Privacy

We at Mercatus Technologies Inc. ("Mercatus") want you to know how personal information about you is used, collected and disclosed. To demonstrate our commitment to you, we have adopted this privacy policy ("policy") that has been drafted to comply with current legal standards regarding the protection of personal information. As part of this commitment, we have established Ten Privacy Principles to govern our actions as they relate to the use of personal information.

Principle 1 - Accountability
Mercatus is responsible for maintaining and protecting the personal information under its control. In fulfilling this mandate, we have designated an individual who is accountable for compliance with this policy.

Principle 2 - Identifying Purposes
The purposes for which personal information is collected shall always be identified before or at the time the information is collected.

Principle 3 - Consent
The knowledge and consent of the individual providing the information are required for the collection, use or disclosure of said information except where the collection, use or disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Principle 4 - Limiting Collection
The personal information collected will be limited to those details necessary for the purposes identified by Mercatus. Information must be collected by fair and lawful means.

Principle 5 - Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
Personal information will only be used or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected unless the provider has otherwise consented, or when it is required or permitted by law. Personal information will only be retained for the period of time required to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected.

Principle 6 - Accuracy
Personal information will be maintained in as accurate, complete and up-to-date form as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it is to be used.

Principle 7 - Safeguarding Personal Information
Personal information will be protected by security safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity level of the information.

Principle 8 - Openness
Mercatus will make information available to individuals concerning the policies and practices that apply to the management of their information.

Principle 9 - Individual Access
Upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of their information, and shall be given access to it. Individuals may verify the accuracy and completeness of their information, and may request that it be amended / deleted, if appropriate.

Principle 10 - Handling Complaints and Suggestions
Individuals may direct any questions or enquiries with respect to the privacy principles outlined above or about our practices by contacting the designated person(s) accountable for privacy at Mercatus.

What Information is Collected?

Mercatus Technologies Inc. is in the business of providing companies with knowledge and information about their markets and consumers by way of collecting data. This data contains both anonymous, aggregated information on a virtually unlimited range of current topics, as well as personal information about you that you provide to us.

Where we have requested personal information about you, your participation is always voluntary, and you therefore have a choice as to whether or not you provide the requested information. Unless our client has a need to collect personal information from you for the purposes of running a contest, another type of incentive or any other purpose, we will not request from you any information that can personally identify you.

Mercatus also collects personally-identifiable information when users register, request publications or other information, sign up for conferences and events, apply for jobs, and participate in user posting areas, such as bulletin boards or discussion forums. Your submission of your personal information signifies your consent to our collection and use and disclosure of this information for these purposes.

How Your Information is Collected and Used

Your information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily, usually through completing a survey, completing a contest ballot, or contacting us via email. We use this personal information to fulfill your requests for information, to process your requests to participate in contests, conferences and events, or to evaluate any job applications. At the point of collection, you will be informed if your personal information is being collected and the purpose for which it is being collected. The non-personal information you provide us will be aggregated or summarized with the data that we obtain from other respondents. The information collected is used for statistical and classification purposes in aggregated or summary form and will be reported to our client in that fashion. Because the information is aggregated, the data you provide to us is not personally identifiable to you. 

Sharing Information

Mercatus aggregates the information it collects from its surveys and uses that aggregated information in its business, which includes sharing such aggregated information with its affiliates, customers, suppliers, partners, and others with whom it conducts business. Because the information is aggregated, the data you provide to us is anonymous and is not personally identifiable to you.

In some instances, we may conduct our business through, or with the assistance of or in cooperation with, one or more of our affiliates, customers, suppliers or partners. This may require that we provide data and in some cases personally identifiable information (e.g. email address) to the applicable Mercatus affiliate, suppliers, or marketing partners.

When we contract our affiliates, suppliers or marketing partners to provide specialized services, they are given only the information necessary to perform those services. They are also prohibited from storing, analyzing or using that information for purposes other than to carry out the service they have been contracted to provide. In fact, we will use reasonable efforts to ensure that the Mercatus affiliate, supplier or marketing partner handles the information in accordance with the privacy principles described in this privacy statement. Should you request a service that is performed by one of our affiliates, suppliers or marketing partners, and you wish us not to provide your information to them, we may not be able to process your request for that service.

On occasion our clients, in order for us to perform our services, will provide us with personal information. Any such information shall be used in a manner that is in accordance with this policy.

We will not otherwise sell, barter, trade, rent or disclose your information.

Visiting Us Online

When you visit our websites and move from page to page, read pages or download content onto your computer, we learn which pages are visited, what content is downloaded, and the address of websites that you visited immediately before coming to our websites. However, none of this is associated with you as an individual. It is measured only in aggregate. We use this information to find out how many people visit our websites and which sections of the sites are visited most frequently. This helps us to know what type of information is most useful to you so that we can improve our websites and make it easier for you to access information. We record the statistical information on the numbers of visitors to our websites, but no information about you in particular will be kept or used.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of information that some websites transfer to the computer that is browsing that website in order to improve the experience of the website user. This website uses browser cookies to maintain information about your use of the website. For example, the cookies record your personal preference for the language you wish to view the site in, to automatically log you into the site if you are a respondent, and to monitor the "state" of your current web session on this site. Cookies also help us identify you without asking you to log in again on every page (or every time you return to the website), making your experience at our site smoother and more enjoyable. Cookies cannot be used to gather sensitive information about you or data residing on your computer. Any user of this website may reject or delete our cookie and still use the website, but his or her use of the site will be restricted. For example, the user who rejects or deletes our cookie will not be able to participate in our surveys, and many areas of the site will not be accessible to him or her.

Log Files

Our server log, which records all transactions and the IP addresses that request them, is used to monitor traffic flow on the website in order to manage the website more effectively, analyze trends, track users' movements and gather broad technographic information for aggregate use. Log files also help us diagnose any problems that may occur and aid in the administration of our website.

Security

Information security is of paramount importance and our employees are fully aware of their responsibilities to keep personal information safe, secure and confidential. No matter which forum you use to deal with us we follow set security procedures to protect your information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and misuse.

Linked Sites

The Mercatus website may contain links to other sites including content from other sites that is occasionally framed within the Mercatus website. Please note that the privacy policies at these other sites may be different from this one. We have no responsibility, liability or control over those other websites. You should review the privacy policy of any site linked to or framed within our site prior to providing any information on or to that site.

Opt-Out Policy

Clients can contact Mercatus as described in the Contacting Mercatus's Privacy Officer section below to opt out of any of our services, promotions or contests. Alternatively, users can opt not to provide certain personal information when enrolling for the service or when participating in contests and surveys.

Updating Your Personal Information

We will make every reasonable effort to keep your information accurate and up-to-date. To update or make a change contact Mercatus as described in the Contacting Mercatus's Privacy Officer below.

Children's Privacy Protection

Mercatus understands the importance of protecting children's privacy, especially in an on-line environment. The site is not intentionally designed for or directed at children 13 years of age or younger, and Mercatus will not intentionally collect or maintain information about anyone under the age of 13.

Consent Changes to Privacy Policy

By using the site, you consent to the collection, use, and storage of your information by us in the manner described in this Privacy Policy and elsewhere on the Site. We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time to accommodate changes in services, technology and legal requirements. We will alert you to any such changes by updating the effective date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

Contacting Mercatus Officer

In order to fulfill requests for personal information records or to answer any questions or address any concerns individuals may have about privacy, Mercatus has designated a privacy officer. In addition to answering inquiries, the privacy officer is also responsible for ensuring that the Policy requirements and related procedures are being met.

All inquiries or complaints regarding privacy should be directed to the privacy officer by mail, fax or email at the addresses below. All inquiries will be responded to within thirty (30) days from the date at which the Mercatus privacy officer has received the inquiry.

Mail
Mercatus Technologies Inc.
c/o Privacy Officer
60 Adelaide Street East, Suite 700
Toronto, ON
Canada M5C 3E4

Fax
Attention: Privacy Officer
Fax (416) 603 1790

Email
privacy@mercatustechnologies.com