Terms and Conditions

On this page you can find our website policies:

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

The British Deaf Association is the manager of the British Deaf News (BDN) website and associated application, and may make changes to the content at any time without notice. By accessing our online services, you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions.


Linking policy

Linking to this site

We welcome and encourage other websites to link to the information that is hosted on these pages, and you don’t have to ask permission to link to our website. However, you should not suggest that your website is or contents are associated with, or endorsed by, the British Deaf News.

Linking from this site

We link to other websites, social media and organisations. Where our website contains links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We make no warranty of any kind with respect to those websites or content thereof, or the completeness of accuracy of those websites. Descriptions of, or references or links to other websites within our website are not, and do not imply, an endorsement of those websites or their contents. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss, disruption or damage that may arise from your use of them.


Hardware and software compatibility

We do not guarantee that this website will be compatible with all or any hardware and software which you may use or that this website will be available all the time or at any specific time.


Virus protection

We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always wise for you to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the internet.


Registering for our online services

To register for our online services you must provide us with a working email address. By supplying your email address, you consent to receiving email subscriptions (either daily or weekly as per your preference) and you understand that you may be contacted by British Deaf News.


Variation to terms and conditions

By accepting these terms and conditions you agree that we may:

  • Change, withdraw or add to the services and the website (or their features) or change the way in which you may access the services, all without notice.
  • Revise these terms and conditions from time to time as we develop the service. You will be notified of any changes via the email address provided on sign up or via a notification on our website. The changes will apply to the use of our website and services after we have given notice.

If you do not wish to accept the new terms and conditions you should not continue to use the services. If you continue to use the services after the date on which the change comes into effect, your use of the services indicates your agreement to be bound by the new terms and conditions.

You can view our terms and conditions at any time by selecting the ‘terms and conditions’ link on our website.


Contacting British Deaf News

British Deaf News can be contacted directly via the ‘Contact Us’ link at the bottom of each webpage.


Data Protection Act 1998 and privacy

British Deaf Association is a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. We will hold and process your personal information and any personal information of third parties supplied in accordance with this Act.

Where personal data of third parties is provided by you, we assume that you have obtained the required authority to supply this information unless you tell us otherwise. We will hold and process your personal information and any personal information of third parties supplied in accordance with this Act.

We will not transfer, disclose, sell, distribute or lease the information that you have provided to third parties unless we have your permission except where permitted to do so for the purpose of exercising our regulatory functions or where we are permitted or required by law to assist other bodies to exercise their statutory functions. Further information on how your information is used, kept secure and your access rights please see our privacy notice.


Use of cookies

We use ‘cookies’ which are pieces of data created and stored on your hard drive when you use our online services.

Find out more about how we use cookies.


Copyright and intellectual property

The services and website and all the materials contained in it are protected by intellectual property rights, including copyright, and either belong to the regulator or are licensed to it to use. Materials include, but are not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, graphics and documents on the website, as well as other content.

We have made the services and website available to you for your own personal non-commercial use. We may modify, withdraw or deny access to this website at any time.

Any use of materials on this website including but not limited to reproduction for any purpose and modification, distribution or republication should acknowledge the regulator as the source and will be subject to intellectual property rights that attach to such materials.


Liability

Whilst every effort is made by the regulator (and its authorised subcontractors) to keep secure information submitted to you, you accept the risk that data transmitted electronically via this website or otherwise may be intercepted before reaching its intended destination or accessed by unauthorised third parties and may be exploited unlawfully by such parties.

We will make all attempts to ensure that all information posted on the website is accurate, but cannot be held responsible for errors. You use British Deaf News at your own risk.

We are not liable for any harm, loss or damage, howsoever caused, occasioned to you from using these services.


PRIVACY NOTICE

Our privacy notice explains how we look after your personal data.


Personal data

We gather personal data in a number of ways including:


Enquirers and subscribers 

If you’ve asked us something we’ll hold your personal data so we can give you the best possible service. We don’t need to collect a lot of information but we do need to know who you are, what you’ve asked and how we can reply to you.

Your personal data and any that you’ve given us about others will be treated in confidence. Sometimes we’ll need to share your personal data with internal and external colleagues so that we can answer your questions. We’ll minimise who we need to share it with, and only share personal details on condition that they treat it in accordance with the Data Protection Act and delete it as soon as possible.

We compile statistics about the number and / or type of enquiries / subscriptions we receive, but these won’t ever reveal personal data.


Visitors to our website

When you visit our website a cookie identifies and tracks your visit whilst collecting statistical information. Cookies tell us the pages that have been visited and collect information about how many times certain pages have been visited.

The cookie has no way of identifying you, it doesn’t hold any of your personal data nor can it be used retrospectively to track you.

When you view pages on our website and select an option of ‘remember me’, a cookie will be placed on your computer which will remember your computer’s details. The cookie does not seek to identify you as an individual, just the computer used in order to make using the website easier for you next time.

Cookies help us to assess the effectiveness of our website and can provide useful information following publications. For more information about the cookies that we use go to cookies.

If you’ve ‘signed up’ to receive any of British Deaf News services we’ll only hold the information that we need to deliver the service. Emails you’ll receive give you the option to stop receiving these emails and we will remove your personal data from our list and delete it.


User content

By placing material on the website, including but not limited to posting comments (including text, images and audio visual content) and making contributions – known as “user content”, you represent and warrant:

  • you own or otherwise have all necessary rights to the User Content you provide and the rights to provide it under these Terms
  • the User Content will not cause injury to any person or entity.

For all user content you post, upload, or otherwise make available on this website, you grant British Deaf News the rights to use, copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, publicly perform, publicly display, modify, adapt, translate, archive, store, and create derivative works from this. You permit British Deaf News to share this user content across all websites, mobile applications and other online services affiliated with British Deaf News; include the user content in a searchable format; place advertisements next to the user content; and user your name, likeness and any information in connection to the user content. All rights in this section are granted without the need for additional compensation of any sort by British Deaf News to you.


User content screening and removal

You acknowledge that the website and/or its designees may or may not pre-screen user content. British Deaf News has the right (but not the obligation) to move, remove, block, edit or refuse any user content for any reason.


User content assumption of risk  

Although the website may from time to time monitor or review postings and contributions and the like, it cannot and does not monitor or manage all user content, and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of user content. All user content provided to the website is the sole responsibility of the person who provided it. This means that you are entirely responsible for all user content that you provide. To protect your safety, please use your best judgment: we discourage divulging personal phone numbers and addresses or other information that can be used to identify or locate you. You acknowledge and agree that if you make such disclosures via posting, contributing or otherwise uploading user content, you do so fully understanding that such information could be used to identify you.


User content posting rules

When you provide user content, you agree to the following rules:

  • If the photo or video depicts any children under the age of 13, you affirm that you have written permission from the child’s parent or guardian to provide the photo or video.
  • Do not provide user content that:
    • contains copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind without the express permission of the owner of that material
    • contains vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language, expressions, epithets, slurs, text, photographs or illustrations, or is in poor taste, or is an inflammatory attack of a personal, racial or religious nature
    • is defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community
    • may cause any harm or damage to the website, you, us, or anyone else
    • violates any right of the website, British Deaf News or any third party
    • infringes other individuals privacy rights or rights of publicity
    • discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law
    • violates or encourages the violation of any local, national or international law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or similar requirement
    • interferes with any third party’s use of the website
    • advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose
    • collects any user content or information, or otherwise accesses the website using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our prior permission
    • violates any robot exclusion headers of the website, if any, or bypasses or circumvents other measures employed to prevent or limit access to the website
    • shares, recompiles, decompiles, disassembles, reverse engineers, or makes or distributes any other form of, or any derivative work from, the website
    • attempts to scrape or collect any personal or private information from other users or from the website
    • pretends to come from someone other than you, or where you are impersonating someone else
    • intercepts or monitors, damages, or modifies any communication not intended for you
    • uses or attempt to use another’s identity or email address, except as permitted or previously agreed
    • uploads or transmits viruses or any other harmful, disruptive or destructive files, materials or code
    • disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of the website, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through the website or affiliated or linked sites
    • “flames” any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeats prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects, or
    • otherwise breaches these Terms.

WARNING: A VIOLATION OF THESE POSTING RULES MAY BE REFERRED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.


Protection

Information is the regulator’s greatest asset, without it we can’t function. We’ve put processes in place to protect information, to maintain our reputation and comply with our responsibilities to protect personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998.


Compliance with the Data Protection Act

We comply with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 by taking all reasonable steps to ensure that:

  • Personal data is only used when it is fair and lawful to do so.
  • Personal data, obtained for a specific, lawful reason is not subsequently processed for a further incompatible purpose.
  • Only necessary personal data will be gathered.
  • Personal data held will be accurate and kept up-to-date.
  • Personal data will not be held longer than is necessary.
  • Individuals can access information about themselves in accordance with their rights under the Data Protection Act 1998.
  • Personal data will be held safely and securely.
  • Personal data will be only be transferred outside of the European Economic Area if the proper protections are put in place.


Your rights

If we hold your personal data then you have rights in relation to what we do with it:

You can ask for a copy of the data we hold about you by making a ‘subject access request’. If you wish to make such a request please write to us:

British Deaf News
C/o British Deaf Association
3rd Floor
356 Holloway Road
London N7 6PA
United Kingdom

Email: bdn@bda.org.uk

If you’re not happy that the data we hold about you is accurate, you can ask us to correct any changes.

If our usage of your personal data would cause substantial damage or distress to you, you can ask us to stop.

Requests should be sent to the address above.


How to make a complaint

If you’re not happy with how we handle your personal data please tell us, for more information about our complaint process contact us.


Privacy notice review

We regularly review this privacy notice. If you think we’ve got something wrong or missed something out or you would like more information about our privacy policy please let us know at the above address.


SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES:


Facebook policy

We have created our British Deaf News Facebook page for you to ‘like’. We encourage discussion between our followers however we may not be able to provide individual responses via Facebook.

Discussions are monitored by our Facebook page managers and they may direct a query through existing communication channels where appropriate.

We do not encourage or endorse any commercial or third party promotions that appear on our Facebook page.


Facebook availability

We will update and monitor our Facebook page during office hours, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Facebook is operated and maintained by Facebook, an independent third party corporation. British Deaf News accepts no responsibility for lack of or interruptions to service or other technical difficulties arising due to Facebook’s own downtime.


Our Facebook terms of membership

If you choose to connect to our Facebook page we ask that you adhere to the terms listed below:

  • be respectful of other users of the page
  • stay on topic and do not post content that is unrelated to the purpose of this page
  • do not use language that is offensive, inflammatory or provocative
  • do not post material if you know or suspect that doing so may breach the law
  • do not register more than one user account per person
  • do not impersonate or falsely claim to represent a person or an organisation
  • do not attempt to log on using another person’s account
  • please provide truthful and accurate submissions (do not provide submissions where you are not sure of their truthfulness or factual accuracy)
  • do not make any commercial endorsement or promotion of any product, service or publication without prior agreement

Failure to adhere will result in your postings being removed and could result in your access to our pages being blocked.


Twitter policy

The @BritishDeafNews Twitter account is managed by the BDA Digital Engagement Coordinator. The information we provide is for guidance only and should not be taken as a definitive interpretation of the law.

We may use some automation (such as tools that generate tweets from RSS feeds). If you follow us, you can expect between two to five tweets a week covering the following

  • alerts about new content on our website
  • updates on key issues in the Deaf community


Following

Due to resources, we infrequently review our follower list. We may automatically follow back accounts that aren’t spam. Being followed back does not imply endorsement of any kind.


Twitter availability

We will update and monitor our Twitter account during office hours, Monday to Friday. Twitter may occasionally be unavailable and British Deaf News accepts no responsibility for lack of service due to Twitter downtime.


@Replies and direct messages

We welcome feedback and ideas from all our followers however we are not able to reply individually to the messages we receive via Twitter.

The digital media team reads all @replies and direct messages and ensures that any emerging themes or helpful suggestions are passed to the relevant teams within British Deaf News.

The usual ways of contacting British Deaf News for official correspondence and those enquiries requiring a response are detailed in the contact us section of our website.


Other social media

The British Deaf Association holds current accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Vimeo and YouTube. Links from the British Deaf News website will link to the British Deaf Association accounts, where some relevant content may be found.

Last updated: November 2016. 

See also our Accessibility Policy and Cookies.