Terms & conditions

Citizens Forum - Terms of Use

A. INTRODUCTION

(i) Welcome to the Citizens Forum. The Citizens Forum (“Forum”) is a Government of Bermuda initiative. In this instance, the Government of Bermuda is represented by the Department of Communications ("Government", "we", "our" or "us") and we operate, administer ad maintain the website which hosts the Forum (“Site”). We provide the Site for discussion purposes in Bermuda. The Forum is not intended for use outside Bermuda.

(ii) The goal of the Forum is to make proposed legislation and policies available and allow Bermudians and interested persons to discuss and comment on the proposed legislation and share ideas.

(iii) In consideration of your use of the Site, you and anyone using the Site on your behalf, agree to the following terms and conditions of use (referred to as the "Terms of Use").

(iv) We may discontinue or change the Terms of Use for the Site or services available on the Site, at any time without notice. Changes take effect when posted to the Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes will mean that you accept and agree to such changes.

BY USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE; IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT USE THE SITE.

ABOUT THIS SITE AND THESE TERMS OF USE

1. SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT ON THE SITE

1.1 Anyone can follow the Forum online. Anyone will be able to read submitted ideas and reactions. However, if you want to participate in the Forum yourself (sharing your own ideas, responding to other’s ideas or supporting existing contributions), you have to create an account for the Forum (“Account”). Only individuals who have created an Account can make an active contribution and post to the Forum.

1.2 In order to create an Account, you will be required to register using your e-mail address or create an Account by simply linking it to your Facebook or Google profile.

1.3 Every individual has the ability to create an Account. The creation of an Account by an individual (referred to as “you” or a “user” and includes the following where applicable: your estate or representative) means that you are and will remain the owner of that Account and shall remain responsible and liable for any and all content that is posted from that Account and all other matters connected to that Account.

1.4 Each Account must be unique and linked to a user. If it is determined that a user has multiple accounts, the Forum reserves the right to delete some or all these accounts. Every user must be at least the age of 18 years. You agree to present current and accurate information in order to set up your Account. Any information that is inaccurate, offensive or involving advertising may be removed or your Account may be disabled or removed.

2. FORUM ADMINISTRATION, MONITORINGAND MAINTENANCE

2.1 The Forum will be monitored and administered by our administrator (“Administrator”). The Administrator, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to refuse, suspend or delete Accounts, for example if a user does not comply with the Terms of Use of the Forum or a user has previously been denied or removed from the Forum.

2.2 The Administrator may, without notice, restrict, block, suspend or terminate access to use the Site or any part of it to protect it or our services or if required by law or if we, in our sole discretion, believe you are in breach of these Terms of Use.

2.3 We may, without notice, change or remove any material or Content residing on or transmitted to our Forum or Site that we, in our sole discretion, believe is unacceptable or violates the law or these Terms of Use.

2.4 The Administrator reserves the right to refuse the opening of an Account or delete an Account in the case of infringements of the Terms of Use.

2.5 Maintenance of the Site: We reserve the right to do any of the following, at any time, without notice: to modify, suspend or terminate operation of or access to the Site, or any portion of the Site, for any reason; to modify or change the Site, or any portion of the Site, and any applicable policies or terms; and to interrupt the operation of the Site, or any portion of the Site, as necessary to perform routine or non-routine maintenance, error correction, or other changes.

3. CONTENT, COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARKS & OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

3.1 To ensure that the Forum is working as intended and that you can communicate and connect with others, there are some restrictions on the type of content that can be published to the Forum.

3.2 "Content" is defined as what you write, copy, download or post to the Forum in any form (including HTML and Java code). All Content is protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws under Bermuda and foreign laws. Using the Forum will not give you a license to exercise any intellectual property rights, unless expressly stated.

3.3 You may not copy and paste materials from other websites into the Forum, especially entire webpages, tables or charts which may contain HMTL or other code from another website. This is to respect copyrights as well as prevent formatting errors on our Site or in our Forum.

3.4 You agree not to post or upload material to the Forum unless it is yours; or if you have consent from the copyright owner of any material you wish to post; or if you know the material is in the public domain.

3.5 The Site is protected by intellectual property rights that relate to all Content, source code, database, etc. The use of this Site in no way indicates a transfer of these intellectual rights to the users of the Site. Every user must be aware of these rights and must govern their actions accordingly. It is forbidden to reproduce, distribute, modify or transmit the Site or its contents, without our written permission.

4. EACH USER SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING RULES:

4.1 An Account is strictly personal: We respect the intellectual property rights of others and we expect that users of this Forum will also respect these rights. We reserve the right to remove Content that violates intellectual property rights. Repeated violations of intellectual property rights of any kind by a user will lead to the blocking of posting of Content or suspension or removal of the Account by the Administrator.

4.2 No transfer of an Account:

(a) An Account only be used related to the Forum.

(b) Since each Account is strictly linked to a user, an Account cannot be transferred to another user without the permission of the Administrator (defined below).

4.3 The Account information must always remain confidential:

(a) The user who creates the Account must ensure that their password and login details remain confidential. We advise you to use a strong password (a password with a combination of lowercase, uppercase letters and numbers).

(b) We will not ask you for personal information such as a login or password via e-mail. If personal data is requested, the user will always be redirected to the Administrator.

4.4 Treat other subscribers with courtesy and respect: The Forum is like any other organized gathering of people; there are rules of etiquette everyone is expected to follow. We believe in free expression of a variety of viewpoints and critical discussion of all ideas. Your experience is bound only by a set of common sense rules that require you to be civil and show respect for others when you are online.

4.5 No vendettas on the Forum: Do not name people you may have a disagreement with or allow identification of those people by inference. Do not threaten, or harass anyone, directly or by indirectly. Doing so will lead to a warning or being banned from the Forum. If you have any problems regarding another user, you are encouraged to contact the Administrator or us.

4.6 No advertising on the Forum or the Site: No advertising, solicitations, trading of goods or services, or other commercial activities are allowed in the Forum.

4.7 Do not accept anything posted by other members as factual or endorsed by the Forum: We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information posted by any user posting to the Forum. Messages posted in the Forum do not reflect our views. Messages posted in the Forum express your views only.

4.8 Your IP address is recorded on the Site: This information may be used in the event a user must be banned from the Site or an ISP is required to be contacted.

4.9 All Content posted in the Forum remains your property:

Unless proven otherwise, you own the material that you post to the Site. When you post Content in the Forum, you permit us to display and distribute the Content, and you grant us a complete, perpetual, non-exclusive right to use, copy, reproduce, adapt, translate, distribute, sub-license, etc. the Content in whole or in part, throughout the world, on a royalty-free basis.

5. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEB SITES

5.1 Should the Site contain informational, advertising or third party links or references to external web sites that are owned, operated, developed and controlled by others and not by us, we do not endorse or authorize access to those external web sites or any content, services and goods on or through them. You use those links at your own risk and are urged to review their legal and privacy notices, terms and conditions.

5.2 You must not use a deep link or an image (IMG) link, or use the Government logo or any of our trademarks as a "hot" link, to our home page or any other part of the Forum, without entering a written consent from the Government.

5.3 We will not be responsible for or liable to you for any loss or damage resulting from your use of links to or from external web sites or of any dealings you have with any third parties you access through the Site.

6. NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES

6.1 We do not represent or warrant that information on the Site is accurate, complete or up-to-date, or free of technical or typographical errors. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter information on the Site, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

6.2 You use the Forum, including posting Content, at your sole risk. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR FORUM WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, FREE OF DEFAMATORY COMMENTS OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR FORUM WILL PROVIDE SPECIFIC RESULTS. THE SITE AND FORUM ARE DELIVERED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SITE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. WE CANNOT ENSURE THAT ANY CONTENT POSTED TO THE SITE OR FORUM WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, COURSE OF DEALING, INTEROPERABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, SERVICE AVAILABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THE ACTS, OMISSIONS AND CONDUCT OF ANY USERS OR THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH OR RELATED TO USE OF THE SITE AND FORUM. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTENT YOU POST AND YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND ANY LINKED SITES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY AGAINST US FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE OR THE FORUM IS TO STOP USING THE SITE OR THE FORUM. THIS LIMITATION OF RELIEF IS A PART OF THE AGREEMENT IN YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE FORUM.

6.3 The above disclaimer applies to any loss, damage, liability or injuries caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use, of the Site or Forum, whether by breach of contract, tort, negligence or any other cause of action.

6.4 You should take precautions including scanning for viruses and having a complete and current back up of files on your computer system prior to accessing the Site.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

7.1 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR ECONOMIC OR COMMERCIAL LOSS, LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUE OR EXPECTED SAVINGS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, DEFAMATION, LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF PROGRAMS OR OTHER DATA ON YOUR INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM OR OTHERWISE, OR LOSS OF USE, ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS, USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR FORUM OR TO ANY LINKED OR REFERENCED WEB SITE, OR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS OR OTHER DEFECTS IN THE CONTENT, WHETHER BY CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF WE KNOW OR HAVE BEEN EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGE.

7.2 WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU, IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, DAMAGE OR LOSS, ARISING IN RELATION TO THE SITE OR FORUM (INCLUDING ANY CONTENT AND THESE TERMS OF USE) IS LIMITED TO FIVE ($5.00) BERMUDA DOLLARS.

8. NO ADDITIONAL WARRANTY

Nothing on the Site shall be construed as a further or additional representation or warranty. Nothing on this Site shall be construed as being an offer by us, only as an invitation to treat.

9. INDEMNITY

9.1 We provide the Forum for discussion on legislation and its impact on Bermuda. Neither we, nor the Administrator can, under any circumstances, be held responsible or liable for any loss or damage incurred or suffered to the Account, to the user or to a third party resulting from use of an Account, access to the Site or participation in the Forum.

9.2 You agree to indemnify, keep indemnified and defend and hold us, our public officers, employees or agents and the Administrator, harmless from any and all loss, actions, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) related to or associated with your access to the Site or someone using your Account and password or participation in the Forum or your or such other person's violation of these Terms of Use.

10. EXTENSION OF DEFENCES

Every right, including right to be indemnified, exemption from liability and defence of whatsoever nature applicable to us or to which we are entitled hereunder extends to and for the benefit of public officers, employees, the Administrator or suppliers (including any party involved in creating, producing or delivering the Site or Forum).

11. USER LIABILITY

11.1 You are responsible for anything you post on the Forum under your Account. We do not assume responsibility for Content posted by users.

11.2 We reserve the right to monitor all Content posted on the Forum in real time or hold such Content for approval, so objectionable Content cannot be posted or removed until it is reviewed by the Administrator. We reserve the right to edit or remove objectionable or inappropriate Content. Violators who post objectionable Content may receive a warning, or have their memberships and Account suspended or terminated.

11.3 You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and other Account details.

11.4 You are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your Account. You agree to notify the Administrator immediately of any unauthorised use of your Account or any other breach of security. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or Account, either with or without your knowledge.

11.5 You could be held liable for loss or damage incurred by us or another party due to someone else using your Account or password.

11.6 You may not use anyone else's Account at any time, without the permission of the Account holder.

11.7 You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your user name, password or Account.

12. PROHIBITED USE OF THE SITE

12.1 Without limited the generality of the foregoing, you must not post, upload, reproduce, transmit or otherwise distribute any material or Content on the Forum that:

(a) is likely to give rise, or encourages conduct that would give rise to criminal or civil liability;

(b) is false, vulgar, obscene, sexually-oriented, invades someone's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law;

(c) is offensive, or of an indecent, obscene, menacing character, or is for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another or is likely to deceive or threaten others;

(d) is intended to incite or is likely to excite or promote ill will or hostility against any section of the public, or indicates discrimination or an intention to discriminate against any person or class of persons, because of race, place of origin, colour or ancestry, ethnic or national origins, sex, sexual orientation, , disability, marital status, birth out of lawful wedlock, religious beliefs or political opinions;

(e) passes off or infringes any copyright, trade mark, patent or other intellectual property right of another person;

(f) impersonates any person or misrepresents your relationship with any person or authority;

(g) is defamatory;

(h) creates multiple Accounts for overlapping use in order to avoid temporary or permanent suspension of an individual Account;

(i) contains unsolicited or unauthorized advertising;

(j) contains viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code with contaminating or destructive properties;

(k) interrupts or interferes with or adversely affects any software or hardware or use of the Site or the Internet by others or us;

(l) is in contempt of any legal proceedings; or

(m) is in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect.

12.2 You must also not use the Site:

(a) In a manner or for a purpose prohibited by law (including without limitation, to send or communicate messages, conduct activities or otherwise use the service in contravention of the Telecommunications Act 1986, the Obscene Publications Act 1973, the Criminal Code Act 1907, the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997, the Human Rights Act 1981, or the Tenth Schedule to the Companies Act 1981), each as amended;

(b) to send, transmit or communicate the sending of bulk, unsolicited Electronic Records (as defined in the Electronic Transactions Act 1999) or any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam) to persons with whom or which the customer has no relationship (either contractual or personal) or to persons that have not otherwise consented to receive such Electronic Records;

(n) to send chain letters, invitations to pyramid schemes, or repeat postings of the same message;

(o) to link to commercial sites or sales pages;

(p) to access, or enable others to access, parts of the Site or Forum to which you are not authorized to access, including the personal information of other users of the Site.

12.3 You also agree:

(a) Not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our Site in contravention of the provisions of our Terms of Use.

(b) Not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:

(i) any part of our Site;

(ii) any software used in the provision of our Site; or

(iii) any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.

13. IN CASE OF BREACHES OF THE TERMS OF USE

13.1 The Administrator will supervise the Site and the Forum to ensure that these Terms of Use are not violated.

13.2 The Administrator reserves the right, if it detects breaches to these Terms of Use, to suspend or terminate access to this Site or the Forum and we may delete the relevant messages and suspend or permanently delete an Account. After access is suspended or terminated, the Administrator may delete any Content posted or accessible on any part of the Site.

13.3 We cannot be held liable for messages posted by users or third parties, which violate these Terms of Use. You agree that if you see any texts, photos, videos or other posts that offend you or you think may offend other users, you shall report this to the Administrator immediately.

13.4 Every download by a user or click on a hyperlink, placed by a user, is done at their own risk and any damage incurred is completely and solely the responsibility of the user.

14. Interactive services

We may from time to time provide other interactive services on the Site, which will be subject to these Terms of Use, including, without limitation:

· Chat rooms.

· Bulletin boards.

· Any other services.

14.1 We will do our best to assess any possible risks for users (and in particular, for children) from third parties when they use any interactive service provided on our Site, and we will decide in each case whether it is appropriate to use moderation of the relevant service (including what kind of moderation to use) in the light of those risks.

14.2 The use of any of our services by a minor is subject to the consent of their parent or guardian. We advise parents who permit their children to use any service on the Site that it is important that they communicate with their children about their safety online, as moderation is not foolproof. Minors who are using any service on our Site should be made aware of the potential risks to them.

14.3 You will be provided with a means of contacting the Administrator, should a concern or difficulty arise in using the Site.

15. CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS

15.1 Please note that communications sent over the internet, particularly unencrypted e-mail, are subject to possible interception, loss, change or forging.

15.2 We will not be responsible for any loss or damage you may suffer from transmission of information that you make to us or any third party, or request us or any third party to make to you through the e-mail links provided or addresses given on the Site.

15.3 We are not responsible for any errors or changes made to, or loss or interception of, any transmitted information. Such transmission is at your own risk.

16. APPLICABLE LAW & GENERAL PROVISIONS

16.1 Any claim arising out of the Content or the use of the Site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Bermuda, without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law.

16.2 You irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Bermuda. If you use the Site from outside Bermuda, you do so at your own risk and you alone are responsible for complying with applicable laws.

16.3 Our failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision in these Terms of Use shall not be construed as a waiver of such provision or any right.

16.4 If any part of these Terms of Use or any additional terms and conditions applicable to certain parts of the Site is found by any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be void, invalid or unenforceable, it shall be given effect to the greatest extent possible and the remainder will continue to apply.

16.5 These Terms of Use, together with any additional terms and conditions applicable to certain parts of the Site and certain services, constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all prior agreements relating to the subject matter thereof.

16.6 In the event that there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and any other terms and conditions applicable to certain services and certain parts of the Site, these Terms of Use shall govern to resolve any such conflict, otherwise the terms and conditions applicable to certain services and certain parts of the Site shall prevail.

16.7 For avoidance of doubt, by accessing this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

If you have any questions regarding these Terms of Use or the Forum or Site please contact the Administrator.