Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how CGN News (Cook Global News Network) collects, uses, stores, shares, protects, and retains information when you access or use our website and services.

CGN News, also referred to as Cook Global News Network (“CGN News,” “Cook Global News Network,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), is operated by Cook Services Company, LLC.

By accessing or using the CGN News website, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you should not use the website.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect information directly from you, automatically from your device or browser, and from third-party service providers that support our website, subscriptions, payment processing, analytics, security, and communications.

Information You Provide:

• Name, if provided;
• Email address;
• Account credentials or login-related information;
• Newsletter signup information;
• Subscription-related information;
• Information submitted through forms, emails, tips, corrections, feedback, or other communications;
• Information you provide when contacting CGN News.

Account, Subscription, and Access Information:

• User ID or account identifier;
• Subscription status;
• Paywall or article-access status;
• Anonymous reader identifier or logged-in reader identifier;
• Article access counts, free article limits, or meter information;
• Login, signup, and account activity timestamps;
• Subscription or payment status received from payment processors.

Automatically Collected Information:

• IP address;
• Approximate location derived from IP address;
• Device type, operating system, browser type, and browser settings;
• Pages viewed, articles opened, links clicked, and site interactions;
• Referring URLs and exit pages;
• Date, time, and duration of visits;
• Cookie identifiers or similar online identifiers where applicable;
• Log data used for security, diagnostics, fraud prevention, site performance, and abuse prevention.

2. Sensitive Personal Information

CGN News does not intentionally request sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for a specific communication, support request, legal matter, payment issue, security matter, or user-submitted tip or correction.

Sensitive personal information may include information such as government identifiers, precise location, financial account details, health information, biometric information, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, union membership, or other information treated as sensitive under applicable law.

You should avoid submitting sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your request and you have the legal right to provide it.

If sensitive personal information is submitted to CGN News, we may use it only as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was submitted, to comply with law, to protect rights or safety, or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

3. How We Use Information

We may use information to operate, maintain, secure, personalize, and improve CGN News.

We may use information to:

• Provide access to articles, news content, newsletters, accounts, and subscription services;
• Operate free article limits, paywall meters, login systems, and subscriber access;
• Process payments, confirm subscription status, and support billing-related workflows;
• Send newsletters, account messages, subscription notices, service updates, and responses to inquiries;
• Review, investigate, verify, or respond to tips, corrections, feedback, and user communications;
• Improve website performance, page layout, user experience, and editorial presentation;
• Measure traffic, article engagement, audience trends, and site functionality;
• Detect, prevent, or respond to spam, fraud, abuse, scraping, unauthorized access, security incidents, or technical issues;
• Comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect our rights, users, services, and business.

4. Payments and Subscription Processing

Payments may be processed through third-party payment providers, including PayPal or other payment processors.

We do not intentionally store full payment card numbers or full financial account credentials on CGN News systems.

Payment processors may collect and process payment information, billing information, transaction identifiers, subscription status, fraud-prevention information, and related data under their own terms and privacy policies.

We may receive limited payment or subscription information from payment processors, such as transaction status, subscription status, payer email, payment confirmation, payment failure, or entitlement information, so that we can provide or manage subscription access.

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

CGN News may use cookies, local storage, pixels, tags, scripts, device identifiers, log files, and similar technologies to operate the website, remember account or access status, support article access limits, improve performance, secure the site, analyze usage, and support app performance and security.

Cookies and similar technologies may be used for:

• Essential site functionality;
• Login and account status;
• Paywall and article-access meters;
• Security, fraud prevention, and abuse detection;
• Analytics and performance measurement;
• Remembering user choices or preferences where applicable.

You may be able to control cookies through your browser settings, device settings, privacy tools or consent messages. If you block or delete cookies, some website features, login features, article limits, subscription access, or personalization features may not work correctly.

6. CGN NOW Ad-Free Experience

CGN NOW is designed as an ad-free app experience. The app does not include app display slots. CGN may still process account, payment, article-access, analytics, security, newsletter, and support information as described in this Privacy Policy.

7. Newsletter and Email Communications

If you sign up for a newsletter, email briefing, alert, or other email communication, we may collect and use your email address to send news updates, announcements, subscription messages, account messages, or related communications.

We may use email-service tools or backend systems to manage email lists, delivery, suppression, unsubscribe requests, and related records.

You may unsubscribe from marketing or newsletter emails where an unsubscribe option is provided, or you may contact us at privacy@cgnnews.net.

We may still send non-marketing messages related to accounts, subscriptions, legal notices, service changes, security, or transactions where permitted.

10. Tips, Corrections, Submissions, and Communications

If you submit a tip, correction, story idea, feedback, document, email, or other communication, we may collect and review the information you provide.

We may use submissions to investigate, verify, report, edit, respond, maintain records, protect safety, comply with law, or improve CGN News.

Do not submit confidential, unlawful, classified, private, privileged, or third-party information unless you have authority to do so and understand the risks.

Submitting information to CGN News does not automatically create a confidential relationship, source relationship, employment relationship, payment obligation, attorney-client relationship, or obligation to publish or respond.

11. Data Sharing

We do not sell personal information in the ordinary sense of exchanging personal information directly for money.

However, some privacy laws may define certain analytics, cookie, or third-party data practices as a “sale,” “sharing,” or profiling, even when no money is exchanged directly for personal information.

We may share information with:

• Service providers that support website hosting, backend systems, security, analytics, email, subscriptions, payments, technical operations;
• Payment processors, including PayPal or other providers, to process transactions and manage subscription status;
• Analytics, logging, performance, or diagnostic providers;
• Legal authorities, courts, regulators, or parties where required by law, legal process, or to protect rights, safety, security, users, or the public;
• Business successors in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, sale of assets, or transfer of business operations.

We may also share aggregated, de-identified, or non-identifying information that does not reasonably identify a specific person.

12. Third-Party Services

CGN News may use or link to third-party services, platforms, APIs, tools, processors, and websites.

These may include:

• Google Apps Script or Google-based backend services;
• PayPal or other payment processors;
• Weather or data APIs;
• Social media platforms such as Instagram, X, and YouTube;
• Hosting, domain, CDN, analytics, security, email, or technical-service providers;
• External article sources, image sources, attribution links, or embedded third-party content where applicable.

Third-party services operate under their own terms, privacy policies, cookie practices, and security practices. CGN News is not responsible for third-party policies or practices.

13. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to operate CGN News, provide services, maintain accounts, manage subscriptions, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, preserve security, prevent abuse, maintain business records, and support editorial or legal needs.

Retention periods may vary based on the type of information, the reason it was collected, account status, subscription status, legal requirements, security needs, payment records, editorial records, and operational requirements.

We may retain aggregated, de-identified, backup, log, legal, security, or archival information for longer periods where reasonably necessary.

14. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information from unauthorized access, misuse, loss, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no website, system, network, transmission, or storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You are responsible for protecting your account credentials and using secure devices, browsers, and networks when accessing CGN News.

15. Security Incidents and Breach Notification

If CGN News becomes aware of a security incident involving personal information, we may investigate, take steps to contain or remediate the incident, preserve relevant records, notify affected users, notify service providers, and notify regulators or authorities where required by applicable law.

Notification timing, content, and method may depend on the nature of the incident, the information involved, legal requirements, law-enforcement needs, security risks, and available contact information.

We may also provide information about protective steps users can take where appropriate.

16. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have certain privacy rights regarding your personal information.

These rights may include the right to:

• Request access to personal information we maintain about you;
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information;
• Request deletion of personal information, subject to exceptions;
• Request a copy or portability of certain personal information;
• Object to or restrict certain processing where applicable;
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• Opt out of certain sale, sharing, or profiling practices where applicable;
• Appeal a privacy-rights decision where applicable law provides such a right;
• Not be discriminated against for exercising applicable privacy rights.

To submit a privacy request, contact us at privacy@cgnnews.net. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

Some requests may be limited or denied where permitted by law, including where information is needed for security, legal compliance, fraud prevention, subscription records, payment records, editorial records, free expression, public-interest reporting, dispute resolution, or business operations.

17. U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional rights regarding access, deletion, correction, portability, opting out of certain processing, limiting certain uses of personal information, and appealing privacy-rights decisions where applicable.

Some analytics or cookie practices may be considered “sale,” “sharing,” or profiling under certain U.S. state privacy laws.

Where applicable, you may request to opt out of sale, sharing, or profiling by contacting us at privacy@cgnnews.net with the subject line “Privacy Request” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.”

If CGN News implements a dedicated “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link, privacy message, or consent tool, users may also use that tool where available.

Where required by applicable law, CGN News will not discriminate against users for exercising privacy rights.

18. Indiana Privacy Rights

CGN News is operated from Indiana. Indiana residents may have rights under the Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act or other applicable Indiana privacy or consumer protection laws, where those laws apply to CGN News and the information at issue.

Depending on applicability and legal requirements, Indiana residents may have rights to confirm whether personal data is being processed, access personal data, correct inaccuracies, delete personal data, obtain a copy of certain personal data, opt out of certain sale of personal data or certain profiling, and appeal certain privacy-rights decisions.

To submit an Indiana privacy request, contact privacy@cgnnews.net with the subject line “Indiana Privacy Request.”

Some requests may be limited by legal exceptions, including exceptions for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, payment records, account records, editorial records, public-interest reporting, free expression, internal operations, and other permitted purposes.

19. New York Privacy and Security Rights

New York residents may have rights and protections under New York privacy, security, consumer protection, and breach notification laws, including the New York SHIELD Act where applicable.

CGN News aims to use reasonable safeguards designed to protect private information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse. If a reportable data breach involving New York residents occurs, CGN News will provide notices required by applicable law.

To submit a New York privacy or security-related request, contact privacy@cgnnews.net with the subject line “New York Privacy Request.”

This section does not limit rights that New York residents may have under applicable law.

20. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you may have rights under California privacy laws, including the right to know/access certain personal information, request deletion, request correction, receive information about categories of personal information collected, disclosed, sold, or shared, opt out of sale or sharing, limit certain uses of sensitive personal information where applicable, and not be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights.

For purposes of California privacy law, certain analytics or cookie-based practices may be considered “sharing” or “sale” of personal information, even if CGN News does not sell personal information for money.

To exercise applicable California privacy rights, contact us at privacy@cgnnews.net with the subject line “California Privacy Request” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.”

To submit a California request specifically related to “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information,” contact us at privacy@cgnnews.net.

California residents may also use an authorized agent to submit a request where permitted by law. We may require proof of authorization and may need to verify the identity of the consumer who is the subject of the request.

Where required, CGN News will honor legally recognized opt-out preference signals, such as Global Privacy Control, for applicable browser or device contexts.

We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of children under 16.

21. EEA, UK, and Switzerland Privacy Rights

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you may have privacy rights under applicable data protection laws.

Depending on the circumstances, these rights may include:

• The right to access personal data;
• The right to correct inaccurate personal data;
• The right to request deletion of personal data;
• The right to restrict or object to certain processing;
• The right to data portability;
• The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

Depending on the processing activity, CGN News may rely on lawful bases such as consent, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, legal obligations, protection of rights and security, or other lawful bases recognized by applicable law.

Where legally required, we may request consent for cookies, local storage, analytics, or similar technologies.

For users in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, consent-management tools or consent choices may be required before certain analytics or storage technologies are used.

If you withdraw consent or decline certain cookies, some features may be limited.

To submit an EEA, UK, or Switzerland privacy request, contact privacy@cgnnews.net with the subject line “International Privacy Request.”

22. International Data Transfers

CGN News is operated from the United States.

If you access CGN News from outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States or other countries where we or our service providers operate.

Privacy laws in those countries may differ from the laws in your location. Where legally required, CGN News or its service providers may use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

23. Children’s Privacy

CGN News is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to CGN News, contact us at privacy@cgnnews.net.

24. Automated Systems and Technology-Assisted Workflows

CGN News may use structured systems, automation, and technology-assisted workflows to support publishing, article organization, metadata, subscriptions, newsletters, logging, site security, paywall access, analytics, and editorial operations.

These systems may process article data, reader-access information, account identifiers, logs, and other operational information necessary to provide and improve the website.

25. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update, revise, or replace this Privacy Policy at any time.

The “Last Updated” date reflects the effective date of the current Privacy Policy.

Your continued use of CGN News after changes are posted means you acknowledge the updated Privacy Policy.

26. Contact