It is my conviction that privacy is an essential human right, akin to the fundamental right of each of us to be free of unwarranted intrusion into, or interference with, our personal lives.

The advent of the information age has thrown this right into bold relief, and I have tried to create a forceful privacy policy for my web site, to enshrine fair, ethical, and trustworthy information practices that protect the integrity of the relationship I share with my site's visitors.

International Standards

I have voluntarily developed a privacy policy drawn from internationally recognised standards. In particular, my policy is based upon: Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act; the European Union's Data Protection Directive; and the OECD's Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy. In addition, my web site was an early adopter of the World Wide Web Consortium's P3P Platform for Privacy Preferences.

Preserving Your Anonymity

You need not reveal any personal information whatsoever to visit my web site, to view any of the pages, or to download any of my files.

Optional and Limited Information Collection

My web site offers three optional services: subscribe to my newsletter; volunteer with one of my projects or organisations; and contribute to a project. If you avail yourself of any of these options, I will only ask you for information to fulfil your request, and I can only collect information from you with your explicit consent.

Guaranteed Non-Disclosure

I will not sell or rent any of your personal information to any third parties. The only instances in which I would share your contact details would be in cases where you specifically express a desire to receive information from one of the not-for-profit organisations with which I work (e.g. UNICEF, GOPAC). If I make use of an external mailing service to send you my newsletters, I will ensure that your contact details are protected.

Limited Information Retention

I will retain your information to provide you with the services you have requested.

Highest Security Encryption

If you choose to contribute online to support one of my public affairs projects using my own donation facility, my site will assure the security and privacy of your transaction with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technologies, including strong-encryption keys. When I employ it, my secure donation page is powered through a partnership with HelpForCharities.com, a trusted secure e-commerce provider to Canada's philanthropic community. HelpForCharities.com is bound by my privacy policy, and has additional provisions to further guarantee your security during your use of my donation page. Credit card information will be used by HelpForCharities.com only to process donations with the relevant financial institutions, and will be deleted immediately afterwards. HelpForCharities.com is strictly forbidden from passing your credit card details to any third party or even to me.

Cookies

If you subscribe to my newsletter, the subscription process will be assisted by a temporary session cookie, which will be used only for this function and which will delete itself when you close your browser window. The web site visit counter uses persistent cookies, but visitors to my site are not required to enable or to accept such cookies to have full use of the site.

No Advertising

There is no third-party commercial advertising at my web site, and I will provide no information whatsoever to commercial advertisers about visitors to my site. I may occasionally post buttons or links encouraging you to visit or support charitable or public interest sites.

Safeguarding Information

Any personal information you provide to me will be kept in confidence and protected online and offline. If you wish to send me encrypted e-mail, you may do so using my PGP Public Key.

Content Streaming by Partner Sites

I sometimes embed YouTube videos and SoundCloud audio recordings in my blog posts. If you choose to view or to listen to this material, the media will be streamed to you by the host sites under their own privacy and advertising policies.

Changes to this Policy

Should it become necessary for me to alter this privacy policy in any substantial way, I will notify you here at my web site.

Accountability and Enforcement

I have named Amalie von Fürstenberg to act as my web site’s Chief Privacy Officer. She will monitor the web site’s compliance with this policy and enforce any necessary remedial actions. If you have any privacy concerns with my site, please feel free to contact Amalie through my bureau.