I. Introduction
This document outlines the privacy practices of ByteTel ("we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to safeguarding the privacy, confidentiality, security, and accuracy of personal information collected from our customers and employees in accordance with applicable privacy laws and regulations.
II. Summary
ByteTel, along with its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides Internet access services in Ontario, Canada. This Privacy Policy establishes principles and guidelines for the protection of personal information provided by our customers and employees. Our objective is to ensure responsible and transparent practices in managing personal information.
III. Scope and Application
This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information about customers and employees collected, used, or disclosed by ByteTel. It covers personal information in any form, whether oral, electronic, or written.
IV. Definitions
Collection: the act of gathering, acquiring, recording or otherwise obtaining any personal information from any source, including third parties, by any means.
Consent: voluntarily agreeing to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information for a defined purpose. Consent can be either express or implied and can be provided directly by the individual or by an authorized representative. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing but is always unequivocal and does not require any inference on the part of the ByteTel Companies. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from an individual's action or inaction.
Customer: an individual who uses, or applies to use, a ByteTel Company's products or services or otherwise provides personal information to a ByteTel Company in the course of a ByteTel Company's commercial activities.
Disclosure: Making personal information available to a third party.
Employee: Staff member of ByteTel.
Personal information: Information about an identifiable individual.
Third party: an individual other than the customer, their agent or an organization other than the ByteTel Companies.
V. Privacy Principles
Principle 1 - Accountability
ByteTel is responsible for all personal information under our control. We designate one or more persons accountable for compliance with this Privacy Policy.
Principle 2 - Identifying Purposes for Collection of Personal Information
The ByteTel Companies shall identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time the information is collected.
2.1 The ByteTel Companies shall collect personal information only for the following purposes:
a) To establish and maintain responsible commercial relations with customers and to provide ongoing service;
b) To understand customer needs;
c) To develop, enhance, market or provide products and services;
d) To manage and develop their business and operations, including personnel and employment matters; and
e) To meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Further references to "identified purposes" mean the purposes identified in this Principle 2.1.
2.2 The ByteTel Companies shall specify orally, electronically or in writing the identified purposes to the customer or employee at or before the time personal information is collected. Upon request, persons collecting personal information shall explain these identified purposes or refer the individual to a designated person within the ByteTel Companies who shall explain the purposes.
2.3 Unless required by law, the ByteTel Companies shall not use or disclose, for any new purpose, personal information that has been collected without first identifying and documenting the new purpose and obtaining the consent of the customer or employee.
Principle 3 - Obtaining Consent for Collection, Use, or Disclosure of Personal Information
The knowledge and consent of a customer or employee is required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate.
3.1 In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without the knowledge or consent of the individual. For example, the ByteTel Companies may collect or use personal information without knowledge or consent if it is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way, such as when the individual is a minor, seriously ill or mentally incapacitated.
The ByteTel Companies may also collect, use or disclose personal information without knowledge or consent if seeking the consent of the individual might defeat the purpose of collecting the information such as in the investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law.
The ByteTel Companies may also use or disclose personal information without knowledge or consent in the case of an emergency where the life, health or security of an individual is threatened.
The ByteTel Companies may disclose personal information without knowledge or consent to a lawyer representing the ByteTel Companies, to collect a debt, to comply with a subpoena, warrant or other court order, or as may be otherwise required by law.
3.2 In obtaining consent, the ByteTel Companies shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that a customer or employee is advised of the identified purposes for which personal information will be used or disclosed. Purposes shall be stated in a manner that can be reasonably understood by the customer or employee.
3.3 Generally, the ByteTel Companies shall seek consent to use and disclose personal information at the same time they collect the information. However, the ByteTel Companies may seek consent to use and disclose personal information after it has been collected but before it is used or disclosed for a new purpose.
3.4 The ByteTel Companies will require customers to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information as a condition of the supply of a product or service only if such collection, use or disclosure is required to fulfill the identified purposes.
· For example, ByteTel may collect customers’ IP address, MAC address, and router settings from routers connected to ByteTel’s network for the purpose of providing ongoing service. ByteTel uses this data to routinely monitor and manage end-users’ connectivity and performance on ByteTel’s network.
3.5 In determining the appropriate form of consent, the ByteTel Companies shall take into account the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of their customers and employees.
3.6 In general, the use of products and services by a customer, or the acceptance of employment or benefits by an employee, constitutes implied consent for the ByteTel Companies to collect, use and disclose personal information for all identified purposes.
3.7 A customer or employee may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Customers and employees may contact the ByteTel Companies for more information regarding the implications of withdrawing consent.
Principle 4 - Limiting Collection of Personal Information
The ByteTel Companies shall limit the collection of personal information to that which is necessary for the purposes identified. The ByteTel Companies shall collect personal information by fair and lawful means.
4.1 The ByteTel Companies collect personal information primarily from their customers or employees.
4.2 The ByteTel Companies may also collect personal information from other sources including credit bureaus, employers or personal references, or other third parties that represent that they have the right to disclose the information.
Principle 5 - Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention of Personal Information
We do not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with consent or as required by law. We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the identified purposes.
5.1 We do not share personal information with anyone outside the ByteTel Companies where we can avoid it, however circumstances when we have to do so.
· We limit how much information we disclose to third parties: With respect to third party requests for information, where we are required to disclose personal information we limit it to the information required in the circumstances, provide it only for the purpose stipulated, and make it subject to strict terms of confidentiality. When a court orders us to provide personal information, we tell you about it unless we have been ordered by law not to, and we follow up regularly to question whether non-disclosure orders ought to remain in force.
5.2 In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual. (See Principle 3.1)
5.3 In addition, the ByteTel Companies may disclose a customer's personal information to:
a) another telecommunications services provider for the efficient and effective provision of telecommunications services;
b) an entity involved in supplying the customer with communications or communications directory related services;
c) another entity for the development, enhancement, marketing or provision of any of the products or services of the ByteTel Companies;
d) an agent retained by the ByteTel Companies in connection with the collection of the customer's account;
e) credit grantors and reporting agencies;
f) a person who, in the reasonable judgment of the ByteTel Companies, is seeking the information as an agent of the customer; and
g) a third party or parties, where the customer consents to such disclosure or disclosure is required by law.
5.4 The ByteTel Companies may disclose personal information about their employees:
a) for normal personnel and benefits administration;
b) in the context of providing references regarding current or former employees in response to requests from prospective employers, to the extent that such references are granted at all; or
c) where disclosure is required by law.
5.5 Only those employees of the ByteTel Companies who require access for business reasons, or whose duties reasonably so require, are granted access to personal information about customers and employees.
5.6 The ByteTel Companies shall keep personal information only as long as it remains necessary or relevant for the identified purposes or as required by law. Depending on the circumstances, where personal information has been used to make a decision about a customer or employee, the ByteTel Companies shall retain, for a period of time that is reasonably sufficient to allow for access by the customer or employee, either the actual information or the rationale for making the decision.
5.7 The ByteTel Companies shall maintain reasonable and systematic controls, schedules and practices for information and records retention and destruction which apply to personal information that is no longer necessary or relevant for the identified purposes or required by law to be retained. Such information shall be destroyed, erased or made anonymous.
Principle 6 - Accuracy of Personal Information
Personal information shall be accurate, complete, and up-to-date as necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
6.1 Personal information used by the ByteTel Companies shall be sufficiently accurate, complete and up-to-date to minimize the possibility that inappropriate information may be used to make a decision about a customer or employee.
6.2 The ByteTel Companies shall update personal information about customers and employees as and when necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or upon notification by the individual.
Principle 7 - Security Safeguards
We protect personal information by appropriate security safeguards to prevent loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction.
7.1 All employees of the ByteTel Companies with access to personal information shall be required as a condition of employment to respect the confidentiality of personal information.
Principle 8 - Customer and Employee Access to Personal Information
The ByteTel Companies shall inform a customer or employee of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information upon request and shall give the individual access to that information. A customer or employee shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and to have it amended as appropriate.
8.1 Upon request, the ByteTel Companies shall afford to a customer or an employee a reasonable opportunity to review the personal information in the individual's file. Personal information shall be provided in understandable form within a reasonable time and at minimal or no cost to the individual.
8.2 In certain situations, the ByteTel Companies may not be able to provide access to all of the personal information that they hold about a customer or employee. For example, the ByteTel Companies may not provide access to information if doing so would likely reveal personal information about a third party or could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual. Also, the ByteTel Companies may not provide access to information if disclosure would reveal confidential commercial information, if the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege, if the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process, or if the information was collected in relation to the investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law. If access to personal information cannot be provided, the ByteTel Companies shall provide the reasons for denying access upon request.
8.3 Upon request, the ByteTel Companies shall provide an account of the use and disclosure of personal information and, where reasonably possible, shall state the source of the information. In providing an account of disclosure, the ByteTel Companies shall provide a list of organizations to which it may have disclosed personal information about the individual when it is not possible to provide an actual list.
8.4 In order to safeguard personal information, a customer or employee may be required to provide sufficient identification information to permit the ByteTel Companies to account for the existence, use and disclosure of personal information and to authorize access to the individual's file. Any such information shall be used only for this purpose.
8.5 The ByteTel Companies shall promptly correct or complete any personal information found to be inaccurate or incomplete. Any unresolved differences as to accuracy or completeness shall be noted in the individual's file. Where appropriate, the ByteTel Companies shall transmit to third parties having access to the personal information in question any amended information or the existence of any unresolved differences.
8.6 A customer can obtain information or seek access to his or her individual file by contacting a designated representative at 1.705.881.9004 in English, or by sending an email containing such a request in English to privacy@bytetel.ca.
8.7 An employee can obtain information or seek access to his or her individual file by contacting his or her immediate supervisor within the applicable ByteTel Company.
Principle 9 - Challenging Compliance
Customers and employees can address challenges concerning compliance with this Privacy Policy to the designated person or persons accountable for ByteTel's compliance.
VI. Contact Us
For inquiries, complaints, or more information regarding our privacy practices, please contact:
ByteTel
Attention: Privacy
PO Box 776
Waubaushene, Ontario L0K 2C0
Fax: 1.705.881.9032
Email: privacy@bytetel.ca
