NEWS DETECTIVE PRIVACY POLICY
Last updated: February 4, 2023
1. Introduction
We at News Detective know you care about how your personally identifiable information is used and shared, and we take your privacy seriously. Please read the following to learn more about our Privacy Policy (the “Policy”). By using or accessing the Services in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways. [LD1] Any capitalized terms that are not defined in this Policy are defined in our Terms of Service.
2. Information Collected [LD2]
a. Voluntarily disclosed information –
When you use the Services, you will have the opportunity to provide us with some information directly. For example, some functions of the Services require you to register for an account, where we may ask you for your email address, preferred username, password, political affiliation, and journalism experience. As another example, we may also collect other information you directly give us as you build your profile through the Services, such as your name and location.
When you provide us with the credentials to a Third-Party Information Provider, by logging in through Facebook or Google, we will obtain what information the Third-Party Information Provider allows us to receive, as determined by the terms that govern your relationship with the Third-Party Information Provider.
You also provide us information in User Content you post to the Service. Your questions, answers, and other contributions on the Service, and metadata about them (such as when you posted them), are publicly viewable on the Service, along with your username. This information may be searched by search engines and be republished elsewhere on the Web in accordance with our Terms of Service. Section 3 of this Policy explains how information you submit to the Services may be shared or available to third parties. News Detective recommends that you not post any sensitive personally identifiable information, such as your address, information about website accounts, credit card numbers, or your Social Security Number, because that information may be seen by others.
b. Automatically collected information [DL3] –
Whenever you interact with our Services, we automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser or device, which may include your IP address, geolocation data, device identification, “cookie” information, the type of browser and/or device you’re using to access our Services, and the page or feature you requested. “Cookies [BD4] ” are identifiers we transfer to your browser or device that allow us to recognize your browser or device and tell us how and when pages and features in our Services are visited and by how many people. You may be able to change the preferences on your browser or device to prevent or limit your device’s acceptance of cookies, but this may prevent you from taking advantage of some of our features.
We may use the data we collect from you to customize content for you that we think you might like, based on your usage patterns. We may also use it to improve the Services – for example, this data can tell us how often users use a particular feature of the Services, and we can use that knowledge to make the Services interesting to as many users as possible.
We may receive a confirmation when you open an email from us. This confirmation helps us make our communications with you more interesting and improve our services. [LD5]
3. Use of Collected Information [DL6]
News Detective uses information we collect to analyze how the Service is used, diagnose service or technical problems, maintain security, personalize content, remember information to help you efficiently access your account, monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns, and track User Content and users as necessary to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other applicable laws. We may aggregate and/or anonymize personal information so that it will no longer be considered personal information.
We may use this aggregated, anonymized, and other non-personally identifiable information for any purpose, including for research and marketing purposes, and our use and disclosure of such information is not subject to any restrictions under this Privacy Policy.
4. Disclosure of Information [LD7]
We share your information as outlined below, and where users have asked us to do so or otherwise consented:
Staff. We may disclose information to our staff and members of our team, as appropriate, and for the reasons stated in this Privacy Policy [DL8] .
Third-Party Service Providers. We may disclose information to our third-party service providers to facilitate services they provide to us. We employ other companies and people to perform tasks on our behalf and need to share your information with them to provide products or services to you. Unless we tell you differently, our agents do not have any right to use the personally identifiable information we share with them beyond what is necessary to assist us.
Affiliates. The information collected about you may be accessed by or shared with affiliates of News Detective, whose use and disclosure of your personal information is subject to this Privacy Policy.
Public Information. By using the Services, you may elect to disclose personal information. Please note that any information you post or disclose through these services will become public and may be available to other users and the general public.
Other Users. Please note that if you submit any of your personally identifiable information to a portion of the Services that is accessible by other users, including an online forum or comment section, other users will be able to see that personally identifiable information. Accordingly, only include information in your submissions that you are comfortable sharing with third parties.
Information in a non-identifiable form / information in an aggregate form. We may de-identify your personally identifiable information so that you are not identified as an individual, and provide that information to our partners. We may also provide aggregate usage information to our partners (or allow partners to collect that information from you), who may use that information to understand how often and in what ways people use our Services. However, we never disclose aggregate usage or de-identified information to a partner (or allow a partner to collect that information) in a manner that would identify you as an individual person. [LD9]
Business Transfers. We may choose to buy or sell assets, and may share and/or transfer customer information in connection with the evaluation of and entry into such transactions. Also, if we (or our assets) are acquired, or if we go out of business, enter bankruptcy, or go through some other change of control, personally identifiable information could be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.
Legal compliance. We reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information that we believe is necessary to comply with law or court order; enforce or apply our Terms of Service [[insert link]] and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of News Detective, our employees, our users, or others.
5. Security [BD10] [BD11] Disclaimer
We endeavor to protect the privacy of your account and other personally identifiable information we hold in our records, but unfortunately, we cannot guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.
6. Modification / Deletion of Information [DL12] [LD13]
Through your account settings, you may access, and, in some cases, edit, delete, or hide the following information you’ve provided to us:
• username and password
• email address
• posts
• location
The information you can view, update, and delete may change as the Services change. If you have any questions about viewing or updating information we have on file about you, please contact us at [[insert means]].
If you would like us to terminate your account, please contact us . Upon receipt of your request, and except as set forth in our Terms of Service, we may remove your account and your associated information from the Services within a reasonable time period. Please note that any information you have submitted to publicly accessible areas of the Services (such as answering a question or providing an answer) may not be removable and will remain on the site but simply change to “Anonymous User.” [LD14] .
You may edit the answers that you post at any time. However, any questions you have posted may remain on the News Detective platform. Other News Detective users will be able to see the history of your content edits in your profile activity. Deleted content will try to be removed from third-party sites from which it has been shared via News Detective standard sharing features but we have no control over deletions or changes to your content if it has been shared manually by others. You may not request the removal of de-identified, anonymous, or aggregate data from our databases.
7. Age of Users
Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to use, access or register for the Services unless they are under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by our Terms of Service. We do not knowingly collect or solicit information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to create an account. If we learn that we have collected personally identifiable information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.
News Detective reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify this Policy at any time and without prior notice. If we modify this Policy, we will either post a notification of the modification on our website or otherwise provide you with notice of the change. The date of the last modification will also be posted at the beginning of this Policy. It is your responsibility to check from time to time for updates. By continuing to access or use the Services, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by any modified Policy.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about the Services, please do not hesitate to contact us .
Last Updated [BD1] : February 4, 2023
NEWS DETECTIVE TERMS OF SERVICE
1. Agreement
The following Terms of Service (the “Terms”) constitute a binding agreement between you and News Detective LLC (“News Detective,” “we,” “our” and “us”). These Terms set forth conditions regarding your access to and use of the News Detective website and any other services offered as part of the News Detective platform (the “Services”).
By accessing or using the Services in any manner, including but not limited to visiting or browsing News Detective’s website or contributing content or other materials to News Detective’s platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
These Terms do not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with News Detective LLC with respect to its Services (each, a “Related Agreement”). To the extent these Terms conflict with a Related Agreement, the terms of the Related Agreement shall control.
PLEASE NOTE THAT, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW, THESE TERMS REQUIRE RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES THROUGH USE OF AN ARBITRATION SERVICE. YOU HEREBY AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES YOU WISH TO FILE ARISING FROM, RELATED TO, OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE RESOLVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ARBITRATION AND GOVERNING LAW PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN SECTION 19 BELOW.
News Detective reserves the right, at its sole discretion,to modify these Terms at any time and without prior notice [BD2] . If we modify these Terms, we will either post a notification of the modification on our website or otherwise provide you with notice of the change. The date of the last modification will also be posted at the beginning of these Terms. It is your responsibility to check from time to time for updates. By continuing to access or use the Services, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by any modified Terms.
3. Privacy Policy
These Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in the Privacy Policy [[insert link]] [BD3] .
4. Eligibility
If you are younger than 13, you may not download or use our Services or access or provide any User Content. If you are 13 or older but under the age of 18, you may use our Services only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. If you are a parent or legal guardian agreeing to these Terms for the benefit of a child who is 13 or older but under the age of 18, you are fully responsible for their use of the Services.
If you use the Services on behalf of a company, partnership, association, or other entity, you hereby represent and warrant that you have the capacity to enter into these Terms on behalf of the entity, or an authorized representative of the entity has agreed to bind the entity to these Terms.
5. Acceptable Use
News Detective hereby grants you permission to use the Services and, if you are a registered user, permission to access and use those aspects of the Services that are offered to registered users, provided such use is in compliance with these Terms, and you further specifically agree that you use will adhere to the following restrictions and obligations:
· You may not use the Services to upload, transmit, or promote any material that infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or any other rights of anyone else (including News Detective). [BD4]
6. User Accounts
You must register on this site in order to use certain of the site functions, such as posting claims or answers. If you just want to browse the site, registration is optional. You can select any username you like for your account, except that your username cannot be an impersonation of another person, a term that is the same or confusingly similar to a famous trademark, or a term that is offensive in any way. You may, but are not obligated to, use your own name.
If you would like us to terminate your account, please contact us . Upon receipt of your request, and except as set forth below, we will remove your account and your associated information from the Services within a reasonable time period. Please note that any information you have submitted to publicly accessible areas of the Services (such as submitting a claim or providing an answer) may not be removeable.
You may not transfer your account to anyone else without our prior written permission.
You may also be allowed to create a News Detective account by logging into your account with certain third-party platforms [BD5] (“Third Party Information Providers” including, but not limited to, Facebook). You may link your News Detective account with a Third Party Information Provider by either: (i) providing your Third Party Information Provider account login information to us through the Services; or (ii) allowing us to access your Third Party Information Provider. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE THIRD PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS ARE GOVERNED SOLELY BY YOUR AGREEMENT(S) WITH SUCH THIRD PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND THOSE AGREEMENTS WILL DETERMINE WHAT INFORMATION WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS AND USE THROUGH THOSE THIRD PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS. In these circumstances, your News Detective account will be created for your use of the Services based on the personal information you provide us or that we obtain via a Third Party Information Provider.
7. Content
The materials displayed or performed or available on or through the Services, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, articles, photos, images, and illustrations (all of the foregoing except User Content, the “News Detective Content”), are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws.
You acknowledge that as between you and News Detective, the Services and News Detective Content, including all associated intellectual property rights, are the exclusive property of News Detective.
Conditioned upon your compliance with these Terms, News Detective grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license, to (i) access, view, and use the Services solely for your authorized use and (ii) access and view any News Detective Content to which you are permitted access. You have no right to sublicense the licensed rights granted in this section. You may not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, transmit, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Services, except as expressly permitted in these Terms. No licenses or rights are granted to you by implication or otherwise under any intellectual property rights owned or controlled by News Detective or its licensors, except for the licenses and rights expressly granted in these Terms.
We may, at our sole discretion, permit you to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit content (“User Content”). By submitting any User Content on or through the Services, you grant to News Detective a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, view, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, and otherwise exploit such User Content, in any media, in order to operate, promote, improve, or market the Services. To the extent that your User Content includes personally identifiable information, we will only disclose such information in the limited circumstances identified in our Privacy Policy. In addition, to the extent that News Detective de-identifies and aggregates any User Content, you agree that such derived data is no longer User Content, and is thus owned by News Detective.
You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all User Content. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that you have all rights, licenses, consents, and releases that are necessary to grant to News Detective the license above.
Some User Content may be posted by members of legal, medical, and other licensed professions (collectively, “Professional Contributors”). You should not rely on content posted by Professional Contributors as a substitute for advice from a professional that is appropriate in your personal situation. Professional conduct rules differ by state or location, and it is the sole responsibility of Professional Contributors to determine and provide disclaimers appropriate for their profession and the content provided.
8. Feedback
We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments and suggestions for improvements to the Services (“Feedback”). You agree that News Detective LLC has the right, but not the obligation, to use such Feedback without any obligation to provide you credit, royalty payment, or ownership interest in the changes to the Services. You can leave feedback here.
9. Notices of Copyright Infringement [BD6]
News Detective LLC respects copyright law and expects our users to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) of 1998, the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office website , News Detective LLC will respond to claims of copyright infringement committed using the Services that are reported to us, provided they meet the criteria below.
If you are a copyright owner, or a designated agent thereof, please report alleged copyright infringements taking place on or through the Services by providing us the following information (the “Notice”):
i. the identity of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by this Notice, a comprehensive list of the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed;
ii. the material that you claim is infringing, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, including at a minimum, the URL of the link shown on the Services where such material may be found;
iii. your mailing address, telephone number, and email address;
iv. a statement that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
v. a statement that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed; and
vi. your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.
You may deliver this notice, with all items completed, to us, as follows:
Upon receipt of the Notice as described above, News Detective LLC will take whatever action, in its sole discretion, it deems appropriate, including removal of the challenged material from the Services.
10. Termination
In certain circumstances, News Detective may immediately and without notice terminate these Terms and disable your access to the Services. More generally, News Detective reserves the right to suspend or end the Services at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.
Provisions that, by their nature, should survive termination of these Terms shall survive termination. By way of example, all of the following will survive termination: any obligation you have to pay us (or indemnify us), any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, and terms regarding disputes between us.
11. Third Party Content
By using the Services, News Detective may provide you with access to third party websites, information, and services, including but not limited to third party databases, networks, servers, software, programs, systems, directories, applications, or products. You hereby acknowledge that News Detective does not control such third-party websites and services, and cannot be held responsible for their content, operation, or use. Your use of those services is subject to their respective terms of service. News Detective does not give any representation, warranty, or endorsement, express or implied, with respect to the legality, accuracy, quality, or authenticity of content, information, or services provided by such third-party websites and services. News Detective disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for any harm resulting from your use of such third-party websites and services, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against News Detective with respect to the content or operation of any such third-party websites and services.
12. Disclaimer of Warranties
YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE USING THE SERVICES AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SERVICES AND NEWS DETECTIVE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” AND NEWS DETECTIVE LLC, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY OTHER WARRANTY, CONDITION, GUARANTEE OR REPRESENTATION, WHETHER ORAL, IN WRITING OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM.
Because some states do not permit disclaimer of implied warranties, you may have additional consumer rights under your local laws.
13. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL NEWS DETECTIVE LLC (OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, (B) ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, IN EXCESS OF THE GREATER OF (I) $20 OR (II) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO NEWS DETECTIVE LLC IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THIS APPLICABLE CLAIM, OR (C) ANY MATTER BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
News Detective LLC hereby expressly disclaims, and you hereby expressly release News Detective LLC from, any and all liability whatsoever for any controversies, claims, suits, injuries, loss, harm, or damages arising from or related to disputes, dealings, or interactions between you and any other users or third parties.
Your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with the Services is to stop using the Services.
14. Indemnification
To the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold News Detective LLC, its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages (actual and consequential), losses and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from or in any way related to any third party claims relating to (a) your use of the Services (including any actions taken by a third party using your account), and (b) your violation of these Terms.
15. Notices
Any notices or other communications permitted or required hereunder, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be in writing and given by News Detective (a) via email (in each case to the address that you provide) or (b) by posting to the website.
16. No Waiver
The failure of News Detective to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision.
17. Assignment
You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without News Detective’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms without such consent will be null and of no effect. News Detective may assign or transfer these Terms, at its sole discretion, without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns. Unless a person or entity is explicitly identified as a third party beneficiary to these Terms, these Terms do not and are not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person or entity other than the parties.
18. Severability
If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.
19. Dispute Resolution
If you have an issue or dispute regarding the Services or these Terms, you agree to first attempt to resolve it with News Detective directly. Please contact us with feedback and concerns.
These Terms are governed by and will be construed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. Any claim you wish to bring arising from or relating to the subject matter of these Terms shall be finally settled in Suffolk County [BD8] , Massachusetts, in English, in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving intellectual property and commercial contract disputes, who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with such Rules. Judgment upon the award rendered by such arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes, News Detective shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction. For all purposes of these Terms, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state or federal courts located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Any arbitration under these Terms will take place on an individual basis: class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND COMPANY ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
20. Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and News Detective regarding your use of the Services, and supersede all prior written or oral agreements.
21. Contact Us
If you have any questions about the Services, please do not hesitate to contact us .
