Change.org,” “we,” or “us”) operates the following programs (the “Programs”):

• Ideas for Change: https://www.ideasforchange.org
• Civic Dialogue: https://civicdialogue.org
• People's Bill of Rights 250: https://www.thepeoplesrights250.org
• AI Data Centers Dialogue: https://elicitation.changedialogues.org/ai-datacenters-in-america
• Dialogues: https://app.changedialogues.org
• Civic Dialogues: https://civicdialogues.org/

The Programs invite participants to share and vote on ideas concerning civic issues. By accessing or using the Program sites, you (“you” or “participant”) agree to these Terms of Use and Privacy Notice.

For the avoidance of doubt, these terms do not apply to People’s Bill of Rights 250 (https://peoplesbillofrights250.org), which is a separate website not operated by Change.org.

The Programs process limited personal data (defined below) solely to operate core features, maintain security, improve reliability, promote civic engagement, and conduct research/analysis related to the Programs. We use service providers to host the site, store data, secure sessions, and measure usage, as detailed below.

2. Eligibility and Participation

Age Restriction. Participation is open to individuals 18 or older. Individuals under 18 may not participate. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 18.

Participation Model. Participating in the Programs does not always require creating an account. Depending on the dialogue, you may participate using only a browser-specific identifier, without additional identifying information, or you may be asked to register an account, which will require you to provide your name, email address, and zip code before you can submit ideas or vote. We use this information as described in Section 6, including to help protect the integrity of results and to invite participants to follow-up dialogues. By submitting comments or votes, you consent to processing as described below.

Browser/Device-Based Participation. Participation is tied to a browser-specific identifier stored via cookies/local storage. You must use the same browser and device (with cookies enabled) to continue participating. Any identifying information (e.g. name, email, ZIP code, political affiliation) you submit, where collected, cannot be used to recover access or merge participation across browsers/devices. If you use a shared device, other users of that device may be able to continue your session until cookies are cleared. Use a private device if possible.

Partner Data Sharing. For certain Programs or deliberations, your participation requires that your name, email address, and ZIP code be shared with our deliberation partner(s) so they can invite you to and operate the deliberation discussion. If you do not wish to share your information with our partner(s), please do not participate in those deliberations. See Section 6.3 for the current list of deliberation partners and details on how they may use your information.

3. Acceptable Use

Lawful and Respectful Conduct: You must comply with all applicable laws and respect the rights of others. Do not post unlawful, defamatory, harassing, or infringing content. We reserve the right to remove content or terminate participation for violations. In addition to the requirements above, you must comply with Change.org’s Community Guidelines. We may remove content, limit participation, or invalidate votes to protect the integrity of the Programs.

Public Nature of Content: All ideas and votes you submit may be publicly visible along with your name (where collected) and state, which we derive from the ZIP code you provide, and may be viewed by other participants, Change.org staff, and civic partners. You may choose to post an idea anonymously; if you do, we won’t show your name next to that idea. Your submissions are not confidential; do not include personal information about yourself or others that you do not wish to be public. Do not include home addresses, school names, or contact details in any submission. You may not submit content that includes other people’s personal data (e.g., names, phone numbers) without their consent. You are responsible for maintaining control of your device/browser. If others use your browser/device, we may attribute their actions to you until cookies are cleared.

4. User Submissions and License

You retain ownership of the content you submit, but you grant Change.org a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, license to host, copy, publicly display, and create derivative works from your submissions for purposes related to civic engagement, research, reporting, and marketing. This license is non-exclusive, and you retain moral rights where applicable. We may aggregate and anonymize submissions and share them with third parties, including municipal authorities, for evaluation and public reporting. We may also make deliberation data available to research partners for noncommercial research purposes.

5. Disclaimer of Affiliation

These Programs are facilitated by Change.org. They may not necessarily be endorsed by or affiliated with any city, state, or federal government or government body. References to a city, state, or country name indicate geographic focus, not necessarily an official partnership.

6. Privacy Notice

6.1 Information Collected

Participation Data. When you vote or submit ideas, Change.org collects your name, email address, and ZIP code, depending on the dialogue you are participating in. Change.org always collects timestamps and the content of your ideas and votes. Some dialogues may also ask participants to optionally provide political affiliation and demographic (e.g. age, race) information. We also store an approximate location (state) associated with your participation, derived from your ZIP code or IP address, for research and analysis.

Browser Identifier. To recognize your participation and prevent duplicate voting, Change.org stores a browser-specific identifier in cookies/local storage. It is not portable across browsers/devices. We do not use this identifier for advertising or cross-site tracking.

Website Analytics. Change.org collects usage analytics (e.g. page views, time of access, referral links) and technical identifiers (e.g. IP address, browser/device information, cookie/local storage identifiers) to ensure service stability and understand usage patterns. We also derive your approximate location (state) from your IP address and retain it for research and analysis. We do not use it to determine your precise location.

Session Replay via Amplitude. Change.org may capture session replays to understand usability and fix bugs. We mask/redact input fields likely to contain personal data to the extent technically feasible.

Session Replay and Error Monitoring via Sentry. We use Sentry to monitor errors and capture session replays to fix bugs. We mask fields likely to contain personal data to the extent technically feasible.

Meta Pixel. Change.org may use Meta Pixel for measurement, such as to understand traffic sources and campaign performance. Meta may receive device and browsing data from our site.

Reddit Pixel. We use the Reddit Pixel and Reddit’s Conversions API for advertising measurement. Reddit may receive device and browsing data, including when you register on the site.

Optional Event Survey Data (Contact and Demographics). If you complete our optional surveys to express interest in participating in events, we collect your contact information (e.g. name, email address, phone number) and demographics (e.g., age range, city). You may choose not to answer. We do not sell or “share” this information for cross-context behavioral advertising and do not link it to your public ideas or votes. If you indicate interest in participating in events, you also consent to the recording and use of video and audio from those events in marketing materials.

Optional AI Interview Data. Some of our Programs include an optional AI interviewer that asks about your views and experience. If you respond, we collect your responses for research and analysis. You may choose not to answer. We do not sell or “share” this information for cross-context behavioral advertising. How these responses are used depends on the interviewer:

• AI interviewers within certain Programs: These help you develop and refine your ideas as part of the Program. Because the ideas are part of your participation, your responses are linked to your account, including your votes, ideas, ZIP code, and any demographic information you optionally provide (e.g. age, race). We do not analyze this information in relation to your name or email address.

• Standalone AI Interviewer: This is a separate tool that gathers feedback about your experience with the Programs. The information collected is not connected to your account, name, email address, ZIP code, public ideas, or votes.

6.2 How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

• Facilitate the civic discussion, display your submissions (with or without identifying information depending on the dialogue type), and allow voting;

• Screen submissions for prohibited content before they are stored;

• Analyze and summarize responses, including any political affiliation you optionally provide, for research, reporting, and presentation to the general public and municipal stakeholders, which may include the use of third-party AI services;

• Share data with academic, research, and civic partners – including partners who participate in or contribute to the Programs in the future – so they may conduct noncommercial research and analysis related to the Programs and the civic questions they address, and publish the results;

• Send you transactional messages necessary to operate the Programs;

• Maintain security and detect misuse or technical issues;

• Understand usage patterns of the programs to improve reliability and user experience;

• Promote civic engagement and the Programs, including through marketing materials that may feature your submissions; and

• Comply with legal obligations.

6.3 When We Share Information

We may share the information we collect for purposes described in this Notice and as outlined below:

• Service providers/processors: We use vendors under contracts limiting their use of data to help us operate the Programs. Such vendors include:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS): database storage, backups, content delivery, and edge services

  • Amplitude: website analytics and session replay

  • Anthropic: analysis of submissions

  • Gemini: analysis of submissions

  • Iterable: transactional email

  • OpenAI: content moderation of submissions

  • Prolific: research study hosting and participant recruitment

  • Sentry: error monitoring and session replay

  • Typeform: collection of optional event surveys

• Advertising/measurement partners: We use advertising and measurement trackers to measure and optimize advertising. Our use of these trackers may constitute a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising under California and other US state laws. For clarity, when we use the term “sell,” we mean for valuable consideration and not for any monetary value. You can opt out at Manage cookies.

• Meta (Pixel): Meta may receive data as an independent controller/third party; see Meta’s privacy policy for its practices and choices.

• Reddit (Pixel and Conversions API): Reddit may receive page-visit and registration data as an independent controller/third party; see Reddit’s privacy policy.

• Public/municipal reporting: We may publish aggregated or anonymized insights, and may quote or reproduce individual submissions as illustrative examples in research reports, articles, and public-facing materials. We will not disclose your email or political affiliation publicly, nor share your demographic responses in identifiable form without your consent or as required by law. Published examples may include limited non-identifying context such as a general region or state. Before publication, we review selected examples and remove or redact details that could reasonably identify you.

• Legal/security obligations: We may disclose information to comply with law, protect rights and safety, and maintain the integrity of the Programs.

• Research Partners: We may make deliberation data available to academic, research, and civic partners, including current and future Program partners, for noncommercial research, analysis, and publication, including in academic papers and public research reports. Research partners receive data under written agreements that limit use to the approved research project, prohibit further disclosure of the data, require appropriate security safeguards, and permit publication only of aggregate or de-identified findings.

• Deliberation Partners: For the Program or deliberation listed below, we share your name, email address, and ZIP code you provided with our partner(s) so they can invite you to and operate the deliberation discussion and process your information (including sharing with their own service providers or partners) in accordance with their privacy policy. To stop receiving messages from a partner, use the unsubscribe link in that partner’s emails. To request deletion of your information, contact us as described in Section 6.6.

  • People's Bill of Rights 250 (thepeoplesrights250.org): The People (Privacy Policy)

  • Ideas for Change (Colorado): Courageous Colorado (Privacy Policy)

6.4 Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to run the site and understand how it’s used:

• Essential. We use strictly necessary cookies/local storage to operate core features (e.g. recognizing the same browser for voting, security).

• Analytics. We use analytics trackers (e.g. Amplitude) to help us measure usage and fix bugs.

• Marketing. We use marketing trackers (e.g. Meta Pixel, Reddit Pixel) for advertising measurement and to optimize advertising.

You can manage your cookie preferences at Manage cookies.

6.5 Data Retention

We retain submissions and associated data for as long as necessary to complete the Programs, produce reports, and comply with legal obligations. We may store anonymized summaries indefinitely for research and archival purposes.

6.6 Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access to, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you; opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information; limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information; or withdraw consent.

To exercise these rights, contact us at contact@civicdialogues.org with the subject line “[Program name] – Data Request,” using the applicable program name listed in Section 1.

We will respond as permitted or required by applicable law. Data rights requests will be handled to the extent technically feasible. Deletion requests will not require removal of submissions from aggregated, anonymized, or published materials, consistent with the license granted in Section 4.

6.7 International Users and Transfers

Your data may be processed in countries other than your own, including the United States. This includes processing by our third-party service providers, including those listed in Section 6.3. By participating, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other jurisdictions that may have different data protection laws.

If you are in the EEA/UK, our lawful basis is legitimate interests to run the Programs. Where required (e.g. analytics/replay, pixels, optional demographics) we rely on your consent.

7. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

No Official Decisions: The Programs are an experimental civic engagement exercise. Participation does not guarantee any specific governmental action.

No Warranty: We provide the Programs “as is” without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any indirect or consequential damages arising out of your use of the Programs.

8. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these terms and privacy notice for these Programs from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this document and, if feasible, provide additional notice. Continued participation constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

9. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, this Privacy Notice, or your data, contact: contact@civicdialogues.org or write to: Change.org, 548 Market Street, #29993, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA.