PRIVACY POLICY

Cancelled Without Conviction is an editorial platform examining cases in which accusation has resulted in personal, professional or reputational consequences without a criminal conviction.

The website is operated by CANCELLED WITHOUT CONVICTION ("Cancelled Without Conviction", "we", "us" or "our").

For the purposes of UK data protection law, CANCELLED WITHOUT CONVICTION is the controller of personal information processed through this website.

You can contact us about this policy or the use of your personal information at contact@cancelledwithoutconviction.com.

We may collect and process:

• your name, email address and contact preferences;
• information submitted through our "Tell Us Your Story" form;
• accounts of events, dates, allegations and their consequences;
• documents, photographs, correspondence, links and other supporting material;
• information contained in communications with us;
• information about people mentioned in a submission;
• information obtained from public records, court documents, published reports, social media, news coverage and other lawful sources; and
• technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device information, access times and website activity.

Submissions may contain particularly sensitive information, including information about health, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual life or orientation, trade-union membership, alleged offences, criminal proceedings or convictions.

Please only provide information that is relevant and that you are lawfully permitted to share.

We may use personal information to:

• receive and assess case submissions;
• verify information and conduct editorial research;
• contact contributors, witnesses, subjects or other relevant parties;
• decide whether and how a case should be investigated or published;
• prepare, edit, fact-check and publish editorial material;
• consider responses, corrections, complaints and legal concerns;
• operate, secure and improve the website;
• prevent misuse, fraud or unlawful activity;
• maintain appropriate editorial and legal records; and
• comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

Submitting information does not guarantee that we will investigate or publish it.

Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Legitimate interests: operating an editorial platform, considering submissions, undertaking research, communicating with contributors, publishing material in the public interest, protecting our legal rights and maintaining the security of the website.
• Consent: where we specifically ask for consent, including consent to use certain non-essential cookies or to publish information that you have provided.
• Legal obligation: where processing is necessary to comply with applicable law.
• Legal claims: where information is required to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• Public interest and journalistic purposes: where applicable to our research and publication of editorial material.

Where we process special-category information or information concerning alleged or actual criminal offences, we will only do so where an additional condition permitted by the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 applies.

Data protection law contains exemptions for certain processing undertaken for journalistic purposes with a view to publication in the public interest. Where applicable, these exemptions may affect how particular data protection rights apply.

If you ask to remain anonymous, we will not ordinarily identify you in published material without your permission.

However, anonymity does not mean that:

• your submission is legally privileged;
• we can guarantee absolute confidentiality;
• we will conceal information where disclosure is required by law; or
• other people will be unable to identify you from the circumstances described.

Please do not send highly sensitive material unless it is necessary. If you have particular security or confidentiality concerns, contact us before submitting it.

We exercise independent editorial judgement. We may verify, edit, summarise, decline, postpone or decide not to publish any submission.

A submission may contain information about people other than the person making it. We may use that information to assess the submission, conduct research, seek comment and prepare editorial material.

Where appropriate, we may contact a person who is the subject of proposed coverage and give them an opportunity to respond. We may share relevant parts of the allegations or supporting information with that person or their representative for verification, fairness or legal review.

We will not necessarily identify the person who made the submission when doing so.

Information included in a published story becomes publicly available and may be:

• viewed, copied or shared by others;
• indexed by search engines;
• discussed or republished by third parties; and
• accessible outside the United Kingdom.

Removing material from our website may not remove copies, search results, archives or third-party republications that we do not control.

We will consider requests concerning published personal information individually, taking account of privacy rights, freedom of expression, the public interest, accuracy, legal obligations and applicable journalistic exemptions.

We may share personal information with:

• website hosting, storage, security and technical service providers;
• professional advisers, including lawyers and insurers;
• researchers, editors, fact-checkers and other people assisting our work;
• people approached for verification or a right of reply;
• courts, regulators, law-enforcement authorities or other bodies where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary; and
• a successor organisation if responsibility for the website is transferred.

Service providers acting on our behalf may only use information in accordance with our instructions and applicable law.

We do not sell personal information.

Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data protection law requires it, we use recognised safeguards for these transfers, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

Published website content is available internationally and may be accessed from countries whose data protection laws differ from those of the United Kingdom.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

As a general guide:

• submissions that are not pursued may be retained for up to 24 months;
• correspondence may be retained for up to three years;
• website security records may be retained for up to 12 months; and
• material connected with published or potential stories may be retained for the life of the publication and for up to six years afterwards.

We may keep information longer where necessary for continuing editorial work, archiving, legal claims, regulatory requirements, the public interest or the protection of contributors and subjects.

We may use:

• strictly necessary technologies required for the website to function or remain secure;
• preference technologies that remember choices you make; and
• analytics technologies that help us understand how the website is used.

We will not use non-essential cookies or similar technologies on your device without consent where consent is legally required. You can manage your preferences through the cookie controls made available on the website.

Disabling some technologies may affect how the website operates.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

No online service or method of transmission is completely secure. You should consider this before submitting sensitive information electronically.

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• request access to your personal information;
• ask us to correct inaccurate information;
• ask us to erase information;
• restrict how information is used;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• receive certain information in a portable format; and
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You have the right to object at any time to processing based on our legitimate interests.

These rights are not absolute. They may be restricted where an exemption applies, including where necessary to protect freedom of expression, journalistic activity, confidential sources, other people's rights or legal claims.

To exercise a right, contact contact@cancelledwithoutconviction.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

This website is not directed at children under 18. A person under 18 should not submit a story or personal information without the involvement of a parent, guardian or appropriate responsible adult.

We may update this policy to reflect changes to the website, our practices or applicable law. The latest version will be published here with its effective date.