Terms of Use & Privacy Notice

Change.org, PBC (“Change.org”) and Metagov, d.b.a. Public AI (“Public AI”) operate the Swiss National AI Dialogue (the "Program"). Change.org and Public AI are referred to together as "we" or "us."

The Program invites participants to share their thoughts concerning civic issues. By accessing or using the Program sites, you ("you" or "participant") agree to these Terms of Use and Privacy Notice.

The Program processes limited personal data (defined below) solely to operate core features, maintain security, improve reliability, promote civic engagement, and conduct research/analysis related to the Program. We use service providers to host the site, store data, secure sessions, and measure usage, as detailed below.

Age Restriction. Participation is open to individuals 18 or older. Individuals under 18 may not participate. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 18.

Browser/Device-Based Participation. Participating in the Program does not require creating an account. Participation is tied to a browser-specific identifier stored via cookies/local storage. You must use the same browser and device (with cookies enabled) to continue participating. If you use a shared device, other users of that device may be able to continue your session until cookies are cleared. Use a private device if possible.

Partner Data Sharing. Your participation in this Program requires that your submissions be shared with our deliberation partners from the Swiss National AI Initiative, Collective Intelligence Project, and Swiss {ai} Weeks so they can conduct research and publish the results. If you do not wish to share your information with our partners, please do not participate in those deliberations. See Section 6.2 and 6.3 for details on how they may use your information.

Lawful and Respectful Conduct: You must comply with all applicable laws and respect the rights of others. Do not post unlawful, defamatory, harassing, or infringing content. We reserve the right to remove content or terminate participation for violations. We may remove content, limit participation, or invalidate submissions to protect the integrity of the Program.

Public Nature of Content: All submissions may be publicly visible along with your canton, and may be viewed by other participants, our staff, and civic partners. Your submissions are not confidential; do not include personal information about yourself or others that you do not wish to be public. Do not include home addresses, school names, or contact details in any submission. You may not submit content that includes other people’s personal data (e.g., names, phone numbers) without their consent. You are responsible for maintaining control of your device/browser. If others use your browser/device, we may attribute their actions to you until cookies are cleared.

You retain ownership of the content you submit. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, publicly display, translate, analyze, and create derivative works (such as summaries, aggregations, and excerpts) from your submissions, including through the service providers and partners described in Section 6.3, for the purposes of operating the Program, moderation and security, research and analysis, public reporting, and promoting the Program and civic engagement. This license continues for as long as we retain your submissions. If you request deletion of your submissions (see Section 6.6), we will stop making new uses of them and will delete or de-identify them in our active systems; materials already published or distributed (such as reports, academic papers, and public datasets) and aggregated or de-identified materials are not affected and may continue to be used. You retain any moral rights you may have.

This Program is facilitated by Change.org and Public AI. The Program may not necessarily be endorsed by or affiliated with any city, state, or federal government or government body. References to a city, state, or country name indicate geographic focus, not necessarily an official partnership.

6.1 Information Collected

Participation Data. When you participate in the Program, we collect your general location (canton) and the timestamps and the content of your submissions. You may also optionally provide contact (e.g. email address) and demographic (e.g. age) information.

Browser Identifier. To recognize your participation and prevent duplicate submissions, we store a browser-specific identifier in cookies/local storage. It is not portable across browsers/devices. We do not use this identifier for advertising or cross-site tracking.

Website Analytics. We collect usage analytics (e.g. page views, time of access, referral links) and technical identifiers (e.g. IP address, browser/device information, cookie/local storage identifiers) to ensure service stability and understand usage patterns.

Session replay via Amplitude. We may capture session replays to understand usability and fix bugs. We mask/redact input fields likely to contain personal data to the extent technically feasible.

Session replay and error monitoring via Sentry. We use Sentry to monitor errors and capture session replays to fix bugs. We mask fields likely to contain personal data to the extent technically feasible.

AI processing of submissions. We use third-party AI providers to screen submissions for prohibited content and to analyze submissions for research and reporting (AWS Bedrock). The optional AI interviewer described below runs on Apertus, hosted through CSCS, Infomaniak, and the Public AI Inference Utility. These providers process this data on our behalf under contracts limiting their use of it.

Meta Pixel. Change.org may use Meta Pixel for measurement, such as to understand traffic sources and campaign performance. Meta may receive device and browsing data from our site.

Optional Event Survey Data (Contact and Demographics). If you complete our optional surveys to express interest in participating in events, we collect your contact information (e.g. email address) and demographics (e.g., age range, canton). You may choose not to answer. We do not sell or “share” this information for cross-context behavioral advertising and do not link it to your public submissions.

Optional AI Interview Data. The Program includes an optional AI interviewer that asks about your views and experience. If you respond, we collect your responses for research and analysis. You may choose not to answer. We do not sell or “share” this information for cross-context behavioral advertising. The AI interviewer helps you develop and refine your thoughts as part of the Program. Because this is integrated as a part of your participation, your responses are linked to any other information you provide, including general location (canton).

6.2 How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

• Facilitate the civic discussion and submissions;
• Screen submissions for prohibited content before they are stored;
• Analyze and summarize responses for research, reporting, and presentation to the general public and municipal stakeholders, including by using third-party AI services;
• Share data with academic, research, and civic partners – including partners who participate in or contribute to the Program in the future – so they may conduct noncommercial research and analysis related to the Program and the civic questions they address, and publish the results;
• Send you transactional messages necessary to operate the Program;
• Maintain security and detect misuse or technical issues;
• Understand usage patterns of the program to improve reliability and user experience;
• Promote civic engagement and the Program, including through marketing materials that may feature your submissions; and
• Comply with legal obligations.

6.3 When We Share Information

We may share the information we collect for purposes described in this Notice and as outlined below:

Service providers/processors: We use vendors under contracts limiting their use of data to help us operate the Program. Such vendors include:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS): database storage and backups
• Amplitude: website analytics and session replay
• CSCS: inference provider for Apertus Model
• Infomaniak: inference provider for Apertus Model
• Public AI Inference Utility: inference provider for Apertus Model
• Sentry: error monitoring and session replay

Advertising/measurement partners: We use advertising and measurement trackers to measure and optimize advertising. You can opt out at Manage cookies.

• Meta (Pixel): Meta may receive data as an independent controller/third party; see Meta’s privacy policy for its practices and choices.

Public/municipal reporting: We may publish aggregated or anonymized insights, and may quote or reproduce individual submissions as illustrative examples in research reports, articles, and public-facing materials. We will not disclose your email publicly, nor share your demographic responses in identifiable form without your consent or as required by law. Published examples may include limited non-identifying context such as a general region or state. Before publication, we review selected examples and remove or redact details that could reasonably identify you.

Legal/security obligations: We may disclose information to comply with law, protect rights and safety, and maintain the integrity of the Program.

Research partners: We may make deliberation data available to academic, research, and civic partners, including current and future Program partners, for noncommercial research, analysis, and publication, including in academic papers and public research reports. Research partners receive data under written agreements that limit use to the approved research project, prohibit further disclosure of the data, require appropriate security safeguards, and permit publication only of aggregate or de-identified findings.

6.4 Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to run the site and understand how it’s used:

• Essential. We use strictly necessary cookies/local storage to operate core features (e.g. recognizing the same browser, security).
• Analytics. We use analytics trackers (e.g. Amplitude) to help us measure usage and fix bugs.
• Marketing. We use marketing trackers (e.g. Meta Pixel) for advertising measurement and to optimize advertising.

You can manage your cookie preferences at Manage cookies.

6.5 Data Retention

We retain submissions and associated data for as long as necessary to complete the Program, produce reports, and comply with legal obligations. We may store anonymized summaries indefinitely for research and archival purposes.

6.6 Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access to, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you; opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information; limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information; or withdraw consent.

To exercise these rights, contact us at contact@ideasforchange.org with the subject line "Swiss National AI Dialogue – Data Request."

We will respond as permitted or required by applicable law. Data rights requests will be handled to the extent technically feasible. Deletion requests will not require removal of submissions from aggregated, anonymized, or published materials, consistent with the license granted in Section 4.

6.7 International Users and Transfers

Your data may be processed in countries other than your own, including the United States. This includes processing by our third-party service providers, including those listed in Section 6.3. Our database storage and backups (AWS) are hosted in Switzerland. By participating, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other jurisdictions that may have different data protection laws.

Change.org and Public AI are joint controllers of the personal data described in this Notice. Change.org is the point of contact for exercising your rights under Section 6.6; the parties have agreed on the allocation of data protection responsibilities between them, including in respect of security, retention, and responding to your requests.

If you are in the EEA/UK, our lawful basis is legitimate interests to run the Program. Where required (e.g. analytics/replay, pixels, optional demographics) we rely on your consent.

No Official Decisions: The Program is an experimental civic engagement exercise. Participation does not guarantee any specific governmental action.

No Warranty: We provide the Program "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any indirect or consequential damages arising out of your use of the Program.

We may modify these terms and privacy notice for this Program from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this document and, if feasible, provide additional notice. Continued participation constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

For questions about these Terms, this Privacy Notice, or your data, contact: contact@ideasforchange.org or write to: Change.org, 548 Market Street, #29993, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA.