Skip to content
Access the app online App online

Privacy and Protection of Personal Information Policy

Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out the rules, procedures, and practices to be followed by TFO and all of its current or future affiliates with respect to the collection, use, storage, access, and disclosure of personal information of an identifiable individual who uses TFO’s services (hereinafter, the “user”).

When an individual uses TFO’s services, there may be situations where it is necessary to provide TFO with personal information. TFO recognizes that this is a great responsibility and makes every effort to protect the personal information of its users and to allow them to manage it appropriately.

Objective

In the interest of privacy, TFO has established this Policy to inform its users, among other things, about the personal information that TFO collects (whether through its site,software, applications, content, products, and services, or other platforms that TFO may use to collect personal information), how the personal information is used, archived, deleted, modified, and to whom it is disclosed.

This Policy is designed to help users of TFO’s products or services understand what information TFO collects, why TFO collects it, how to verify the accuracy of the information, and to provide tools and explanations to users in terms of general privacy.

Application and scope

This Policy applies to all services offered by TFO and its affiliates, including services offered on third-party sites. The Policy does not apply to services that have separate privacy policies that do not incorporate this Policy as adopted by TFO.

Therefore, this Policy does not apply to:

  • Privacy practices of other companies or organizations that advertise TFO’s services;
  • Services offered by other companies or individuals, including products or sites offered by them that may include TFO’s services to which this Policy applies, or products or sites that are featured in search results, or are associated with TFO’s services.

Definitions

“Personal Information” includes, but is not limited to, contact information (home mailing address, telephone number, email address), date of birth or age, credit card information, and academic records. Generally, information disclosed on business cards (title, address, telephone, fax, and business email) is not considered personal.

“Products and services” includes, but is not limited to, TFO’s sites, software, applications, content, products, and services or other means, and any French language Children and Youth programming from TFO, including MiniTFO, PlusTFO, FlipTFO, IDÉLLO, AppTFO, Co-prodTFO.

“Cookies” means small text files that contain a unique identification number that is transferred from the Service to the hard drive of the user’s computer or other device used to connect to the Service. A cookie is used to uniquely identify users of the services and to track some of their activities on the Service.

Collection and use of personal information

TFO collects personal information in order to provide better services to all its users. The personal information collected by TFO and how it is used depend on how users use the services and how they manage their privacy settings.

The type and amount of personal information collected by TFO are limited to the minimum necessary to meet reasonable business objectives.

Under no circumstances personal information is collected maliciously, indiscriminately, or without a reasonable business purpose. Personal information is collected by fair and lawful means.

TFO collects and uses personal information only to the extent necessary to fulfill its purpose:, in the following contexts :

  • Service Registration: The name, mailing address, email address, gender, age, school, and grade of students who register for TFO’s services in order to track the use and popularity of the services, to make improvements to the services, and to revoke the privileges of users who do not comply with the terms of use of the services. TFO also collects banking or credit card information from users who wish to register for paid services from TFO.

    Date transfer during the registration process is done within a device that protects the computer system connected to the Internet from intrusion attempts that could come from it (firewall). TFO does not maintain a central record of student information.

  • Viewer Requests: The email address and possibly the name, address, and phone numbers of viewers or individuals who visit TFO’s services and wish to contact TFO through one of its feedback loops. These requests, without any personally identifiable information, are summarized and circulated within the organization to the appropriate department to respond to such requests.
  • TV Guide Requests: The names and addresses of viewers who wish to receive TV Guides and the email addresses of those who wish to be notified electronically of upcoming program topics. No other use is made of these addresses.
  • Contests: The name, address, and age of persons entering a contest or draw to ensure compliance with contest rules, to allow TFO to contact prize winners, and, occasionally, to announce future contests, but only if permission is granted. No other use is made of this information. Within a reasonable period of time following the awarding of the prizes, all personal information will be destroyed.

  • Donations: The name, address, phone numbers, email address, and, if applicable, bank or credit card information of users who make donations, and sometimes the names and birthdates of their children. This personal information is needed to process payments and pledges, and to send donors the benefits they are eligible for as members.

    TFO respects the privacy of its donors at all times. Personal information about the donor may be shared with other charitable organizations, provided the donor has consented to such sharing and the privacy and confidentiality practices of such organizations are satisfactory to TFO.

    Donors have the following options to withdraw their consent through direct correspondence:

    • In the membership confirmation sent to them by mail; and
    • Through the membership solicitations they receive throughout the year, including at renewal time.

    Online pledges are processed through a secure channel, meaning that personal information is encrypted so that others cannot read or intercept it.

  • Cookies: TFO uses cookies to track which pages and/or features of the Service are most popular for the sole purpose of improving the quality of the Service and to help manage user sessions. TFO also uses personal information to ensure that its services are working properly, to help it develop and design new services, and to improve the security and reliability of its services. Any personal information that may be obtained by TFO through the use of cookies is collected in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

Communication or disclosure of personal information

The only persons who have access to such personal information are employees in the course of their duties and third parties acting on behalf of TFO under contract who require access to personally identifiable information in order to fulfill their business obligations.

TFO only deals with third parties whose privacy and confidentiality practices meet its standards.

Accordingly, personal information is only used in accordance with this Policy and any applicable rules, regulations or laws by TFO and by any person, firm, or organization acting on behalf of TFO in connection with the contractual arrangements.

TFO shares personal information, outside the scope of this Policy, if it believes, in good faith, that access, use, retention, or disclosure of that personal information is reasonably necessary to:

  • Comply with applicable legal requirements, regulations, court orders, legal process, or enforceable governmental requests;
  • Enforce the terms of use of its site(s) and services, including investigating possible breaches thereof;
  • Detect, prevent, or deal with fraudulent activities, security breaches, or any technical issues;
  • Protect against any harm to the rights, property, or safety of TFO, its users, or the public, in accordance with and in compliance with applicable laws.In the case of a written complaint, TFO will contact the person who filed the complaint.

TFO will cooperate with appropriate authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any disputes regarding the disclosure or communication of personal information that cannot be resolved directly with the individual concerned.

Security measures and retention of personal information

TFO employs a variety of measures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information collected. These measures are designed to prevent the loss or theft of personal information, as well as its unauthorized copying, modification, use, access, and/or disclosure.

TFO will retain this personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

Unless prevented from doing so by a regulatory requirement, TFO will delete or destroy the personal information collected in the user’s account upon receipt of a written request sent by email or mail to the following address:

Groupe Média TFO
21 College St.
Suite 600
Toronto, ON M5G 2B3
vos_questions@tfo.org

Consent to disclosure

In the event that TFO wishes to use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those described in this policy, TFO will seek the consent of the individual concerned.

Depending on the nature of the information, consent may be given orally, through an online consent form, or through correspondence. TFO will ensure that express consent is sought for any use or disclosure of sensitive personal information. Whether personal information is considered “sensitive” will vary depending on the facts of each case, but as a general rule, and without limitation, information relating to health, finances, or reputation will be considered sensitive.

Access to personal information

In the event that the user wishes to verify whether TFO has any personal information about them or their child(ren), or wishes to access their personal information to check its accuracy, or for any other reason, the user may contact TFO at the contact information listed in the previous section.

Policy amendments

This Policy shall be reviewed on a regular basis and TFO shall ensure that it handles personal information in accordance with this Policy.

This Policy may be revised from time to time. TFO reserves the right to modify this Policy at its discretion, including adding or deleting items or terms. Any diminution of users’ rights under this Policy shall not be enforced without express consent.

The latest version of the Policy can be obtained by contacting TFO at the following coordinates:

Last update: April 19, 2023