Privacy Policy
Last Modified: June 2026
Introduction and Purpose
This statement sets out the Johns Hopkins University's (JHU) policy relating to the collection and use of your personal information in the PEP website. This policy is in addition to the PEP Terms of Use Agreement and applies only to the PEP website and not to any other sites that are linked to or mentioned on the site. Your registration as a PEP user constitutes your agreement to terms of this policy as well as the Terms of Use.
Stored Information
Of the information we learn about you from your visit to the PEP website, we store the following: the IP address from which you access the Internet, the date and time, the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, the name of the file or the words you searched, and the browser used to access our site. This information is used to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and identify system performance or problem areas. We also use this information to help us improve features of the site and to make the site more useful.
Personally Provided Information
Your personal information is important to us. JHU recognizes that your privacy is very important to you. When you register with the PEP, you will be asked to provide your email address and create a password.
Cookies
The PEP website uses transient or session cookies. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your computer's hard disk when you open the PEP web pages. Cookies by themselves do not identify you or any user but they do identify your browser. Because the PEP uses ‘transient' cookies, your computer does not retain the information delivered in the cookie once you leave the PEP site. When you close your browser the transient cookie set up by PEP is destroyed, and no personal information is retained which could identify you or your browser next time you log on to PEP. Most web browsers are set up to accept cookies, and while you can set your browser to not accept cookies you will not be able to use PEP if you do this.
Security
JHU will endeavor to take all reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard personal information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification. Your information is held on a secure server that is in controlled facilities. In addition, all the staff of JHU, as well as all contractors that provide services related to our information systems, will endeavor to protect the confidentiality of any personal information held by the PEP website.
You can also play an important role in keeping your personal information secure by doing the following:
- choose a password that's easy for you to remember but difficult for someone else to figure out - don't use your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, common numerical sequences or the word "password;"
- do not tell your password to anyone;
- log out and close your browser when you finish your online session; and
- install and keep up-to-date antivirus software and spyware protection.
Information disclosure to third parties
We know how important it is to keep the information you've entrusted to us confidential. JHU will not use or disclose any information about you without your consent unless we are required to do so by law. We will not give any of your personal information, your username or your browser details to any advertisers. We do not sell, rent, share, or otherwise willfully disclose to any third party, email addresses or other personally identifiable information shared on this site except to provide you with a product or service you request or under certain circumstances as described below. In all other cases, we will ask for your permission before we disclose your personal information.
Disclosure for legal reasons
We may release personal information to third parties to: (i) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; (ii) protect or defend the legal rights or property of JHU, its agents and contractors (including enforcement of our agreements); (iii) protect the safety and security of users of the PEP resources or the public, including acting in urgent circumstances, or cases in which we believe it is reasonably necessary to investigate or prevent harm, fraud, abuse, or illegal conduct. In the event that we are legally compelled to disclose your personal information to a third party, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you unless doing so would violate the law or court order.
Agents and contractors
Contractors sometimes have access to your personal information in the course of assisting in operating our business and providing products or services to you. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide us with technology, services, and content for the operation and maintenance of our site.
Aggregated, non-personal information
We may share aggregated information about you with third parties. This is information that is combined with the non-personal information of other users and does not allow you to be identified or contacted.