Policies & Guidelines
RTÉ Privacy Statement
This is the Privacy Statement of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Limited, and any of their affiliates ("RTÉ").
RTÉ respects the privacy of all users of our website (i.e. our desktop and mobile sites), RTÉ social media pages and apps. This Privacy Statement outlines our policy concerning the collection and use of personal information which is gathered by RTÉ from users of this website, RTÉ social media pages and our apps.
The aim of this privacy policy is to explain how RTÉ collects and uses the personal information it gathers in this way. RTÉ will ensure that it keeps all personal information you provide to us in accordance with our obligations under current Data Protection legislation.
We may update our Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect any changes in technology, legislation or our data use practices which may affect the way in which we process your personal information.
RTÉ is not responsible for the privacy practices of any external websites and platforms which may be accessed or used in connection with your use of our website, RTÉ social media pages or our apps and so we would advise that you review the privacy statements of those websites and platforms as they may be subject to different privacy requirements.
Any processing of personal information gathered by RTÉ as a result of your use of this website, RTÉ social media pages or our apps is governed by the provisions of the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.
What personal information does RTÉ collect and use?
Competitions: When you enter a competition, RTÉ may collect and use your name, and your contact details (e.g. postal or email address / mobile number) in connection with the competition.
RTÉ Sign In: If you create an RTÉ Sign In account, we may collect and use your name, contact details, gender, IP address, browser, operating system and device (including its location) you used and details regarding your website, RTÉ social media pages and app usage (e.g. pages time / date of pages visited / actions taken) to provide you with extra benefits like seamless viewing of RTÉ Player across multiple devices, personalisation of RTÉ News Now content, email updates on content relevant to you, and exclusive competitions. We may also sometimes track who opened and clicked the links in the communications that we send so that we can measure a campaign’s success. If you’ve signed up to RTÉ Sign In, we may combine your account information with information we collect about you using cookies, web beacons, device identifiers etc. If you want to control the use of cookies etc, see the RTÉ Cookie Policy. See our specific RTÉ sign-in Privacy Statement for more info.
Marketing: If you sign up for marketing communications or in-app push notifications in our apps, we may also collect, use and combine similar information for the purposes of marketing, including through the use of cookies,etc. For example, we may combine your account information with information we collect about you using cookies, web beacons, device identifiers etc (including your device’s location). We may also sometimes track who opened and clicked the links in the communications that we send using technologies so that we can measure a campaign’s success. See “How do you use my information for marketing purposes?” below and our RTÉ Cookie Policy for more information in this regard. If you want to control the use of cookies etc, see the RTÉ Cookie Policy.
Purchases: If you purchase anything from our online shop, we may collect and use details of your method of payment and your address, in addition to your contact details to process your purchase.
Social media pages: If you post content on social media pages controlled by RTÉ, this information may be made publically available and used in connection with the operation and promotion of our social media pages and RTÉ. Your posted content may be removed.
RTÉ International Player: If you use the RTÉ International Player app, we may collect and use details regarding your app usage (e.g. time / date app is opened and closed, what content was viewed and duration of the app session) to generate statistical reports, such as to see what content is popular or to look at ways to improve our service. When you opt-in to in-app push notifications, we may also use this information to send you customised in-app push notifications regarding our service, including newsletters, messages about new RTÉ International Player features and RTÉ Content, special offers, promotional announcements, surveys and other information. We may also verify the location of your device while you are using the app or country of your appstore registered credit or debit card. We may block your usage of the app in some cases based upon this information. This is because there are territorial restrictions on use of RTÉ International Player. All of this information is linked through your iTunes account. You may be able to use your device settings to stop us verifying your device’s location. However, in that case you cannot continue to use our app.
Disruptive Behaviour: If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on or to RTÉ.ie, RTÉ social media pages or any of our apps or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on RTÉ.ie, RTÉ social media pages or any of our apps, RTÉ can use whatever information that is available to it about you to stop such behaviour. This may, where we feel it’s appropriate, involve informing relevant third parties such as your employer, school e-mail/Internet provider and law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour.
Service administration. If you are notified on RTÉ.ie or an app that your information may be used to allow RTÉ to contact you for "service administration purposes", this means that RTÉ may contact you for a number of purposes related to the service you have signed up for. For example, we may wish to provide you with password reminders or notify you that the particular service has been suspended for maintenance.
Cookies and Web Beacons etc: RTÉ.ie uses cookies, web beacons and similar technologies: these are small text files placed in your computer, tablet, mobile or other device. We also use SDKs on our apps which enable us to collect information from your mobile or other device. These technologies may collect your device identifier (IDFA), play data (e.g. how long you spend streaming), app usage, IP address or other information. Theymay also be used to recognise when your device visits a particular website or app or clicks on a particular link on RTÉ and others’ websites and apps or when you open emails we send you, or links in them. RTÉ’s policy concerning the use of cookies etc on RTE.ie and our apps is outlined in the RTÉ Cookie Policy. This explains how you can control the use of cookies etc.
We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.
How do you use my information for marketing purposes?
We and our trusted partners will not use your information to contact you by email, phone or SMS for direct marketing or promotional purposes unless you specifically agree to be contacted for such purposes at the time you submit your information to us, or at a later time if you sign up specifically to receive such promotional information. We will not provide your information to third parties who may contact you for direct marketing or promotional purposes unless you have consented to us giving them your information for that purpose.
If you sign up to marketing communications from RTÉ companies or to in-app push notifications on our apps, RTÉ companies may send you information about our products and services which we think may be of interest to you including our weekly newsletter. In this case, we may build up a profile of you based upon what we infer from your usage of the different pages of our website and apps, e.g. by using your RTÉ Sign In account information and combining it with information we collect using your IP address, cookies, web beacons, SDKs, device identifier, and play data (e.g. what you stream and how long you spend streaming) etc, including the location of your device. For instance, we may use some categories of information (including interest groups, year of birth, gender and region) to tailor the information we send to you. We do this so that we send you content you’re interested in, instead of unwanted and irrelevant stuff.
We carefully selected MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) to help us deliver email marketing communications. MailChimp has the TRUSTe's Privacy Seal - TRUSTe is an independent third party that operates a globally recognized privacy trustmark. It is also registered with the Safe Harbor Framework which is overseen by the US Department of Commerce. You should read MailChimp’s privacy policy for more information as you agree to this, and the transfer of your information to MailChimp, when you sign up to marketing communications from us.
When you sign up to marketing communications, we’ll normally contact you by email, but we may send you marketing texts also if you’ve given us your mobile number for this purpose. If you have just signed up to in-app push notifications, we’ll only send you in-app push notifications.
If you sign up to marketing communications from our trusted partners, we may provide your name and contact details you gave us for marketing (e.g. email or mobile number) to our trusted partners (such as organisations that are partnering with us in relation to the provision or sponsorship of TV programmes) so that they can send you marketing communications.
To opt out of marketing communications, log into RTÉ “sign-in” and change your marketing communications preferences. If you opt-out from communications from our trusted partners, we won’t share your contact details with them any more. However, you’ll still need to directly opt-out from communications from the trusted partners to whom we have already given your information. You can stop us sending you in-app push notifications through your device settings.
When we refer to “RTÉ companies” above, we are talking about Raidió Teilifís Éireann and RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Limited and any of their subsidiary or parent companies from time to time.
What if I am under 18?
If you are aged 18 or under please ask your parent or guardian for their permission to provide us with your contact information.
Do you pass any personal information to third parties?
We use a service provider for email marketing communications. When people use the RTÉ Shop the order is processed by a service provider who is contracted to RTÉ. The service provider is under a contractual obligation to keep personal information for the purpose for which it is intended and not to pass on any personal information to any third parties.
Equally when members of the public vote in competitions the processing of the vote is contracted out to service providers. We may also use other services providers in some cases. These service providers are also under a similar contractual obligation.
We will not provide your information to third parties who may contact you for direct marketing or promotional purposes unless you have consented to us giving them your information for that purpose.
Do you transfer any of the information collected abroad for other purposes?
RTÉ does not generally transfer any personal information abroad.
However, in some cases we may use carefully selected service providers to perform certain functions which may be located outside of Ireland. For instance, where you have signed up for marketing communications, you have agreed to the transfer of your information to our email service provider which is located in the US. These service providers are bound by a contract with us.
How can I request a copy of my personal information held by RTÉ?
Any individual has a right to make an access request, in writing, under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts for a copy of their personal data held by RTÉ. We will clarify in response to your request the exact RTÉ entity that is the data controller in respect of your personal data.
RTÉ may ask for further identification information before the information is released and may charge a maximum fee of €6.35 for the supply of this information to you.
RTÉ has 40 days to comply with the access request, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Acts. It should be noted that under section 21 of the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 there are specific exemptions relating to personal information held for journalistic, artistic and literary purposes.
If members of the public wish to see what personal information RTE may hold on them, please write to:
Head of Statutory Compliance,
RTÉ,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.
General information on Data Protection is available from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner’s website
Queries
If you have any questions or queries about this policy statement please contact our help desk at info@rte.ie
Last updated December 2014
