Disclaimer

These policies and disclaimers apply only to the NIEM website. Therefore, once you link to another site, you are subject to the policies of the new site.

The primary sponsors of NIEM are the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Neither DOD, DOJ, DHS, HHS, nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).

Purpose and Scope

This website is designed to present general information to viewers; it should not be considered advice or fit for any particular purpose by users. NIEM does not provide any expressed or implied warranty for the information contained in this website, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Limitation of Liability

Viewers of this website agree to use the contents herein for informational purposes only. NIEM does not assume any responsibility in the use of this service or its contents for its accuracy, completeness, or currency, nor that such items or use of such items would not violate or infringe rights of others. This service is provided on a strictly "as-is" basis. In no event shall NIEM be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever with respect to these services, materials, or products. NIEM expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in this publication. While we try to keep the information timely and accurate, we make no guarantees. We will make an effort to correct errors brought to our attention. The information we make available is subject to change without notice. NIEM may suspend or discontinue this service at any time. The user assumes the risk of verifying any materials used or relied upon.

Copyright Status and Citation

Unless otherwise noted, information generated by NIEM is in the public domain and may be reproduced, published, or otherwise used without NIEM's permission. Citation to NIEM as the source of the information is appreciated, as appropriate. The use of the NIEM logo, however, is protected and requires advance authorization from the NIEM Management Office (contact information@niem.gov). With respect to materials generated by entities outside of NIEM, permission to copy these materials, if necessary, must be obtained from the original source.

For information on materials generated by external entities, please refer to those entities’ policies. This copyright notice only pertains to the NIEM website.

Linking to the NIEM Website

Linking to the NIEM website is permitted. The fact that a website links to the NIEM site does not indicate that NIEM has any responsibility for the content of that site, nor does it constitute an endorsement of that site by DOD, DOJ, DHS, or HHS. 

No Endorsement

Reference in this site to any specific commercial product, process, or service, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, preference, certification, or favoring by NIEM. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not reflect those of NIEM, and agreement with those views may not be implied in any promotion or advertising.

NIEM graphics, images, or other multimedia may not be used in any manner that implies the endorsement of any person, product, program, organization, or service. Any use of the NIEM logo, or any other federal agency name, seal, or logo that may appear on this site, must be pre-approved by NIEM Management Office (contact information@niem.gov). No one may manufacture or develop for sale a product containing the NIEM logo, unless pre-approved by the NIEM Management Office.

Anyone who downloads or uses a NIEM graphic, image, or other multimedia incurs an obligation to maintain the integrity and consistency of the graphic, image, or other multimedia. Use or display of NIEM graphics, images, or other multimedia in an inappropriate manner may result in legal action. When downloading any image or associated documents from this site, it is implied that the user agrees, upon written notice from NIEM, to discontinue use of any NIEM graphics, images, or other multimedia.

External Links

NIEM makes links available for user use from all providers in an “as is” condition and user assumes all risks associated with such action, including those associated with downloading computer programs. User should take all cautions normally required to prevent computer intrusions.

The information posted on the NIEM website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. NIEM provides these links and pointers solely for your information and convenience. When you select a link to an outside website, you are subject to the privacy, copyright, security, and information quality policies of that website. NIEM:  

1. DOES NOT control or guarantee the accuracy, legality, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on a linked website; 
2. DOES NOT endorse linked websites, the views they express, or the products/services they offer; 
3. CANNOT authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites;
4. IS NOT responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites; and
5. DOES NOT guarantee that outside websites comply with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

​For links to sites external to the NIEM web site, a message will appear notifying you that the sites are not controlled by NIEM, or you will receive an intercepting (redirect) page indicating that you are leaving NIEM's site when you access such a link.  

NIEM specifically disavows legal responsibility for what a user may find on another site, or for personal opinions of individuals posted on any site, whether or not operated by NIEM, established for the purpose of permitting free exchange of personal opinions or discussion. NIEM makes no guarantee that third-party links, software, tools, and/or content will be error free or virus free.​

NIEM periodically reviews both internal and external links to ensure that they are still functional and valuable, but you may occasionally encounter a problem or issue. If so, please email information@niem.gov.​​

Security and Privacy

When you browse through any website, certain information about your visit can be collected. We automatically collect the following types of information about your visit:

• The name of the internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you are connecting from a university's domain);
• The Internet Protocol (IP) address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you are using the internet) from which you access our site;
• The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
• The date and time you access our site;
• The internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site; and
• The pages you visit and the information you download or request.

NIEM does not use this information to track the browsing of individuals who access the site. The information is used for statistical analysis and technical improvements to the site.

NIEM uses Google Analytics measurement software to collect the information listed above. The data are automatically sent to Google’s system and the system immediately aggregates the data. Neither NIEM nor Google ever have access to the specifics of your particular site visits. We can only see the aggregate data from all users for a particular time period. NIEM uses software programs to create summary statistics, which may be used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. We use this information to improve our websites and do not share the aggregate data with Google. We may use the aggregated data to share with our partners and contractors to help improve visitor experiences.

You do not have to provide any personal information to us to access information on our websites. If you choose to provide us with personal information, such as by sending a message to an email address on this website or by filling out a form and submitting it through our website, we will use that information to respond to your message or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication.

Any unauthorized access to this system is prohibited and is subject to criminal and civil penalties under local, state, and federal laws.

Please be aware that your internet address and messages to NIEM which are submitted to these web pages may not be confidential because of the inherent openness of the internet. Our computer systems are subject to monitoring at all times to assure proper functioning of the systems, to provide security for the computer system's operation and information contained, to prevent unauthorized use, and to deter and investigate violations of law. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the use of these web pages.

Third Party Websites

NIEM is pleased to participate in forums offered by third-party websites in order to increase transparency, promote community participation and encourage collaboration. We currently maintain NIEM accounts on several third-party websites (i.e. LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter).

The NIEM website may also contain embedded content from third-party websites, such as YouTube videos uploaded by NIEM.  We provide this embedded content as a service to visitors to our site.  When you click on embedded content, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of the third-party website that hosts the content.

Your activity on third-party websites is governed by the security and privacy policies of the third-party sites. You may wish to review the privacy policies of the sites before using them in order to understand how the information you make available on those sites will be used. Please note that NIEM does not control, moderate or endorse the comments or opinions provided by visitors to these sites. In addition, NIEM does not use third-party websites to solicit and collect personal information from individuals. Any personal information collected by a third-party website will not be transmitted or stored by the NIEM program.

Email Subscriptions and Updates

​​Accessibility

The NIEM program is committed to providing access to our web pages for individuals with disabilities, both members of the public and federal employees.

To meet this commitment, we will comply with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from us, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us.

Section 508 also requires us to ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us.

If the format of any material on our web site interferes with your ability to access the information, due to an issue with accessibility caused by a disability as defined in the Rehabilitation Act, please email us at information@niem.gov for assistance.

To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the web address (URL) of the material with which you are having difficulty, and your contact information.