Terms & conditions
Terms of Use - the Gist
We, Southwark Council provide a service called the “engagement hub” ("the Service") and would love for you to use it. The technology behind the Service and its operation is provided by Go Vocal. You can use the Service let us know your thoughts, ideas or opinions. However, be responsible in what you contribute. In particular, make sure that none of the prohibited items listed below are included in any contributions you make to the Service or get linked to from the Service (things like spam, viruses, or hate content).
If you find any content that you believe violates these Terms of Use, please contact us at support@govocal.com or community.engagement@southwark.gov.uk.
Because Go Vocal and Southwark appreciate the feedback of the service users, we welcome your ideas to further improve the service and you can forward your suggestions to support@govocal.com or community.engagement@southwark.gov.uk.
Terms of Use - the Detail
Please read these Terms of Use carefully before accessing or using the Service. By accessing or using any part of the Service, you agree to become bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, then do not access or use the Service. The Service is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.
Who can use the online engagement platform?
Anyone who wants to. You can read our information, follow the debate online, read the ideas and reactions people have posted, and take part in most of our activities. However, some activities will require you to register so we can moderate contributions and sometimes projects will be for particular groups of people only, which will also require registration.
You can register as a participant via your e-mail address or create an account by simply linking it to your Facebook or Google profile.
If you choose to register, the creation of an account does not give you ownership over the account. Go Vocal and Southwark Council reserve the right to refuse, suspend or delete accounts, for example if the user does not comply with the following rules or has previously been denied or removed from an account.
The rules:
Every account is strictly personal, this means it is unique and linked to a natural person. Each account must comply with the following rules:
Every person has the right to create one account. If it is determined that one person has multiple accounts, Go Vocal and Southwark Council reserves the right to delete all these accounts.
Every user must be at least the age of 13 years.
An account cannot be transferred to someone else.
An account cannot be used for commercial purposes.
The account information must always remain confidential.
Only the person who created the account, can use it. The person who creates the account must ensure that (s)he keeps the password and login details private.
Go Vocal and Southwark Council cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred to the account if the above conditions are not met by the account holder.
Go Vocal and Southwark Council cannot be held responsible for theft of your account, for example by 'phishing'.
Go Vocal or Southwark Council will never ask its users for personal data such as a login or password via e-mail. If personal data is requested, the user will always be redirected to the platform.
Responsibility for Contributions.
If you place comments or ideas on the Service, post material to the Service, post links on the Service, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Service (any such material, "Content"), you are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:
By submitting Content to the Service, you grant us and the operator of the Service (Go Vocal ) a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting the Service. If you delete Content, we will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Service, but you acknowledge that caching or other references to the Content, Content may not be made immediately unavailable.
If you submit ideas or suggestions, we will be free to use them and any similar ideas or suggestions, without any [credit or] recompense to you. [However, we may give you credit for the suggestion/idea.]
Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, we have the right (though not the obligation) to, in our sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any Content that, in our reasonable opinion, violates any of our or Go Vocal’s policies or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Services to any individual or entity for any reason, in our sole discretion
The downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;
If your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
You have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through any required terms to anyone else who accesses the Content;
Responsibility of Service Visitors.
We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to the Service, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material's content, use or effects. By operating the Service, we do not represent or imply that we endorse the material there posted, or that we believe such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. Despite our efforts, the Service may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Service may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. We and Go Vocal disclaim any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Service, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.
Content Posted on Other Websites.
We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which the Service links, and that link to the Service. We do not have any control over those third party websites and webpages, and we are not responsible for their contents or their use. 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 this user.
Limitations to content and use of the platform
To ensure that the Go Vocal platform is working properly and that you can communicate and connect with others, there are some restrictions on the type of content that can be published via the platform:
Offensive behaviour
We firmly believe in freedom of speech. However, in order to ensure that the platform can be used in a constructive way by the users, with respect for different opinions and without people having to be afraid to express their opinions or convictions, we do not allow offensive behaviour that harasses, intimidates or uses fear to silence another user.
We will temporarily block or permanently delete accounts, which do any of the following:
Make violent threats (direct or indirect): You may not threaten or promote violence, including the promotion of terrorism.
Harass others: You may not incite to or be involved in deliberately insulting or harassing others.
Promote hatred: You may not promote violence against other people or directly attack or threaten them based on race, ethnic background, nationality, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, religion or belief, age, disability or illness, pregnancy or maternity or socio economic status. We also do not allow accounts whose main purpose is to incite others to do harm based on these categories.
Misuse private data: you may not publish or post confidential data and private information of others without their express authorization and consent. These data include, for example, credit card numbers, address details, telephone numbers or data that constitute the personal privacy of a person.
Spam
We strive at all times to protect the Go Vocal platform user from technical abuse and spam. Accounts where the following occurs can be temporarily blocked or permanently deleted:
Posting malicious content such as malware, phishing, viruses, worms, trojans or links to such content for the purpose of damaging or disrupting someone else's browsers or computers, or of violating someone's privacy.
You cannot use the Go Vocal platform to spam people.
Infringement of applicable laws
The use of the account may not in any way infringe applicable laws. This includes infringements against privacy legislation, intellectual property rights, the criminal code, etc.
The account may not be used in any way to promote illegal activities.
In case of breaches of the aforementioned rules
Go Vocal and Southwark Council reserves the right, if these rules are breached to delete the relevant messages and suspend or permanently delete user accounts.
Go Vocal and Southwark Council cannot be held liable in any way for messages posted by users or third parties, which violate the above rules. The web administrator will strictly supervise that these rules are not violated. If you detect an infringement, one can always report this to the following e-mail address: support@govocal.com. or community.engagement@southwark.gov.uk
Intellectual property rights
Go Vocal and Southwark Council respect the intellectual property rights of others and expects that users of this platform also respect these rights. We reserve the right to remove content that infringes intellectual property rights. Repeated infringements of intellectual property rights of any kind by a user will give rise to the suspension or removal of the account. Infringements against intellectual property rights can be reported via the following e-mail address: support@govocal.com
Property rights Go Vocal
Go Vocal's platform is protected by intellectual property rights that relate to content, source code, database, etc. The use of this platform in no way means a transfer of these intellectual rights to the users of the platform. Every user must be aware of these rights and must act accordingly.