THE AUTISTIC BUSINESS NETWORK LLC

Privacy and Compliance Policy

A Georgia Limited Liability Company

autisticbusinessnetwork.com

Effective Date: May 31, 2026

Version 1.0 · Applies to United States Members Only

This policy describes how ABN LLC collects, uses, protects, and manages your personal

information when you use the Autistic Business Network website and membership services.

Please read this policy carefully before joining or using ABN services.

IMPORTANT: Regarding Autistic Identity as Sensitive Personal Information

ABN LLC recognizes that Autistic identity is personal and sensitive information. Your Autistic identity is your own. ABN will never disclose your membership status or your identity to any person or organization outside this community without your explicit written permission. Membership is visible only to other ABN members within the private platform if you do not opt to hide your membership profile or otherwise disclosure your membership to other members. ABN will not confirm or deny to any external party — including employers, family members, media, or other organizations — whether any individual is or is not a member of ABN.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us when you create a membership account, pay your dues, participate in community activities, or contact us for support. This may include:

Name and preferred name
Email address
Mailing address or general location (city and state)
Business name, profession, and professional skills for your member directory listing
Payment information — processed securely by Stripe and not stored by ABN LLC
Profile information you choose to add, including bio, business description, and links
Communications you send to ABN or post within the member community platform

We also collect certain technical information automatically when you use our website, including:

Browser type and device information
IP address and approximate location
Pages visited and time spent on the site
Referring website

A note on Autistic identity: By joining ABN, you implicitly confirm that you identify as Autistic, as this is our membership eligibility criterion. ABN treats this information as sensitive personal data and applies heightened protections to it as described throughout this policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Create and manage your membership account
Process and manage your membership dues through Stripe
Display your listing in the ABN member directory (only to members)
Send you membership confirmations, renewal notices, and account-related communications
Notify you of ABN events, webinars, and community programming
Facilitate connections and referrals between members within the platform
Respond to your questions and support requests
Improve the ABN website, community platform, and member services
Send you ABN newsletters and community updates (you may opt out at any time)
Comply with applicable legal obligations

We do not use your information for automated decision-making, profiling for advertising purposes, or any purpose unrelated to the operation of the Autistic Business Network community.

3. Autistic Identity — Special Category Data

ABN LLC treats Autistic identity as sensitive personal information requiring heightened protection. The following specific protections apply:

Your Autistic identity and ABN membership status will never be disclosed to any third party outside the ABN community without your explicit written consent
Your membership is visible only to other ABN members within the private member platform — never to the general public
ABN will not respond to external inquiries confirming or denying whether any individual is a member of ABN
Your Autistic identity information is not shared with any payment processor, analytics provider, or other third-party service
Members may use a preferred name or business name in their directory listing — legal name is used only for billing and is stored separately from the public-facing directory profile

ABN operates under a self-identification model. No diagnosis documentation is required or requested. Your word is sufficient for membership eligibility.

4. Information Sharing

ABN LLC does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. Period.

We share limited information only with the following categories of service providers, who are contractually bound to keep your information confidential and use it only to provide services to ABN:

Stripe — payment processing for membership dues. Stripe receives your billing information to process payments. ABN does not store your payment card information. Stripe’s privacy policy is available at stripe.com/privacy.
Your hosting provider — your data resides on US-based servers. ABN’s hosting provider processes data only to operate the website infrastructure.
Email service provider — for sending membership confirmations, newsletters, and community communications. You may unsubscribe from non-essential communications at any time.

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or valid legal process. In such cases, ABN will notify you to the extent permitted by law before making any disclosure.

ABN does not share member data with any employer, background check service, insurance company, government agency, or other organization that could use membership information in a manner adverse to members’ interests.

5. Member Directory and Community Platform

The ABN member directory and community platform are accessible only to members. No member information is publicly accessible without authentication.

Your directory listing displays only the information you choose to provide. All profile fields beyond your name are optional. You control what appears in your listing and may update or remove it at any time through your member account.

Content you post in the ABN member forum, groups, or messaging system is visible to other ABN members. Do not post information in the community platform that you would not want other members to see. ABN moderates the community platform according to our Community Guidelines but is not responsible for how other members use information you voluntarily share within the community.

6. Data Security

ABN LLC implements appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our website
Secure payment processing through Stripe — ABN does not handle or store payment card data
Access controls limiting who within ABN can access member data
Regular review of data handling practices
Member directory accessible only to members

No method of data transmission or storage is completely secure. While we work diligently to protect your information, ABN LLC cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you promptly in accordance with applicable law.

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 Access and Correction

You have the right to access the personal information ABN holds about you and to correct any inaccurate information. You may update most of your profile information directly through your member account. For other access requests, contact us using the information in Section 14.

7.2 Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information. Upon cancellation of membership or receipt of a deletion request, ABN will delete your personal information from our active systems within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as resolving disputes or maintaining financial records as required by applicable law.

7.3 Opt-Out of Communications

You may opt out of non-essential ABN communications including newsletters and marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us directly. You will continue to receive essential account and membership communications such as payment confirmations and renewal notices.

7.4 Data Portability

You may request a copy of your personal data in a portable format. Contact us using the information in Section 14 and we will provide your data within 30 days.

7.5 California Residents — CCPA Rights

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including:

The right to know what personal information ABN collects, uses, and shares
The right to delete your personal information
The right to opt out of the sale of personal information — ABN does not sell personal information
The right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us using the information in Section 14. We will respond to verified requests within 45 days.

8. Data Retention

ABN retains your personal information for as long as your membership is active and for a reasonable period afterward as necessary for the following purposes:

Active membership: all profile and account information retained while membership is current
After membership ends: contact information and membership history retained for up to two years to facilitate potential rejoining and to maintain accurate business records
Financial records: billing and payment records retained for seven years as required by applicable tax law
Community content: posts and contributions to the member forum may be retained in anonymized or removed form after membership ends

You may request earlier deletion of your personal information at any time as described in Section 7.2, subject to the exceptions noted above.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

ABN uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate the website and improve your experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

We use the following types of cookies:

Essential cookies — necessary for the website to function, including login sessions, security, and membership access. These cannot be disabled without affecting core functionality.
Functional cookies — remember your preferences such as accessibility settings and language choices.
Analytics cookies — help us understand how members use the site so we can improve it. These collect aggregated, anonymized information.
No advertising or marketing tracking cookies are used on the ABN website.

You may control cookie settings through your browser or through the cookie consent tool on the ABN website. Disabling essential cookies will affect your ability to log in and access member features. ABN’s cookie consent tool respects your choices and blocks non-essential cookies until you provide consent.

10. Email Communications

ABN sends the following types of email communications:

Transactional emails: membership confirmations, payment receipts, renewal notices, password resets, and account security notifications. These are necessary for membership management and cannot be opted out of while your membership is active.
Community communications: event announcements, webinar invitations, and community programming notices. You may opt out of these at any time.
Newsletter and content updates: ABN articles, resources, and community news. You may opt out of these at any time.

All ABN emails comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. Every non-transactional email includes a clear unsubscribe link. We honor unsubscribe requests within 10 business days.

11. Geographic Scope — United States Members Only

The Autistic Business Network currently accepts members who reside in the United States only. This policy applies to US residents and is governed by applicable US federal and state law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act where applicable.

By enrolling in ABN membership, you represent that you are a resident of the United States. ABN does not knowingly accept members from outside the United States at this time. International membership may be offered in the future, at which time this policy will be updated to address applicable international privacy laws.

If you are located outside the United States and have questions about future international membership availability, please contact us using the information in Section 14.

12. Children’s Privacy

ABN membership is open to adults 18 years of age and older only. ABN does not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a minor, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately using the information in Section 14.

13. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that is reasonably likely to result in harm to members, ABN LLC will:

Notify affected members as soon as reasonably practicable and without undue delay
Describe the nature of the breach, the categories of data involved, and the likely consequences
Describe the measures taken or proposed to address the breach and mitigate its effects
Provide contact information for members to obtain further information and assistance

Notification will be provided by email to the address associated with your membership account. ABN will also notify relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

14. Changes to This Policy

ABN LLC may update this Privacy and Compliance Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When material changes are made, we will:

Post the updated policy on this page with a new effective date
Notify members by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect
For significant changes affecting how we handle Autistic identity data, provide an explicit opportunity to review and acknowledge the updated policy

Your continued membership after the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. If you do not agree to a material change, you may cancel your membership before it takes effect.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy and Compliance Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, have concerns about how your information is being handled, or want to report a potential data breach, please contact ABN LLC:

The Autistic Business Network,LLC

1799 Holmes DR SW

Conyers, Georgia

Website: autisticbusinessnetwork.com

Contact Page: autisticbusinessnetwork.com/contact

We will respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 12 business hours. For formal data subject rights requests, we will acknowledge receipt within 5 business days and fulfill the request within 30 days.