This Statement describes the types of information TVO collects, how it is used and to whom it is disclosed. The collection and use of personal information can be different for TVO's users of TVOKids.com and ILC content and websites. Those sites have their own Privacy Policies.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

TVO generally does not exclude anyone from a TVO website solely for not giving us personal information. We do ask for personal information in some situations to facilitate participation in certain programs or activities like contests and digital products. For example, the MPower math suite of games. When we do ask for personal information (like a name and e-mail address), it is only used for that particular activity unless expressly stated otherwise. In some instances, where expressly noted, TVO may retain certain personal information (such as first and last name, and email address) after the particular activity in order to communicate in the future regarding TVO programming, products and philanthropic efforts. The TVO servers may retain some of this information, but we will not share this personal information with a third party unless we explicitly state otherwise or unless required by law. For the sole purpose of the MPower math suite of games a student's teacher shall not be considered a third party if the student's account is registered under that teacher. Any information that is collected will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected.

Personally identifiable information may include:

Name, address, gender, school and grade from STUDENTS REGISTERING TO USE THE ASK A TEACHER SERVICE. This allows us to track use and popularity of the service, make improvements to the site, and withhold privileges, where warranted.

Name, school-board issued email addresses, school, and grade from AUTHORIZED TEACHERS REGISTERING THEIR STUDENTS TO USE THE MPOWER math suite of games. This allows us to verify teacher accounts, to track use and popularity of the games, and make improvements to the games.

Name, teacher, school, and grade from STUDENTS REGISTERING TO USE THE MPOWER math suite of games. Information about a student's usage including results and levels of completion in the MPOWER math suite of games is accessible to TVO and to a student's teacher if a STUDENT IS REGISTERED UNDER THAT TEACHER FOR THE MPOWER math suite of games. For the sole purpose of the MPower math suite of games a student's teacher will not be considered a third party if the student's account is registered under that teacher. Information about student usage may also be collected and compiled together into reports; all such information in the reports shall be anonymized so individual students cannot be identified. This allows us to track use and popularity of the games, make improvements to the games, and helps a student's teacher evaluate that student's progress.
Name, address, age and, if necessary to process payments, banking information from STUDENTS REGISTERING TO TAKE COURSES OFFERED THROUGH THE INDEPENDENT LEARNING CENTRE (the "ILC"). This helps us meet the legal requirements imposed on educational institutions, and supervise and grade correspondence courses.

E-mail addresses and possibly, names, addresses and telephone numbers of TELEVISION VIEWERS OR WEB SITE VISITORS WISHING TO CONTACT TVO THROUGH ONE OF OUR FEEDBACK LOOPS. The nature of these queries, absent any personally identifying information, may serve as an informal content assessment tool and be summarized and circulated within the organization.

E-mail addresses for TELEVISION VIEWERS OR WEB SITE VISITORS WISHING TO RECEIVE ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATIONS OF UPCOMING PROGRAMS OR PROGRAM TOPICS. This enables TVO to communicate by e-mail with viewers or website visitors about upcoming programs or program topics.

Names, addresses (including e-mail address), telephone numbers and possibly, ages, of PARTICIPANTS OF SURVEYS conducted by or on behalf TVO. TVO would also collect detailed information from participants regarding their interests, preferences, occupation, and background. Such information would be used to understand needs and preferences for purposes of research and evaluation or for any other purpose as indicated by TVO from time to time.

Names, addresses (including e-mail address), telephone numbers and ages of ENTRANTS OF CONTESTS OR DRAWS. This information is collected to ensure that contest parameters are adhered to and that TVO has a means of contacting prize winners.

Names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and, where applicable, banking information, from DONORS. This donation data is collected in order to process payments and pledges. It may be shared with TVO's exclusive fundraising partner(s) in order that it periodically contact(s) current and past donors on TVO's behalf. Donor information excluding financial information may also be traded with other charities and non-profit organizations, provided the donor does not object. Donors are given a number of opportunities to withhold consent through direct mailings or via e-mail at the time their donation is confirmed and via other solicitations they are sent throughout the year, including at renewal time.

Names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information, from JOB APPLICANTS as provided to TVO when a job applicant applies for a job with TVO by: (i) by sending TVO a cover letter and/or resume; or (ii) by submitting a job application through a third party website. Resumes and job applications are forwarded to TVO's Human Resources department for evaluation or for consideration, as the case may be, for available positions with TVO.

Names, email addresses and other collected information collected by TVO in respect of any of these purposes may on notice be retained beyond the particular purpose, in order to communicate in the future regarding TVO programming, products and philanthropic efforts.

Personal e-mail address and telephone numbers will not be disclosed to or shared with third-parties, unless TVO expressly makes this known at the time of request.

When you click on a link from a TVO NEWSLETTER, as a subscriber, TVO may connect your name to your anonymous user profile and other information collected by TVO. This will be used to connect you to related TVO content or offers you may be interested in.

When you subscribe to or modify any TVO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION, TVO may connect your name to your prior anonymous user profile and other related information collected by TVO. This will be used to connect you to related TVO content or offers you may be interested in.

When you make a donation to TVO through its ONLINE DONATION FORM, TVO may connect your name to your prior anonymous user profile and other information collected by TVO. This will be used to connect you to related TVO content or offers you may be interested in.

Consent

Any communications from TVO shall only be sent with the implied or express consent of the recipient, unless the communication is exempted under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, and shall contain an opt-out provision whereby the recipients may request that TVO cease all such further communications to them.

Consent may be sought by: a signed and returned consent form (scanned and emailed); a call on a toll free number; email correspondence along with confirmatory steps to be taken by the recipient.

Parental consent may be sought by: a consent form to be signed and returned by the parent/guardian (scanned and emailed); parent/guardian to call a toll free number; email correspondence with parent/guardian and confirmatory steps to be taken by the parent/guardian.

A user can enter a TVO online CONTEST through any TVO website. If an entrant is under 13 years of age, we require the user indicates parental consent prior to the submission of personal information. On the online entry form, we may ask for the entrant's full name and phone number. This personal information is collected, used and/or disclosed solely for the purpose of awarding contest prizes, tracking compliance with the official rules and regulations and for internal feedback purposes.

For clarity, you consent to the use of your personal information, as described above, by TVO when you:

  • register to use the ASK A TEACHER SERVICE
  • authorized teachers register their students to use MPOWER
  • students register to use MPOWER
  • students register to take ILC COURSES
  • TV viewers or web site visitors contact TVO through one of our FEEDBACK LOOPS
  • TV viewers or web site visitors as to receive ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATIONS OF UPCOMING PROGRAMS OR PROGRAM TOPICS
  • participate in a SURVEY conducted by or on behalf TVO
  • enter into a TVO CONTEST OR DRAW
  • make a DONATION to TVO
  • submit a JOB APPLICATION with TVO
  • click through a TVO NEWSLETTER link;
  • subscribe to or modifying any TVO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION:
  • donate to TVO through its ONLINE DONATION FORM

Access to TVO Websites

TVO generally does not require TVO website users to provide personal information in order to use the site. Some of the programs administered by TVO through the TVO websites will require users to provide personally identifiable information in order to participate in the programs.

When an e-mail is sent to TVO, the time the message was sent and the IP address it was sent from may be stamped on the message. This protects TVO, TVO.org, TVOKids.com, TVO staff and the public from potentially threatening messages. The information stamped will only be used in extreme cases where we feel safety is at risk.

Only employees in the course of performing their duties and third parties contracted to provide services to TVO who require access to personally identifying information in order to discharge these duties or perform these services are granted access to such information. TVO only conducts business with reputable third parties whose privacy practices are in keeping with TVO's own standards, and who agree to be bound by confidentiality provisions.

TVO ensures that students, site users, donors, job applicants and others about whom personal information may be collected have a means of accessing their information. If you wish to determine whether we hold any personal information about you and/or wish to access that information, call 416-484-2665 if in the Toronto area or toll-free at 1-800-463-6886 and ask to speak with TVO's Privacy Law Officer. You may also contact us by email at privacy@tvo.org.

Retention and Access to Personal Information by TVO

Any personal information received by TVO is stored in a secure location and only accessible and retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it is collected. Such information is normally destroyed once TVO determines that it is no longer necessary to retain such personal information and such destruction takes place within sixty (60) days from such determination.

Only employees in the course of performing their duties and third parties contracted to provide services to TVO who require access to personally identifying information in order to discharge these duties or perform these services are granted access to such information. TVO only conducts business with reputable third parties whose privacy practices are in keeping with TVO's own standards, and who agree to be bound by confidentiality provisions.

TVO ensures that site users and others about whom personal information may be collected have a means of accessing their information. If you wish to determine whether we hold any personal information about you and/or wish to access that information, call 416-484-2665 if in the Toronto area or toll-free at 1-800-463-6886 and ask to speak with TVO's Privacy Law Officer. You may also contact us by email at privacy@tvo.org.

Security

When the disclosure of sensitive information is required on this site, any transfer of data (for instance, during a registration process or with respect to an online pledge) is made via a secure connection, conducted within a firewall and therefore secure from outside probes, and, to the extent it is maintained by TVO, resides on TVO's secure servers.

These servers perform standard logging which permits the collection of information on ISPs and the type of browser and operating system used. Logging also allows TVO to track generic information regarding total accesses to our site.

Cookies

TVO uses session and persistent cookies on its websites. Session cookies are data files temporarily installed in users' browsers to help them navigate the site. Persistent cookies, computer files stored on hard drives, are used to help measure traffic to the site. Cookies are used to enable TVO to compile statistics, and not to collect information of a personal nature. While users may disable or remove cookies, doing so may make it impossible to fully access TVO's websites.
No personal information is ever stored in a TVO.org cookie, even if your name, telephone number or e-mail address was entered on other parts of the TVO.org site. TVOKids.com does not sell information collected by cookies on its websites or use the information for commerce-related purposes.

The following details explain how and when TVO might use cookies:
As you explore a TVO website, a cookie will be set on your computer which will record your IP address. This will tell us which pages you visit and the amount of time spent on each page. This helps us at TVO identify new and repeat visitors and tells us how long visitors spend on our Websites and which pages receive the most traffic. This tracking is to enhance your experience by allowing customization and an easier access to the items on the TVO website you enjoy.

Cookie technology is employed on our games to make the website more interactive and ensures personally identifiable information is not collected during game play. Unless the game is associated with a contest the user wishes to enter or the game is associated with the MPower math suite of games, personally identifiable information will not be required to play. (Refer above for TVO's policy regarding contests).

As we do not require login information on most of our pages, cookie technology is the only method we use to track your preferences and are only identifiable on one computer. This means a user cannot see the activities he or she may have created on another computer.

If cookies are deleted, the information will be lost. Also, if a computer is updated with new operating software, cookie information will be deleted.

Third Parties

A small logo of a third-party may appear when a company/organization has funded or otherwise supported the game or activity on a TVO website. We choose our partners carefully to ensure the products and services fit TVO standards. That said, if a sponsor provides a link to an outside website, TVO has no control and can make no claims over the content of that third-party website.

Most third-party sites are insulated with a TVO website bridge pop-up, advising the user he or she is now leaving the TVO website and offering that user to opportunity to remain on our website. As mentioned, TVO cannot be assured the links to third-party sites follow our safety and privacy guidelines. We encourage users to read each site's privacy policy.

Your use of this tvo Website is conditional upon your ACCEPTANCE, OR THE ACCEPTANCE OF YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN, OF these terms.

This policy is subject to change and we invite users to check back frequently.

If you have any comments or questions, we're happy to hear them. Call 416-484-2665 if in the Toronto area or toll-free at 1-800-463-6886 and ask to speak with TVO's Privacy Law Officer.

Alternatively, you can send written correspondence by e-mail to privacy@tvo.org or by mail to Legal Services & Business Affairs, TVO, 2180 Yonge Street, Box 200, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario, M4T 2T1.

Last updated: August 10, 2021