Last Updated: September 9, 2026
JAW GA News respects the privacy of our readers, sources, tipsters, commenters, correspondents, and members of the public who interact with our journalism. This Privacy Policy explains the types of information JAW GA News may receive or collect, how that information may be used, circumstances in which information may be disclosed, and the principles we follow when handling personal information and journalistic materials.
JAW GA News is an independent news and investigative journalism organization operating in Georgia. Our work includes receiving tips, communicating with sources, examining public records, reviewing court documents, investigating matters of public concern, communicating with government agencies and public officials, and publishing journalism in the public interest. Because journalism necessarily involves collecting and preserving information, material gathered for legitimate newsgathering purposes may be handled differently from ordinary information collected through a website.
Our basic privacy principle is straightforward: JAW GA News seeks to collect and retain information when there is a legitimate journalistic, operational, security, administrative, archival, or legal reason for doing so, while avoiding unnecessary disclosure of sensitive personal information.
Information We May Collect
When someone visits JAW GA News, certain technical information may be collected automatically by our website, hosting provider, content-management system, security services, analytics services, or other technologies necessary to operate the website. This information may include an Internet Protocol address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring website, pages viewed, dates and times of access, approximate geographic information derived from an IP address, and ordinary server, security, and diagnostic information.
When visitors voluntarily interact with JAW GA News, additional information may be provided. For example, submitting a comment may provide a name or screen name, email address, website address, IP address, and the contents of the comment. Contacting JAW GA News may provide an email address, account information associated with the method of communication, and whatever information the individual voluntarily includes in the correspondence.
People submitting news tips, photographs, videos, audio recordings, documents, screenshots, emails, or other materials should understand that those materials may contain additional information, including metadata or identifying information that may not be immediately visible.
Individuals should not submit personal or sensitive information that is unnecessary for the purpose of their communication.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
JAW GA News may use cookies and similar technologies for legitimate website functions including security, visitor preferences, analytics, spam prevention, website performance, embedded content, and other technical functions.
Third-party services incorporated into JAW GA News may independently use cookies or similar technologies according to their own privacy policies and practices. These services may include website hosting, analytics, embedded video, social-media content, security services, spam prevention, or other technologies incorporated into the website.
Visitors can generally restrict or delete cookies through their browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality or performance of portions of the website.
Comments and Public Participation
Comments submitted for publication should be considered public information once they are approved and displayed on JAW GA News.
Visitors should never place Social Security numbers, financial-account information, passwords, private telephone numbers, private home addresses, confidential medical information, or other sensitive personal information in a public comment.
JAW GA News reserves the right to moderate, hold, reject, remove, or restrict comments involving spam, scams, malicious links, threats, doxxing, impersonation, unlawful content, disclosure of sensitive personal information, harassment, or other abuse.
Criticism, disagreement, unpopular opinions, and criticism of JAW GA News are not, by themselves, grounds for removal. We believe a news organization demanding accountability from others should be capable of tolerating scrutiny of its own work.
News Tips, Sources, and Newsgathering
JAW GA News welcomes legitimate news tips, documents, records, photographs, videos, correspondence, and other information concerning matters of potential public interest.
Information submitted for journalistic purposes may be reviewed, researched, preserved, compared with other evidence, used to develop additional investigative leads, or incorporated into reporting when editorially and legally appropriate.
Submitting information to JAW GA News does not automatically create an attorney-client relationship, contractual relationship, fiduciary relationship, or legally guaranteed confidential relationship. It also does not automatically guarantee anonymity.
When JAW GA News expressly agrees to protect a confidential source, we will take reasonable measures consistent with applicable law, journalistic ethics, available technology, and the circumstances to protect that source’s identity. However, no electronic communication system can provide an absolute guarantee against compromise, and no privacy policy should pretend otherwise.
Georgia law provides a qualified privilege concerning certain information, documents, records, and materials obtained or prepared by persons engaged in gathering and disseminating news. O.C.G.A. § 24-5-508 establishes protections concerning compelled disclosure under circumstances defined by Georgia law. That privilege is qualified rather than absolute. Georgia Code § 24-5-508
Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to waive any reporter’s privilege, newsgathering protection, First Amendment protection, work-product protection, source protection, or other right available to JAW GA News under Georgia or federal law.
Sources communicating highly sensitive information should consider the security implications of ordinary email, social-media messaging, website forms, cloud storage, metadata, and other electronic communication methods before transmitting sensitive materials.
Public Records and Publicly Available Information
JAW GA News regularly obtains and examines information from public records, court records, government databases, public meetings, official statements, publicly accessible websites, archives, social-media posts, interviews, photographs, videos, and other lawful sources.
Information appearing in JAW GA News reporting therefore may not have been collected from the individual through this website.
Publicly available information and material lawfully obtained for legitimate journalistic purposes may be preserved as part of our research, reporting, documentation, archives, corrections process, or defense of published journalism.
A request to delete information does not automatically require JAW GA News to remove truthful, lawfully obtained, newsworthy information from published journalism or journalistic archives. Legitimate concerns involving accuracy, safety, privacy, legal obligations, or unnecessary exposure of sensitive information will nevertheless be evaluated individually.
Artificial Intelligence
JAW GA News uses artificial intelligence as part of our investigative, research, editorial, and publishing workflow.
Our AI investigative research partner, Sherlock, may assist with organizing information, analyzing documents, comparing records, reconstructing timelines, identifying potential inconsistencies, developing research questions, examining alternative explanations, locating relevant information, and preparing material for publication.
Artificial intelligence does not replace human editorial responsibility.
AI-generated information is not automatically treated as verified merely because an artificial-intelligence system produced it. Important factual claims should be evaluated against appropriate source material, and JAW GA News retains responsibility for material ultimately published under our name.
Depending on the technology involved, information processed through AI-assisted systems may also be processed by third-party technology providers and may be subject to their applicable privacy, security, and data-processing practices.
JAW GA News therefore seeks to exercise additional caution before providing confidential source identities, highly sensitive personal information, unpublished investigative materials, or other protected information to third-party artificial-intelligence services.
How Information May Be Used
Information collected or received by JAW GA News may be used to operate, maintain, secure, and improve the website; respond to correspondence; investigate news tips; conduct journalistic research; verify information; prepare and publish journalism; moderate comments; detect spam, fraud, malicious activity, or security threats; maintain records and archives; analyze website performance; comply with applicable legal obligations; establish or defend legal rights; and protect JAW GA News, our readers, sources, or other individuals.
Information supplied for a particular purpose may also become relevant to legitimate journalism. For example, correspondence sent to JAW GA News concerning an investigation may become part of the journalistic record surrounding that investigation.
JAW GA News does not sell confidential source identities as marketing information.
Sharing and Disclosure
JAW GA News may provide limited information to service providers when reasonably necessary to operate our website or journalism. Such providers may include website-hosting companies, content-management services, security providers, analytics services, email providers, storage services, spam-prevention services, and technology providers.
Information may also be disclosed when required by applicable law, a valid court order, or other legally enforceable process.
When legally appropriate, JAW GA News reserves the right to challenge requests seeking protected newsgathering materials, confidential source information, unpublished journalistic materials, or information protected by applicable privilege.
An informal request from a government official, law-enforcement agency, attorney, private party, or other person does not itself constitute consent by JAW GA News to disclose protected information.
Nothing in this Privacy Policy constitutes a voluntary waiver of any legal privilege or protection.
Data Security
JAW GA News takes reasonable measures appropriate to our resources, technology, and operations to protect information against unauthorized access, alteration, misuse, loss, or disclosure.
However, no website, computer, email account, mobile device, cloud platform, database, or electronic communication system can guarantee absolute security.
JAW GA News therefore cannot guarantee that information will never be intercepted, compromised, lost, stolen, or accessed without authorization.
Georgia law contains requirements concerning notification following certain breaches involving computerized personal information. When applicable, JAW GA News will address legally required notifications in accordance with Georgia law and other applicable legal requirements. Georgia Code § 10-1-912
Children and Minors
JAW GA News is a general-audience news website and is not specifically directed toward children.
We do not operate the website for the purpose of knowingly collecting personal information from children.
Journalism may nevertheless concern minors when they become involved in matters of legitimate public interest. When reporting about minors, JAW GA News will consider the public interest, applicable law, safety, privacy, relevance, and potential harm associated with publishing identifying information.
The fact that information about a minor is technically obtainable does not necessarily mean publishing that information serves a legitimate journalistic purpose.
External Websites and Embedded Content
JAW GA News articles may contain links to external websites or incorporate videos, social-media posts, documents, maps, photographs, court records, government materials, or other third-party content.
External websites and services operate independently and may collect information according to their own privacy policies.
JAW GA News does not control the privacy, security, tracking, or data-processing practices of independent third-party websites merely because we link to or embed material from them.
Retention of Information and Journalistic Archives
JAW GA News may retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for journalistic, archival, operational, evidentiary, security, administrative, or legal purposes.
Journalism often requires long-term preservation of source materials. Investigative notes, correspondence, public records, court documents, photographs, videos, audio recordings, government responses, research files, published articles, corrections, and supporting evidence may therefore be preserved after the immediate investigation or publication has concluded.
Maintaining those materials helps preserve the historical record and allows JAW GA News to demonstrate how reporting was developed if an article is questioned months or years after publication.
Requests for Correction, Removal, or Privacy Review
Individuals may contact JAW GA News regarding legitimate privacy concerns, factual inaccuracies, accidental disclosure of sensitive personal information, or information they believe requires correction.
Submitting such a request does not guarantee deletion, alteration, unpublishing, or removal.
Requests involving published journalism will be evaluated according to accuracy, public interest, applicable law, journalistic ethics, archival integrity, safety considerations, freedom of the press, and the rights and interests of other individuals.
When information is materially inaccurate, correction should ordinarily preserve the integrity of the journalistic record rather than silently rewriting history.
A disagreement with accurate reporting, by itself, does not establish a privacy violation or require removal of the reporting.
Legal Requests and Journalistic Materials
Government agencies, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement agencies, private investigators, businesses, organizations, and other parties seeking unpublished journalistic material or source information should understand that JAW GA News reserves all applicable rights and protections available under the United States Constitution, Georgia law, federal law, O.C.G.A. § 24-5-508, and any other applicable legal authority.
Nothing contained in this Privacy Policy constitutes consent to disclosure, advance agreement to produce information, or waiver of any journalistic privilege.
JAW GA News may require formal legal process where appropriate and reserves the right to challenge legal demands when lawful grounds exist.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
JAW GA News may revise this Privacy Policy when our website, technology, services, journalistic practices, or applicable legal requirements change.
The effective date displayed at the beginning of this policy will be updated when material revisions are made.
Continued use of the website after an updated policy becomes effective constitutes continued use subject to the revised policy to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Our Commitment to Privacy and Accountability
Privacy and government transparency are not opposing principles.
Government transparency allows citizens and journalists to examine how public authority is exercised. Personal privacy protects individuals against unnecessary exposure and intrusion. Responsible journalism requires understanding the difference.
JAW GA News will continue requesting public records, examining government conduct, investigating matters of legitimate public concern, asking difficult questions, protecting legitimate journalistic interests, correcting material errors when established, and treating sensitive information with the care circumstances require.
We expect transparency and accountability from the institutions we investigate.
We expect the same from ourselves.
JAW GA News
People. Facts. Accountability.
A Stronger Georgia.
