Privacy & Cookies
TEMPLATE — REPLACE BEFORE LAUNCH. This page is a working draft, not legal advice. Fill in the bracketed details and have it checked before you serve advertising or collect email addresses at scale.
Who we are
The Counterweight is published by [YOUR NAME / TRADING NAME], [ADDRESS]. For anything on this page, including data requests, contact editor@thecounterweight.uk. We are the data controller for information collected through this site.
What we collect
- Account details. If you register to comment, we store your email address and display name. Comments you post are public.
- Email list. If you subscribe, we store your email address so we can send you new articles. You can unsubscribe at any time.
- Advertising and analytics. If you accept cookies, Google and its advertising partners may set cookies to serve and measure advertising, which can include personalised ads based on your browsing. If you decline, these do not load.
Legal basis
We rely on your consent for advertising cookies and for marketing email, and on legitimate interests for operating member accounts and moderating discussion. You can withdraw consent at any time by clearing this site’s data in your browser or contacting us.
Who we share it with
Our hosting and database providers ([HOSTING PROVIDER], [DATABASE PROVIDER]) process data on our behalf. If advertising is enabled, Google Ireland Limited acts as an independent controller for advertising data; see Google’s own privacy policy for what they collect. We do not sell your data.
How long we keep it
Account and comment data for as long as your account is open, then [PERIOD] after closure. Email addresses until you unsubscribe. [CONFIRM RETENTION PERIODS.]
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask us for a copy of your data, ask us to correct or delete it, object to processing, or withdraw consent. Write to editor@thecounterweight.uk and we will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with our response you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Corrections and complaints
We publish criticism of public institutions and we would rather be corrected than wrong. If you believe something we have published is factually inaccurate, write to editor@thecounterweight.uk setting out what is wrong and we will investigate and, where warranted, correct it prominently.