Effective date: 24th September 2020
Unless defined differently in this Ethics Statement, the terms and definitions of each party in this Ethics Statement have the same meanings as defined in our Terms & Conditions.
This statement details our commitment to objectivity, our beliefs, our responsibilities, and the overall approach we take to create our content.
Objectivity
- Our goal is to develop and create objective content with the goal of helping users enact positive change in relation to privacy and security.
- We are not paid, monetary or other benefit, to have certain opinions or positions. Any affiliate marketing or relationships with other parties will be clearly disclosed at the start of any relevant content. Reference to any company, its products or services, employees or suppliers is done so objectively.
- We seek to write content which is factual and accurate which we strive to research against reputable sources. However, there may be times we get it wrong, in which case we will make the appropriate correction/s as soon as possible once identified, and inform users via a post on our Website and reference to it within the next Newsletter.
- Professionalism is important to us and correct spelling and grammar is a natural means to showcase our devotion to writing professional content. However sometimes we may spell words incorrectly or use incorrect grammar, we will always strive to correct such instances as soon as possible once identified. Please note we write in Australian English and some words are spelt (or spelled) differently between Australian, UK, and US English.
- Any misrepresentation, errors, or mistakes we make in our reporting or content may occur from time to time given the nature of what we do and should be treated using Hanlon’s Razor. We will make the appropriate correction/s as soon as possible once identified, and inform users via a post on our Website and reference to it within the next Newsletter.
Apolitical position
- Privacy Rightfully is and will remain an apolitical company. We believe organisations which engage publicly on political (or other divisive issues) risk alienating half of their audience. We know our audience comes from all parts of the political spectrum and we respect that. We have a very specific area of interest which we’re focused on and those who share that interest with us are the audience we wish to engage with rather those with a particular political leaning.
- There will be times where our writing will support or criticise politicians or political parties when it comes to their support or opposition to bills or policies which we feel impede on ordinary citizens being able to maintain a reasonable amount of privacy. This support or criticism does not extend to endorsing or disendorsing the politician or party at hand but rather the bill or policy itself. We are neither a right wing nor a left-wing company.
Philosophies & activism
- Naturally our writing may align with the views of libertarian groups, free speech activists, free market proponents, groups fighting mass government surveillance, and other groups with similar philosophies. Any alignment on a certain issue (or issues) however does not imply full support or full opposition to the group, its values, its members, its methods of activism, or other positions of that entity.
- Our philosophy is to help everyday people make privacy and security positive changes through our educational resources, our goal is not to be an activist or advocacy group. In short, we focus on playing the hand we’re all dealt with regarding privacy and security rather than focusing on the powers that be which deal those hands.
Social Justice & Social Issues
- At Privacy Rightfully we recognise the good that can come from companies lending their voice social justice issues but we feel there is potentially a disingenuous side to this practise as well. As such we’ve elected to avoid making public statements regarding topical social justice issues. We believe people don’t need companies to help set their moral compass, naturally we believe in people before institutions.
- We are a values driven organisation and we value privacy and security which is incompatible with having a loud voice on social media. We will only comment on social issues relating to privacy, security, and similar topics which we consider within our area of expertise to comment on. A lack of comment or public statement on social issues therefore is not indicative of any position in support, in indifference, or in opposition.
Other companies
- There will be times we will support or criticise the privacy policies, practises, or beliefs of certain companies. This support or criticism does not extend to endorsing or disendorsing the company itself, its reputation, the products or services they offer, or their employees. For example, our criticism of a company making pens which has its data compromised due to poor data storage practises does not imply their pens are of poor quality or that the company should be boycotted.
- As per point 2 under Objectivity above, in the event a third party operating in the privacy or security space gifts us any benefit this will be disclosed at the start of the first piece of relevant content to follow. For clarity, some hypothetical examples are:
- Disclosed: A company gives us a free trial or gift of their new hardware or software, and we write about it.
- Disclosed: A privacy event (expo, conference, etc) pays for our flights to attend the event and we write about it.
- Disclosed: An employee of a privacy or security company invites us to dinner which they pay for. We will disclose this if we write about the person or company in the next instance.
- Not Disclosed: If we get a flight upgrade, awarded by the airline, for travel to a privacy / security meeting or event which we write about.
- Not Disclosed: Anything we pay for ourselves in the privacy and security space including travel, products, services, hardware, software, meetings with employees or representatives, etc.
- Fundamentally we believe if you receive a benefit such as a free product or service, paid travel or accommodation, paid food or entertainment, it must be disclosed. We don’t want to feel indebted to write a favourable piece of content and undermine our objectivity. Our strong preference will always be to pay our own way, however if we are being engaged or invited any benefits that come with that will be disclosed at the start of the first piece of relevant content to follow.
- Finally, we cannot disclose if any Privacy Rightfully employees have a personal share portfolio with substantial investments in companies we may write about. This is because we cannot ask our employees about personal financial matters and they don’t have to disclose them to us if we did ask. However, all content is edited and proofread by at least two parties to ensure individual authors don’t portray any companies in an unfairly positive light.
Contact
If you have any questions about this Disclaimer or any dealings with the Website and/or Newsletter, please email us directly at: info@privacyrightfully.com or through our webform in the first instance. Our mailing address is listed below.
Privacy Rightfully
PO Box 1310
Park Ridge, QLD, 4125
Australia
