Privacy Policies

Updated as of February 11, 2022

Thank you for visiting the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) website. USAC is the independent, not-for-profit corporation that administers under the oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) and the four universal service programs, as well as the Congressional Response Programs. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress created the Congressional Response Programs to help people stay connected, and the FCC designated USAC to administer these three programs. Below is information on USAC’s Privacy Notice, Rights under the Privacy Act of 1974, and USAC’s Website Policy.

USAC Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice describes the practices of USAC (USAC, we, or us) with respect to personal information we collect through our website. USAC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of its visitors to this website and of any personal information that we collect during your visit. Except as described below, USAC does not collect personally identifiable information (PII) from or about you when you visit our website. USAC may update this Privacy Notice from time to time and without notice. If the Privacy Notice is updated, the last modified date of the policies is reflected in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

By PII, we mean information that can be used to identify you and also information that, when combined with other information from or about you, can be used to identify you. Examples of PII include your name, physical address, email address, telephone number, social security number and other government identifiers, unique identifiers for the devices you use to access this website, and user identification (ID) and password for any accounts you create with USAC. USAC may also collect PII through the FCC forms that are used to administer the Universal Service Fund (USF), the universal service programs, and other programs as directed by the FCC, or through questions submitted through USAC’s website.

Except for the automated collection activities described below, website visitors do NOT have to provide information when searching, retrieving, downloading, or otherwise accessing and using the USAC website.

If you have questions about this Privacy Notice or about our collection and handling of your personal information, please contact USAC’s Privacy Officer at privacy@usac.org.

Information that USAC Collects Directly From You
Information that USAC Collects Automatically When You Visit Our Website
How USAC Uses Information that It Collects From and About You
Who USAC Shares Personal Information With and Why
Information Security and Unauthorized Access
Cookies
Third Party Websites
Contact USAC

Rights Under The Privacy Act Of 1974

The Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires federal agencies and organizations that work for them to provide notice to the public about what personally identifiable information (PII) they are collecting, the reason for collecting it, who they are collecting information about, and generally prohibits the disclosure of information about individuals that the federal government maintains in a system of records without their consent. The FCC provides this notice by publishing a system of records notice (SORN) in the Federal Register. The FCC has published SORNs for the Lifeline program (FCC/WCB-1) and for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (FCC/WCB-3). The National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) and the Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) are part of the FCC’s Lifeline program system of record (FCC/WCB-1) as well as the Affordable Connectivity Program system of record (FCC/WCB-3) and the data is protected under the Privacy Act. USAC adheres to the Privacy Act requirements with respect to all information that it collects, maintains, uses, or disseminates in NLAD and the National Verifier.

If you participate in the Lifeline program, or another program that uses income or consumer participation in certain government benefit programs as eligibility criteria, you will be asked to provide additional information to verify your eligibility to receive federal Lifeline or other benefits. This information includes first name, last name, address, last four digits of your social security number (SSN) and date of birth. USAC will share this information that you provide with a third-party verification service to verify your identity and may share your data with other state and federal agencies to verify your eligibility to receive Lifeline or other benefits. In addition, your information may also be used for the purposes described in the SORNs.

National Verifier Computer Matching Agreements (CMAs)
Freedom of Information Act
Memoranda of Understanding with Federal Agencies

USAC Website Policy

Disclaimer of Liability
Consent
Other