Harlequin Enterprises Limited ("Harlequin") is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information entrusted to us.
Thank you for reading Harlequin’s Young Adult Privacy Policy. Harlequin recognizes the privacy interests of minors. We strongly recommend that children under the age of eighteen (18) check with their parents or legal guardians (“Parents”) before submitting any personal information on any website, and we strongly encourage Parents to monitor and participate in the online activities of their children.
Unless otherwise expressly indicated, Young Adult Websites (as defined below) are not directed to, or intended for use by, children under the age of thirteen (13). We do not knowingly collect or use personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13).
What Is Personal Information?
As a Canadian publisher, Harlequin is subject to Canada's privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("Act"). The Act covers the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by an organization in the course of any commercial activity. "Personal information" is defined in the Act as "information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization."
What Is the Scope of This Privacy Policy?
This Privacy Policy addresses Harlequin’s policies and procedures with respect to the collection and use of personal information pertaining to children between the ages of thirteen (13) and seventeen (17) (collectively, “Young Adults”). This Privacy Policy applies to Harlequin’s online activities and products directed to Young Adults, including but not limited to the following websites: Harlequin TEEN, Kimani TRU, and any other website owned and operated by Harlequin that is directed to Young Adults (collectively, the “Young Adult Websites”).
This Privacy Policy is intended to assist Young Adults and Parents (collectively, “You” or “Your”) in understanding Harlequin’s policies and procedures relating to our management of the personal information collected from Young Adults.
What Personal Information do we collect from visitors to our Young Adult Websites?
Harlequin collects personal information in a variety of ways on its Young Adult Websites. We collect personal information that is voluntarily provided by Young Adults when they (i) register as a member of one of our Young Adult websites; (ii) sign up for newsletters; (iii) participate in activities such as contests and sweepstakes, surveys, polls, forums and discussion boards; (iv) order a Harlequin product; and (v) communicate with us by mail, telephone or electronically.
The type of information we collect and maintain may include a Young Adult’s name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, gender, date of birth, chat room communications, discussion board postings, member name and password, complaints about our products or services, reading preferences, such as favorite authors and themes, and record of promotional offerings. We may also collect a Parent’s email address or contact information with respect to certain online activities performed by a Young Adult. Personal information is collected so that we can better serve our users through enhanced products, customer service and promotional efforts of interest to them. This type of information is collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the form of consent required by applicable laws and regulations, and our use of such information is limited to the objectives for which it was collected.
Participation with respect to any Young Adult Website is never conditioned on the disclosure of more personal information than is necessary to participate in the activities on such websites.
Why Does Harlequin Collect Personal Information?
Harlequin collects personal information from Young Adults for the following reasons:
To ensure that we have correct contact information in order to send newsletters and correspondence, solicit opinions regarding our products and services, complete registration in contests and sweepstakes, and present promotional offers;
To gain an understanding of interests and demographics so that we can develop better products and services directed at Young Adults;
To send books and other products and services to Young Adults for their review;
To properly investigate and respond to any complaints about our websites or services; and
To maintain a list of individuals who have indicated to us that they do not want to be contacted by Harlequin or any other related companies so that such requests can be honoured.
What Kind of Personal Information Does Harlequin Disclose, to Whom and Why?
To Third Parties To Perform Processing and Other Specialized Services:
At times, Harlequin may use outside organizations to perform specialized services such as prize fulfillment of our sweepstakes and contests, collection of overdue accounts and the provision of various marketing services, including but not limited to telemarketing, research and list processing. These service providers are only given the information needed to perform those services and they are bound contractually to protect the privacy and security of such information and to limit the use of such information to the service being provided.
To Third Parties in the Event of Legal Reasons:
Harlequin may be required to disclose personal information to the government or other legal or regulatory authority if so ordered by a court of law or for other legal reasons.
To a Third Party in the Event Harlequin Is for Sale or Is Sold:
If Harlequin was ever for sale, prospective buyers would need to have access to Harlequin's customer lists and various databases as part of the due diligence process. In this event, Harlequin would only provide such access under terms of a strict confidentiality agreement. As well, in the event Harlequin was ever sold, personal information would be transferred to the purchasing company so that a Young Adult would continue to receive the books and services requested and so that the purposes behind the collection of such personal information could be maintained.
Note: Harlequin will not provide personal information relating to Young Adults to third parties for the purpose of providing marketing offers.
How Long Does Harlequin Retain Personal Information?
We keep personal information collected via our Young Adult Websites only for a period reasonably necessary to meet the purposes for which such information was collected or to comply with any legal requirements, including statutory retention periods. Then we will erase or make anonymous any personal information that is no longer required for a specific purpose or legal requirement.
What Security Measures Does Harlequin Have in Place to Safeguard Personal Information?
Harlequin has implemented physical, electronic and administrative measures to protect personal information from error, loss or unauthorized access. For example, we use industry-standard efforts, such as passwords, firewalls and Secure Socket Layers, to safeguard the confidentiality of such personal information contained on our computer systems. In addition, our employees and any third parties are contractually bound to protect the confidentiality of such information and access is restricted to those with a need to know the information to carry out the identified purpose.
Cookies and Other Tracking Methods:
Cookies are small pieces of information stored on a user’s hard drive, not on our Web sites. We use cookies or, in a limited number of cases, IP addresses for a number of reasons. First, cookies allow a password to be stored without having to constantly reenter it. Second, cookies help us tailor messages that better match the needs and interests of our users. Third, cookies allow us to better understand how users in general use our websites, which in turn helps us to focus our resources on features that are most popular with our users. Users are always free to decline our cookies if such user’s browser permits, but some parts of our sites may not work properly if cookies are deactivated.
Note: Harlequin may place advertising and/or links on our sites that originate from outside advertisers. In some cases, if a Young Adult clicks on or view these ads, a cookie may be assigned by the advertisers. Harlequin does not control these cookies nor is it responsible for any marketing or other use of a user’s name by the advertisers. We encourage You to investigate and ask questions before disclosing information to third parties.
Non-personal Information:
Non-personal or aggregated information is information that cannot be associated with or traced back to a specific person. When a user browses our websites, for example, we do not collect any personally identifiable information about a user, but we do gather information about the number of people who are viewing each page so that we can learn what features are the most popular. We may disclose aggregated information about our websites to third parties. In addition, to help us better understand our markets, we may gather demographic information for analytical purposes on an aggregate basis.
Sweepstakes and Contests open to Young Adults:
Parental consent is required for entry by a Young Adult in a sweepstakes or contests administered by Harlequin and/or its related companies. Consent to enter a sweepstakes or contest must only be provided by a Parent one time with respect to each Young Adult Website (for example, if a Parent consents to a Young Adult’s participation in a sweepstakes presented on the Harlequin TEEN website, consent will not be required for subsequent sweepstakes presented on the same website). If a Young Adult wins a sweepstakes or contest, we will notify the Parent at the Parent’s email address provided to us during the consent process and we will request that the Parent provide their postal address for the purpose of delivering the prize and signing any necessary documents (e.g., release or waiver with respect to the prize, etc.). We may publish a winner’s first name, and state/province of residence on the applicable website.
Note: Young Adults who are residents of the State of Maine are not eligible to enter any sweepstakes, contest or promotion administered by Harlequin and/or its related companies.
Chat Rooms, Discussion Boards and Bulletin Boards:
Users of our Young Adult websites should be aware that when personal information is voluntarily disclosed on bulletin boards or in chat rooms, that information can be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited messages from other Internet users. We do not bear any responsibility for any actions or policies of third parties and we cannot guarantee that this personal information will be kept confidential.
Tell-a-Friend E-mails:
If a Young Adult uses our referral service to tell a friend about one of our sites or product offerings, he/she will be asked to provide his/her name, e-mail address and his/her friend's e-mail address. We use the Young Adult’s name and e-mail address only to let the friend know who sent the e-mail. We use the Young Adult’s friend's e-mail address for purposes of transmitting the email. We do not collect or retain any of the information provided by a Young Adult when he/she uses this referral service in our database or any other place, and we do not use it for any other purpose.
Collection of Personal Information from Young Adults Residing in the State of Maine:
In order to comply with State legislation, Harlequin does not knowingly collect, receive or use personal information for marketing purposes from Young Adults who are residents of the State of Maine.
How To Contact Harlequin Regarding the Personal Information of a Young Adult:
You have control over how we collect, use and disclose personal information provided by Young Adults, and we provide many opportunities to exercise this control, both online and offline, even after consent to use such personal information is provided. The methods of exercising this control depend upon whether the information has been provided to us offline or online, as follows:
For personal information collected offline:
When we provide our products by mail or in retail stores, our communications provide the purchaser with the opportunity to opt out from having personal information used for various disclosed purposes. In addition, our Customer Service Department can always be contacted to tell us how personal information should or should not be used. Upon request, Harlequin will provide You with access to personal information collected by us. If assistance is required in preparing this request, please contact our Customer Service Representatives as indicated below. We will correct any errors identified in such personal information.
For personal information collected online:
Personal information can be accessed and updated online by clicking on the account information link on the applicable Young Adult website. You can opt out of any activities or services offer on any of our Young Adult Websites. Instructions for opting out will be made available on the applicable website. Subscriptions to our newsletters may be cancelled at any time by clicking on the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of each newsletter.
Customer Service Department and Chief Privacy Officer Contact Information:
If You have any questions or comments about Harlequin's Young Adult Privacy Policy, or if You would like to advise us how personal information collected via our Young Adult Websites should or should not be used, please contact the Customer Service Department at the address or phone number listed below:
Customer Service Information
Telephone: toll free: 1-866-884-5694
Fax: 416-448-7144
Mail:
In the U.S.: P.O. Box 9062, Buffalo, NY 14269
Attention: Privacy Customer Service Representative
Email: HarlequinTEEN@Harlequin.ca
If, after contacting our Customer Service Representatives, the concerns or questions have not
been resolved to your satisfaction, You can contact Harlequin's Chief Privacy Officer in writing via
mail or fax:
Harlequin Enterprises Limited
225 Duncan Mill Road
Don Mills, Ontario
M3B 3K9
Attention: Chief Privacy Officer
Fax Number: (416) 391-7055
If the issue is still not resolved to your satisfaction, You may file a complaint with the applicable
regulatory authorities.
Acceptance of this Privacy Policy:
This Privacy Policy outlines the information usage practices of Harlequin’s Young Adult Websites. By submitting personal information to Harlequin, You signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If You do not agree to this policy, please do not submit your personal information to us. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of this policy at any time. If at some point in the future there is a change to our information usage practices that affects your personal information, You will be able to opt out of this information usage by contacting Customer Service. We will also post the changes in our Privacy Policy at least 30 days prior to a change. You should also check this Privacy Policy for changes. Your continued use of our Web sites, products or services following the effective date of any changes to these terms shall mean that You have accepted those changes, subject to your continuing right to notify us at any time as to how You would like us to treat your personal information.
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