Privacy Statement

Comhar Chumann Cumarsaide Pobal Bhaile Átha Cliath Thoir-Thuaidh Teoranta, Dublin North East Community Communications Co-operative Society Ltd (Near Media Co-operative), the publisher of near.ie, is committed to protecting your privacy. References to “we”, “us”, “you” or “our” in this Privacy Policy are references to Near Media Co-op, a registered co-operative. RFS No: 4128R

We have adopted this Privacy Statement to let you know how your personal information is processed and used. We promise that we will take steps to use your personal information only in ways that are compatible with this Privacy Statement.

Near Media Co-operative confirms that it adheres to key responsibilities as set out by the Data Protection Commissioner and with respect to the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988, 2003 and 2018. With any personal data collected by near media co-operative, we aim to:

1. Obtain and process the information fairly;
2. Keep it only for one or more specified and lawful purposes;
3. Process it only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given to Near Media Co Op initially;
4. Keep it safe and secure; 
   
5. Keep it accurate and up-to-date; 
   
6. Ensure that it is adequate, relevant and not excessive; 
   
7. Retain it no longer than is necessary for the specified purpose or purposes;
8. Give a copy of his/her personal data to any individual, on request.

The following policies are only in effect for the web pages, newsletters, discussion lists and opt-in announcement lists owned and operated by Near Media Co-operative, including near.ie, nearfm.ie, neartv.ie, mediacoop.ie, nearintercultural.ie, neararchive.org, nearpodcast.org, archive.ie, nearchoice.ie, neardigital.ie, medialiteracy.ie

What information are we collecting and how are we collecting it?

We collect personal information from you when you enquire about our activities, ring, text or email for information and advice, register for a volunteer course with us, submit an on-air radio request or subscribe to one of our services. This may include your name, title, email address, physical address and telephone numbers.

Every computer connected to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers that serve as that computer’s “Internet Protocol” or IP address. When a visitor requests a page from any website within near media co-operative online network, our web servers automatically recognize that visitor’s domain name and IP address.  The domain name and IP address reveal nothing personal about you other than the IP address from which you have accessed our site. We use this information to examine our traffic in aggregate, but do not collect and evaluate this information for individuals.

If you email near media co-operative, we will retain a copy of your correspondence, and any reply from us, on our servers.

We may share your information with other third parties in order to carry out our services effectively. For example in order to receive the newsletter you must be held on a database stored in Mailchimp. You will be informed if we share your personal data with a third party if it applies to the service you signed up for and we promise not to share your personal data with any other third parties or marketing companies if you have not consented to do so.

What are cookies?

From time to time, near.ie or nearfm.ie, neartv.ie, mediacoop.ie, nearintercultural.ie, neararchive.org, nearpodcast.org, archive.ie, nearchoice.ie, neardigital.ie, medialiteracy.ie may send a “cookie” to your computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. A cookie cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies do not damage your system. We use cookies to identify which areas of the suite of near websites that you have visited or customized, so that in time we may provide a better and more personalized experience for you.

You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings of your browser. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies, or allow your browser to show you when a cookie is being sent. If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our site may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.

What other information do we request?

We may also request your e-mail address or mailing address for the purposes of conducting a survey or to provide additional services (for example, subscriptions to e-mail newsletters, announcement lists or information about near media co-operative events). Whenever we request the identity of a visitor, we will clearly indicate the purpose of the inquiry before the information is requested. In addition, we will not send you e-mail that you have not agreed to receive. If you do not wish to receive further updates, you can opt-out by sending an email to mailinglist-unsubscribe@near.ie

Will we disclose the information you collect to outside third parties?

near media co-op may share aggregate information about our users to third parties but will not share any personally identifiable information about you without your expressed consent.

Security

Near Media Co-op uses reasonable precautions to keep the information disclosed to us secure. This includes the use of password protection and regular maintenance of our servers. We do not sell, rent, or otherwise give your e-mail address to a third-party without your consent. Furthermore, we are not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties who receive the information. As a directory, near.ie including nearfm.ie, neartv.ie, mediacoop.ie, nearintercultural.ie, neararchive.org, nearpodcast.org, archive.ie, nearchoice.ie, neardigital.ie, medialiteracy.ie has links to a wide variety of other sites. We are not responsible for their privacy policies or how they treat information about their users.

Please note that Near Media Co-op will release specific personal information about you if required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order. ‘We reserve the right to release personal information without your consent or without consulting you, when we believe that this is appropriate to comply with our legal obligations, to enforce our terms and conditions or other legal rights, to protect the security of the Site, to prevent fraud, or otherwise to protect our legitimate interests and/or the legitimate interests of our users.’

Near media co-operative takes its obligations very seriously and adopts the strongest line in relation to the misuse of customer information by any of its staff. Any breach of trust with regard to the confidentiality of information is treated as serious misconduct and may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal in accordance with the terms of the Disciplinary Code.

In accordance with the Data Protection Acts, near media co-operative will not keep data for longer than is necessary for the purpose to which it was received. In general we hold your contact details for as long as you subscribe to our newsletter and/or other mailing lists. In the case of a volunteer we will hold your contact information as long as you remain as a volunteer with near media co-op

Your Consent to This Agreement

By using our near.ie nearfm.ie, neartv.ie, mediacoop.ie, nearintercultural.ie, neararchive.org, nearpodcast.org, archive.ie, nearchoice.ie, neardigital.ie, medialiteracy.ie websites, you consent to the collection and use of information by us as specified above. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Near Media Co-operative has procedures in place to ensure that data subjects can exercise their rights under the Data Protection legislation. To make an access request, or if you would like us to correct, update or delete any information we hold on you, from our records, under the Data Protection Acts 1988, 2003 and 2018, please submit your request in writing to Ciaran Murray, near media co-op, Northside Civic Centre, Bunratty Road, Dublin 17. E-mail: ciaran@near.ie  Please ensure that you describe the records you seek in the greatest detail possible to enable us to identify the relevant records.

The point of contact for further information is Dave O’Connor, Secretary, near media co-operative (Dave@near.ie) or Ciaran Murray, Project Co-ordinator (Ciaran@near.ie).

DISCLAIMER 

All information contained on the near.ie website is intended for informational and educational purposes.

 

near media co-operative May 2018