Terms and conditions

Your privacy and the Internet

The nature of the Internet is such that web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor's Internet protocol address. Internet protocol addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers to all devices used to access the Internet. web servers automatically log the Internet protocol addresses of visitors to their sites. The Internet protocol address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the cooperation of an Internet Service Provider, for example, the Internet protocol address could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers the Internet protocol address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when visitors request a web page. Automatically collected data includes the page or pages visited and the date and time of the visit.

Unless otherwise noted, the RCMP does not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, telephone number, or email address. We will only obtain this type of information if you supplied it to us. In such cases, a description of how your personal information is handled will be provided in a Personal Information Collection Statement.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the Government of Canada, such as social media platforms or mobile applications, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses may be recorded by the web server of the third-party service provider.

Communicating with the RCMP

If you choose to send the RCMP an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by the RCMP in order to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. The RCMP does not use the information to create individual profiles, nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with the RCMP are not secure unless specifically stated on a web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you not send sensitive personal information, such as your social insurance number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to the Privacy Act. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation, and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914).

Third-party social media

The RCMP's use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the web. Social media accounts are public and are not hosted on RCMP servers. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications they use to access them. The RCMP uses X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities.

Content and frequency

We use our social media accounts as an additional method of sharing the content posted on our website. These accounts ease access to information and services and provide a platform for stakeholders to interact with us.

We understand that the web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted seven days a week. Our regular business hours are between 8 am and 5 pm (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends are read and responded to as soon as possible during regular business hours.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third-party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to other websites and ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The RCMP is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Follow, favourite and subscribe

Our decision to "follow", "like/favourite", "share", or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page, or site, and neither does sharing (re-posting or linking to) content from another user or account.

Comments and interaction

We review comments and respond when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

By submitting a comment on this site, you, as the user, agree to indemnify and hold harmless His Majesty the King in right of Canada, including the RCMP, against any liability and any and all third-party claims, demands, actions, or costs (including legal costs on a solicitor-client basis) arising from its publication, including but not limited to breach of confidentiality or copyright, libel, or any obscene, defamatory, blasphemous, or other actionable statement you may make.

We do not engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of this notice.

We reserve the right to edit or remove comments that:

• contain personal information
• are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• express racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting, or life-threatening messages
• promote discrimination on the grounds of religion, nationality, and disability
• put forward serious, unproven, or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations
• are aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene, or pornographic
• are offensive, rude, or abusive to an individual or an organization
• are not sent by the author
• are put forward for advertising purposes
• encourage illegal activity
• contain announcements from labour or political organizations
• are written in a language other than Canada's official languages of English or French
• are unintelligible or irrelevant
• are repetitive or spam
• do not, in our opinion, add to the normal flow of the discussion

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views expressed by users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of the RCMP or the Government of Canada.

Accessibility of social media platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by Government of Canada standards for web accessibility.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not RCMP websites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers. For more information, please refer to the privacy notice regarding third-party social media.

Official languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your preferences. The RCMP respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information is available in both French and English and that both versions are of equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of interest to the general public, we may respond in both official languages.

We may provide users with links to websites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act . This means some content may only be available in the language(s) in which they are written. When possible, we will provide similar content in the other official language.

Digital markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitor's browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for the web server to reference during the same or subsequent visit to the website. Examples of digital markers are "cookies" or HTML5 web storage. Here are some examples of what digital markers can do:

• they allow a website to recognize a previous visit each time the visitor accesses the site
• they track what information is viewed on a site, which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for

The RCMP uses persistent digital markers on some portions of its website. During your online visit, your browser exchanges data with the RCMP's web server. The digital markers used do not allow the RCMP to identify individuals.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies, if you so choose. However, it may affect your ability to interact with the RCMP's website.

Web analytics

Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement, and reporting of data about web traffic and visits for the purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage. Information in digital markers may be used for the purpose of web analytics to remember your online interactions with the RCMP's website.

The RCMP uses web analytics to improve its website. When your computer requests one of our web pages, we collect the following types of information for web analytics purposes:

• the originating IP address
• the date and time of the request
• the type of browser used
• the page(s) visited

The RCMP uses Google Analytics, and the information collected is disclosed to Google, an external third party service provider. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider's servers in order to help safeguard your privacy. The information collected is depersonalized by removing the final octet of your IP address before analysis of the data occurs.

Data collected for web analytics purposes goes outside of Canada, to the United States of America, and may be subject to the governing legislation of that country, such as the USA Patriot Act.

The RCMP also uses Adobe Analytics to monitor our website and provide usage analytics. Personal information collected with the Adobe Analytics software in support of web analytics may be held by the RCMP for up to 18 months, then all personal identifiers will be removed from the data and only anonymous information will be retained, in accordance with the Policy on Privacy Protection and authorized by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. The information is not disclosed to an external third-party service provider.

Protecting the security of RCMP websites

The RCMP employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the IP address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit, and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identities of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

This information is collected pursuant to the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security-related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning, and reporting, as described in Personal Information Bank PSU 939 (Security Incidents).

Inquiring about the RCMP's privacy practices

Any questions, comments, concerns, or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies regarding the RCMP's web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376.

Non-commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:

• exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced
• indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced as well as the author (where available)
• indicate that the reproduction is a copy of the version available at [Uniform Resource Locator (URL) where the original document is available]

Commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from the RCMP.

To obtain permission to reproduce any content owned by the RCMP available on this site for commercial purposes, please contact:

RCMP National Headquarters
National Communication Services
Headquarters Building
73 Leikin Drive
Ottawa ON  K1A 0R2

Email: rcmp.copyright-droitdauteur.grc@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by the Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s).

Copyright

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Trademark notice

The official symbols of the RCMP and the Government of Canada, including the badge of the RCMP, the Canada Wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol, may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

Our commitment to accessibility

The RCMP is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility as defined in the Standard on Web Accessibility and the Standard on Optimizing Websites and Applications for Mobile Devices.

In the event of difficulty using our website or applications, please contact us for assistance. We can provide alternative formats such as regular print, Braille, or another appropriate formats.

Questions and media requests

For media inquiries, please contact the media relations office.