Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Ofcom is the founding member of the International Media Literacy Research Forum (“IMLRF”) and also carries out a secretariat role for the IMLRF. This role involves a responsibility for overseeing and maintaining the IMLRF website (the “Site”). This Site is operated and hosted by Ofcom.  Ofcom manages the Site’s content and has editorial control over all copy and images that are not uploaded by members.

Membership

In recognition of the wide variety of activity that occurs in this area, and to encourage inclusive dialogue between the range of players, membership of the IMLRF is open to both individuals and organisations.

 The founder member in each country acts as a ‘hub’ for that territory, promoting the work and objectives of the IMLRF, during the course of its work and with contacts in its own country and abroad.

We will place no barriers in the way of potential members, but members should be aware that their membership can be revoked if they breach the IMLRF website terms and conditions or if their activity outside of the IMLRF is seen as bringing the IMLRF into disrepute.

Revoking membership:

The IMLRF reserves the right to revoke the membership of any IMLRF member who breaches the Terms and Conditions of the site.

As Ofcom is responsible for overseeing the IMLRF website, this role places Ofcom at the core of IMLRF activity. Ofcom will therefore be involved in the process of revoking membership. If it comes to Ofcom’s attention that a member’s use of the site is in breach of the IMLRF website terms and conditions ,  a three-step process will occur:

First, the member will be contacted and informed of the manner in which they are in breach of the IMLRF website terms and conditions. This will act as a warning, and this warning will also be communicated to the founder member of the IMLRF who represents the country in which the member in question is located.

Second, if the member continues to act in breach of the IMLRF website terms and conditions, Ofcom will contact the founder members of the IMLRF in order to obtain agreement that the member’s status should be revoked.

If the revoked member wishes to appeal this decision, they will be asked to contact the IMLRF founder member from their country in order to submit an appeal. This will be circulated to the wider group of founder members for consideration and approval or rejection.

Member-Generated Content

Ofcom  may now or in the future permit members of the Site to upload, post, submit, email, distribute, publish, transmit and/or otherwise communicate to or via the Site ("upload" and related words are to be construed accordingly) materials provided by such members ("Member-Generated Content" or "MGC" for short). By uploading MGC, you acknowledge that we cannot guarantee its confidentiality.

By uploading any MGC, you grant to Ofcom and the IMLRF the right to use such MGC (whether in whole or in part or copies of the same) in any format or medium now known or later developed (including, without limitation, on or via any website operated by, and in any promotional materials produced by, Ofcom or IMLRF). 

You shall be solely responsible for your own MGC and the consequences of uploading it. By uploading any MGC, you warrant and represent for the benefit of Ofcom and IMLRF that you own the entire right, title and interest in and to such MGC or have all necessary licences, rights, consents and permissions to use, and to authorise Ofcom and IMLRF to use, any and all intellectual property rights or other third-party rights in and to such MGC to enable utilisation of such MGC in the manner contemplated in these Terms and Conditions

In connection with MGC, you shall not impersonate another person and shall not upload any MGC that:

(i) is copyrighted, protected under the law of confidence or otherwise subject to third-party rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from the relevant third party to upload the MGC and to grant all of the rights granted by you under these Terms and Conditions; or

(ii) is defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing, threatening, harmful or offensive, incites racial or religious hatred, violates any law or encourages conduct that would amount to a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability and/or is otherwise objectionable; or

(iii) represents falsehood(s) or misrepresentation(s); or

(iv) is directly or indirectly commercial or contains any advertisement, promotion or solicitation of business, except in any areas specifically designated for such purpose; or

(v) contains viruses or any other computer code, corrupt files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality or disrupt any software, hardware, telecommunications, networks, servers or other equipment.

Notice and Takedown  

Ofcom reserve the right in our sole discretion to remove, or to suspend or disable access to, MGC at any time without liability and with or without prior notice. In particular, we do not permit infringement of third-party rights on the Site, and we shall remove, or suspend or disable access to, any MGC if properly notified that such MGC infringe third-party rights.

 If you are a rights-owner (or an agent acting for a rights-owner) and believe that any MGC infringes your rights and you wish Ofcom to remove such MGC from the Site or to suspend or disable access to it, please send a notice by email with the subject line "Removal request" to Ofcom at imlrf@ofcom.org.uk, and provide Ofcom with the following information:

(i) an electronic or physical signature of the rights-owner or a person duly authorised to act on behalf of the rights-owner;

(ii) details of the proprietary material that is claimed to have been infringed (or, if multiple proprietary materials on the Site are to be covered by a single notification, a representative list of such materials);

(iii) details of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, together with information reasonably sufficient to permit Ofcom to locate the material (including a URL and/or screen shot);

(iv) information reasonably sufficient to permit Ofcom to contact you, such as a postal address, telephone number and, if available, an email address; and

(v) a statement by you that: (A) you believe in good faith that use of the MGC in the manner complained of is not authorised by the rights-owner or the rights-owner's agent or by law; (B) the information in the notification is true and accurate, (C) you are the rights-owner or are duly authorised to act on the rights-owner's behalf; and (D) You consent to Ofcom notifying the person who uploaded the proprietary material that is claimed to have been infringed, of your identity and contact details. 

Privacy policy 

By Uploading MGC to the Site,  you also confirm that you agree to your name and any comments being made public by Ofcom, not only for the purposes of this Site but also more generally to fulfil its statutory functions.

Ofcom is committed to keeping and dealing with your personal information fairly under the Data Protection Act.  For information about Ofcom’s data protection statement, please read: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/cad/dps/dps/

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”) establishes a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. It places a number of obligations on public authorities and sets out exemptions from that right. The Act applies to Ofcom as Ofcom is a public authority. Further detail on how Ofcom deals with Freedom of Information requests can be found at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/cad/foimain/. Detailed information on the Act is available on the Information Commissioner’s website: http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Intellectual Property Rights

All material on this Site is owned by Ofcom, IMLRF or the respective authors and is protected by copyright, trade marks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. The Ofcom logo is a registered trademark. If you wish to reproduce the Ofcom  logo please ask our permission first: ofcomnews@ofcom.org.uk.

You should ensure that when using the provided material in any way, including publishing the information, you comply with all relevant legislation. For example, the information provided may be protected by copyright under the copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended). If in doubt, please seek independent legal advice. For Ofcom’s policy on copyright and related issues, please refer to our website at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/accoun/disclaimer/. Any enquiries regarding the material on this website should be sent to media.literacy@ofcom.org.uk by email.

© Ofcom copyright 2006.

Disclaimer

While every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information provided on this Site is accurate, no guarantees for the currency or accuracy of information are made. This site and any material relating to information, products and services (or to third party information, products and services) on the Site, is provided 'as is'. It is provided without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.

Ofcom and IMLRF do not accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur whilst using material derived from this website. Ofcom and IMLRF do not warrant that the functions contained in the material in this Site will be uninterrupted or error free. Also, Ofcom and IMLRF do not warrant that defects will be corrected, or that this Site or the server that makes it available is free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy, and reliability of the materials.

In no event will Ofcom or IMLRF be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from use or loss of use of, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of Ofcom's IMLRF website.

These Terms and Conditions shall be covered by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising under these Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Hyperlinking

You do not have to ask permission to link directly to the web pages hosted on this Site. However, Ofcom does not permit the Site pages to be loaded into frames on your website as the pages must load into the user's entire window.

It is Ofcom's policy to obtain permission to link to other websites. Ofcom is not responsible for the content or reliability of the linked websites. Linking should not be taken as endorsement of any kind of the website linked to, including any products and services referred to in that website, nor does it imply that there is an association between Ofcom and the operators of that website. Ofcom cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and has no control over the availability of linked pages.