Climate Social Science Network (CSSN)
Brown University’s Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
Website: https://cssn.org
Effective Date: March 26, 2026
Last Updated: March 26, 2026
The Climate Social Science Network (“CSSN,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a global research network hosted at Brown University’s Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. CSSN advances social science research on climate obstruction, climate change politics, and related topics. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website at https://cssn.org (the “Site”) or engage with our programs, events, newsletters, grants, and scholarly community.
By using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with its terms, please discontinue use of the Site.
Because CSSN operates under the auspices of Brown University, certain activities and data practices may also be subject to Brown University’s privacy policies and information security standards. Nothing in this Privacy Policy alters or supersedes those institutional obligations.
We collect personal information that you voluntarily submit to us when you:
The personal information you provide may include your name, email address, institutional affiliation, academic or professional title, country of residence, research focus areas, CV or biography, and any other information you choose to share with us.
When you visit the Site, certain technical information is collected automatically, including:
This information is used in aggregate to understand how visitors interact with the Site, diagnose technical issues, and improve site functionality and content. It is not used to identify you personally in most circumstances.
When you leave a comment on the Site, we collect the information entered in the comment form, including your name, email address, and any optional website URL you provide, as well as your IP address and browser user-agent string for spam detection purposes. An anonymized hash of your email address may be shared with the Gravatar service to determine whether you have a profile picture associated with that address. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. Approved comments and any associated profile picture are publicly visible on the Site.
If you upload images or other media files to the Site, please be aware that uploaded image files may contain embedded metadata (such as EXIF GPS data) that can reveal location information. We recommend removing any sensitive embedded location data from images before uploading. Visitors to the Site may be able to download and extract such metadata from publicly available files.
The Site uses cookies — small text files stored on your device by your browser — and similar tracking technologies to support essential site functionality, remember your preferences, and analyze site usage. We use the following categories of cookies:
You may manage your cookie preferences through our Cookie Preferences tool available on the Site, or by configuring your browser to refuse all or certain types of cookies. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site. More information about cookie management for specific browsers can be found on your browser’s support pages.
Pages and articles on the Site may include embedded content from third-party platforms, such as videos, social media posts, or interactive tools. Embedded content behaves as if you had visited the originating website directly. Those third-party websites may collect data about you, set their own cookies, embed additional tracking technologies, and monitor your interactions with embedded content — including if you are logged in to an account on the third-party platform. CSSN is not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services whose content appears on our Site.
Donations to CSSN are processed through Brown University’s giving platform, operated by Brown University. Payment card information and related financial data are collected and processed by Brown University and its payment processor and are not stored by CSSN directly. Please review Brown University’s privacy policies for information about how your donor data is handled.
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
CSSN is housed within Brown University’s Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. Information collected through CSSN’s activities may be shared with or accessible to Brown University staff, systems, and service providers as necessary for the administration of the network, in accordance with Brown University’s institutional policies.
We use trusted third-party vendors and platforms to help us operate the Site and deliver our programs. These may include email newsletter platforms, event registration services, web hosting providers, analytics services, and content management systems. These third parties are permitted to use your information only for the purposes of providing services to CSSN and are subject to confidentiality obligations.
If you are accepted as a CSSN Scholar, your name, institutional affiliation, research focus areas, and a brief biography may be published in the publicly accessible CSSN Scholar Directory on the Site. You may request updates or removal of your profile information by contacting us as described in Section 9.
Content you submit for publication on the Site — such as approved comments, working group materials, or research briefs — may be publicly visible and accessible to all Site visitors.
We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law, subpoena, court order, or governmental authority, or if we have a good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to comply with legal obligations, protect the rights and safety of CSSN, its scholars, or the public, or prevent fraud or illegal activity.
In the unlikely event of a reorganization, transfer, or discontinuation of CSSN as a program, personal information held by CSSN may be transferred in connection with that change, subject to applicable law and Brown University’s institutional governance.
CSSN is a global network with scholars based around the world. If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that the information you provide will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. By using the Site or submitting information to us, you consent to this transfer.
If you are located in the EEA, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we process your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our legal bases for processing include: (a) your consent (e.g., for newsletter subscriptions); (b) performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps; (c) our legitimate interests in operating CSSN’s programs, improving the Site, and communicating with our scholarly community, where such interests are not overridden by your rights; and (d) compliance with a legal obligation.
Where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including to operate our programs, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. When personal information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely delete or anonymize it. Newsletter subscription data is retained until you unsubscribe. Scholar profile information is retained while you remain an active CSSN Scholar and for a reasonable period thereafter unless you request deletion.
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. The Site uses SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted between your browser and our servers. However, no method of data transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately.
You may unsubscribe from CSSN’s e-newsletter and other marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send you, or by contacting us directly. Transactional or administrative communications related to your application, grant, or event registration may continue even after you opt out of marketing communications.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 9. We will respond to verifiable requests within the timeframe required by applicable law.
If you are a California resident, you may have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, use, or share about you; the right to delete personal information; the right to correct inaccurate personal information; and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. CSSN does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. To submit a California privacy rights request, please contact us as described in Section 9.
You may update your cookie preferences at any time through the Cookie Preferences tool on the Site, or by adjusting your browser settings. See Section 2.5 for more information about the cookies we use.
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Climate Social Science Network (CSSN)EEA, UK, or Swiss residents may also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection supervisory authority if they believe their personal data has been processed in a manner inconsistent with applicable law.
The Site may contain links to external websites, platforms, and resources not operated by CSSN, including links to Brown University systems, social media platforms, academic publishers, and partner organizations. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.
The Site is intended for adults and is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, we will promptly delete it. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us using the information in Section 9.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the Site’s features. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, provide notice through the Site or by email. Your continued use of the Site after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on March 26, 2026.
