Canadians for Broadcast Accountability (“CBA,” “we”) is a federally incorporated Canadian non-profit. This policy explains what personal information we collect through cba-tv.ca, why we collect it, who has access to it, and the choices you have. We comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
1. What we collect
We collect personal information only when you choose to provide it:
- Petition signatures — first name, last name, email address, and (optional) postal code and a short story about your experience.
- Email-list signups — email address and (optional) first name and postal code.
- Contact form submissions — name, email address, subject, and message.
- Complaint wizard — your selections (issue type, provider) are stored as anonymous, aggregate counts. The wizard does not capture the content of any complaint you draft. Templates are generated in your browser and copied to your clipboard; CBA never receives them.
- Server logs — when you visit the site, our hosting provider receives your IP address and a User-Agent string for security and rate-limiting purposes. These are not associated with your identity.
2. Cookies and analytics
We use a small number of cookies. The first time you visit, you will see a banner asking whether you consent to analytics cookies. You can change your choice at any time via the “Cookie preferences” link in the footer.
| Cookie / tag | Purpose | Set by | Requires consent? |
|---|---|---|---|
cba_auth | Authenticates members on protected pages. HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict. Expires after 7 days. | CBA (first-party) | No — strictly necessary |
cba_cookie_consent | Remembers your cookie choice. Stored in browser localStorage, not transmitted to any server. | CBA (first-party) | No — strictly necessary |
Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_*) | Aggregate traffic measurement. | Google (third-party) | Yes |
Meta Pixel (_fbp, _fbc) | Audience measurement and ad attribution if we run paid Meta campaigns for petition reach. | Meta (third-party) | Yes |
Analytics tags are not loaded on member-only pages, regardless of consent. If you decline, no third-party tags are loaded anywhere.
3. How we use your information
- Petition signatures. We file aggregate signature counts and a representative selection of stories with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as part of formal regulatory interventions. Petition signatures filed with the CRTC become part of a public proceeding record.
- Email list. We send updates about CRTC proceedings, advocacy opportunities, and CBA news. Every email contains an unsubscribe link.
- Contact submissions. Used to reply to you and to track patterns of consumer concerns.
- Aggregate analytics. Used to understand which pages and resources are useful, so we can improve the site.
4. Who we share your information with
We do not sell or rent personal information. Your information is shared only with the service providers we use to operate the site, and only as needed to deliver the service:
- Vercel — hosting, edge networking, and our key-value database. Your form submissions are stored in a Vercel-hosted Redis instance.
- MailerLite — email delivery for newsletter and campaign updates, if you subscribe.
- Google Analytics — only if you consent. Receives a pseudonymous visitor ID and page-view events.
- Meta — only if you consent. Receives page-view events tied to a pseudonymous browser ID for ad measurement.
- CRTC — petition signatures (name, email, postal code, story) are filed on the public record as part of formal interventions. Sign the petition only if you are willing to have your name appear on a public regulatory record.
We may also disclose information if required by Canadian law (court order, lawful warrant) or to enforce our legal rights.
5. How long we keep it
- Petition signatures — retained until the conclusion of the regulatory campaign they support, plus seven years (the standard CRTC record retention period). After that, signatures are deleted from our systems; the public CRTC record is outside our control.
- Email subscribers — retained until you unsubscribe. We periodically remove inactive addresses.
- Contact submissions — retained for two years for reference and pattern analysis, then deleted.
- Server logs — Vercel retains access logs for up to 30 days.
- Analytics data — Google Analytics and Meta retain pseudonymous event data according to their own policies. We do not export it for retention on our own systems.
6. Your rights under PIPEDA
You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, to correct inaccuracies, to withdraw consent, and to request deletion. To exercise these rights, email info@cba-tv.ca. We will respond within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.
7. Security
Personal information is transmitted over HTTPS and stored in a managed Redis database with access restricted to administrators using individually-issued credentials. The site uses HMAC-signed session tokens with HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict cookies for the member area. We rate-limit form submissions to prevent abuse.
8. Children
The site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided information to us, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site changes or as our regulatory campaigns evolve. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be highlighted in our email newsletter.
10. Contact
Questions about this policy or your personal information: info@cba-tv.ca. Or use our contact form.