Français

Terms of Use

  1. Introduction

THIS CONTRACT BINDS YOU TO THESE TERMS OF USE. PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY. Welcome to the Fr+ platform (“the platform,” “the service”), managed by French for the Future(“we,” “our”), available at the following address: 904-170 Avenue Laurier W., Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5V5. The purpose of the platform is to provide Francophone content and a space for conversation and interaction in French for youth aged 14 to 17 across Canada.

By using platform Fr+, you are subjected to the platform’s guidelines. All of these terms and guidelines (“the guidelines” or “the netiquette”) are incorporated in these terms of use by reference.

The terms of use apply as soon as you sign up on the Fr+ platform. You agree that by clicking on “Sign up today!,” by registering, or by accessing the Fr+ platform, you are entering into a legal agreement between you and French for the Future concerning your use of the Fr+ platform services provided by French for the Future. You acknowledge having read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these terms of use. If you do not agree to these terms, you should not access, use, or sign up on the Fr+ platform.

We reserve the right to update these terms of use to accommodate changes to certain laws or to take account of changes made to the Fr+ platform. Any changes to the platform will be subject to these terms of use, which will themselves be subject to change from time to time. Unless otherwise indicated, your continued use of the platform following modifications constitutes an agreement with the changes. If you do not agree with the changes and modifications made to the terms of use, you must cease using the platform.

  1. Use of Fr+ by minors and individuals who are blocked

The Fr+ platform is provided exclusively to youth aged 14 to 17 inclusive. Given the target age of users, you may only use the platform under the supervision of a parent of legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these terms of use.

Access to the Fr+ platform is prohibited for already excluded users or those who have reached the age of majority.

BY REGISTERING FOR AND USING THE FR+ PLATFORM, YOU CERTIFY THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 14 YEARS OLD AND NO OLDER THAN 17 YEARS OLD, AND ATTEST THAT YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE. YOU ALSO CERTIFY THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN BANNED FROM THE FR+ PLATFORM.

  1. Privacy notice

French for the Future respects your privacy. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information on how we collect, use, and dispose of your personal information.

  1. Use of the service

Access to the Fr+ may require the use of your personal computer or mobile device, as well as communication or space on those devices. You are responsible for any Internet connection fees or mobile phone charges you incur when accessing the Fr+ service.

  1. Your account

When you open an account, we will ask you to provide information such as a username and a password.

You are solely responsible for keeping your username and password confidential and to monitor access to your computer. If you authorize other people to use your account login information, you agree to the current terms of use on behalf of all other persons who use the service with your account or your password, and you are responsible for all activities that occur with your account or your password. When you register and at any other time, you certify that the information you provide to French for the Future remains true, accurate, current and complete, to your knowledge.

You agree to contact us immediately at frplus@français-avenir.org if you believe that your identifier data has been compromised, or if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. You agree that we are not responsible for any losses or damages that result from unauthorized use of your personal data. We recommend that you choose a password that is difficult to guess and is used solely for this account.

  1. Licence/intellectual property/trademark

The Fr+ service is owned by French for the Future, which manages the platform. Unless otherwise indicated, all content, information and other elements on the Fr+ platform (excluding user content as defined in section 7), including but not limited to, Fr+ trademarks and logos, visual interfaces, graphics, design, compilation, information, services, text, images, data, files and their selection and disposal (collectively “the elements”) are protected by relevant intellectual property rights. All elements are the property of French for the Future. Unless expressly provided otherwise in writing by French for the Future, by accepting these Terms of Use, you are granted a limited and non-transferrable licence (a limited personal right) to access the Fr+ platform for your personal use.

  1. Your content

Fr+ allows you to create and publish text, images, and comments on its service. Anything you post is yours and you certify that the content is original, that you own the rights, and that you can provide it without French for the Future incurring litigation for publishing your content. French for the Future and Fr+ are not liable for unauthorized copying and distribution of your content.

You are responsible for your content. You must ensure that it does not infringe the rights of others (including copyright, privacy rights, or image rights, that it is not defamatory and contains no malware).

By uploading, distributing, transmitting, or using your content in any other way on the Fr+ platform, you give us a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, transferrable, and royalty-free licence to use, host, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative products, distribute and display your content in connection with our operations and service delivery. By using the Fr+ platform, you agree to the non-exclusivity of your disseminated content. This intellectual property licence will terminate once your content or your account with Fr+ is removed.

Because you are a minor using our service, Fr+ and French for the Future will not use any photos or images showing your face without asking for your permission and asking you to fill out an image release waiver form that is signed by you and your parent or legal guardian.

Security measures aimed at protecting user content used by Fr+ are provided and used “as is” and without warranties, conditions, assurances, or provisions stating that the security measures will withstand attempts to evade the security mechanisms or that there will be no breaches, failures or other circumventions of these security measures.

  1. Prohibited behaviour

You agree not to infringe any laws or contracts, or the intellectual property rights of any other person and not to commit any offences. You are solely responsible for your behaviour on the Fr+ platform.

You agree to comply with these Terms of Use and the codes of conduct outlined in the Netiquette document and not to:

  • create, upload, or transmit any objectionable content, as described in our Netiquette guide;
  • steal the identity of any other person or entity, falsely claim affiliation with a person or entity, or access others’ accounts on the Fr+ service without authorization, denature the source, identity, or the content of information transmitted on the Fr+ platform or perform any similar fraudulent activity;
  • collect or harvest email addresses or other contact information from other users of the Fr+ platform;
  • defame, harass, threaten, mock, intimidate, abuse, or defraud users of the Fr+ service, harvest or attempt to harvest personal information on users without their consent;
  • remove, circumvent, deactivate, damage, or interfere in any way with functions that impose limits on the use of the Fr+ platform or on user content, or remove notices of copyright or other property rights on the Fr+ service or user content;
  • interfere with or damage the operation of the Fr+ platform or the enjoyment that any users derive from it, by any means whatever, including the uploading or dissemination of viruses, adware, spyware, worms, or other malicious code;
  • use robots, spiders, crawlers, scrapers, scripts, browser extensions, offline readers, or other unauthorized automated interfaces to circumvent any measures implanted in the Fr+ platform or otherwise access the platform, scrape the content, extract data, or otherwise interfere with or modify the content of platform pages or functions;
  • manipulate usernames to conceal the origin of any new user content transmitted on the Fr+ platform.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Fr+ platform; use the Fr+ platform in a way that could interfere with, adversely affect or prevent other users from receiving the full benefit of the Fr+ service, or that could damage, deactivate, overload, or alter the functioning of the Fr+ platform in any way;
  • Use, or attempt to use, the account of another user without the authorization of that user and of Fr+;
  • attempt to circumvent the content filtering technologies that we use, or attempt to access any service that you are not authorized to access;
  • promote any product or service for any purpose;
  • use the Fr+ for illegal purposes or in violation of any local, provincial, national, or international laws or regulations, including but not limited to, laws governing intellectual property rights and other property rights, data protection and privacy.
  • use support or complaint measures in an abusive way to submit false reports.

These regulations are not exhaustive, and we reserve the right to determine what behaviour we consider to be a violation of the terms of use or an abusive use of the Fr+ service, and to impose penalties, including closing your account and prohibiting access to the platform.

We encourage you to report content or behaviour that you consider to be a violation of these terms to frplus@francais-avenir.org.

  1. Copyright compliance

Copyright violation notice

If you are a copyright holder or represent a copyright holder and all the content available on the Fr+ platform constitutes a violation of that copyright, you can send a notice of copyright violation under the Copyright Act of Canada by providing the following information in writing:

  • electronic or physical signature of the copyright holder or the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright holder;
  • description of the work that is protected by the copyright that you believe has been violated;
  • description of where the content you believe was violated is located on the Fr+ platform, with sufficient detail so that we can find it;
  • your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • your declaration stating that you believe in good faith that the contested use was not authorized by the copyright holder, their agent or the law; and
  • your declaration, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright holder or are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright holder.

Please consult your legal advisor for further details or refer to sections 41.25 and of the Copyright Act of Canada. The French for the Future agent in charge of notices of claims of copyright violation can be reached as follows:

  • By mail: Le français pour l'avenir - French for the Future, 904-170 Avenue Laurier W., Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5V5
  • By email: frplus@français-avenir.org

Fr+ and French for the Future respect others’ intellectual property rights and we ask that our users do the same. We will delete any material from the Fr+ platform that contravenes this policy and we reserve the right to delete the associated user account. If you believe that a publication infringes your copyright, you can notify us at frplus@francais-avenir.org. If your complaint is intentionally false, you may be subject to damages on our part.

If we remove your content in response to a copyright complaint, we will notify you through the email you registered with. If you believe that your content was wrongly removed, you can also notify us by email at frplus@français-avenir.org.

  1. Third-party content

The Fr+ platform may contain one or more links to third-party websites. Linked sites are not moderated by French for the Future, and French for the Future is not liable for the content or policies of any linked sites. French for the Future and its Fr+ platform provide external links for information purposes only, and a link does not imply approval, sponsorship, or affiliation with the site in question.

  1. Submitting ideas

Any ideas, suggestions, and feedback that you submit to the Fr+ platform are voluntary and you agree that Fr+ may use the ideas, suggestions, or feedback without compensation, remuneration, or obligation on our part to give you credit.

  1. Modification of these Terms of Use

We reserve the right to change the terms of use without notice. Continued use of our service constitutes tacit agreement with our terms.

  1. Limitation of liability

FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE PLATFORM AND TO GIVE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL OUR USERS. HOWEVER, THE PLATFORM IS MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU BY FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE AND ITS PARTNERS, AFFILIATES, CONSULTANTS, SUPPLIERS, AND PROVIDERS “AS IS” AND YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE AND ITS PARTNERS, AFFILIATED COMPANIES, CONSULTANTS, SUPPLIERS, AND PROVIDERS DO NOT PROVIDE, WARRANT, OR REPRESENT, IN ANY WAY, THE FUNCTIONING OF THE PLATFORM, ITS CONTENT OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE PLATFORM. IN ADDITION, FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE AND ITS PARTNERS, AFFILIATED COMPANIES, CONSULTANTS, SUPPLIERS, AND PROVIDERS DISCLAIM ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF QUALITY, OWNERSHIP, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE DOES NOT WARRANT AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME OR AT ANY PARTICULAR SITE, THAT IT IS SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE PLATFORM IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER POTENTIALLY HARMFUL ELEMENTS. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONFIGURING YOUR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND DEVICES TO ACCESS OUR PLATFORM. YOU SHOULD USE YOUR OWN VIRUS PROTECTION SOFTWARE. FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT OF THE PLATFORM OR THE CONTENT OF ANY SITE LINKED TO THE PLATFORM, AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL BE LIABLE FOR (A) ANY ERRORS, MISTAKES, INACCURACIES, OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT (B) ANY MATERIAL DAMAGE OR BODILY INJURY OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO THE PLATFORM AND ITS USE, (C) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE PLATFORM AND/OR ANY PERSONAL OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT (D) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION ON THE PLATFORM, (E) ANY BUG, VIRUS, ERROR, TROJAN HORSE, OR SIMILAR THREATS THAT COULD BE TRANSMITTED BY THE PLATFORM OR THROUGH A THIRD-PARTY SITE, AND/OR (F) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM THE USE OF ANY CONTENT THAT IS PUBLISHED, EMAILED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE PLATFORM. ANY DOCUMENT OR CONTENT THAT IS DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE PLATFORM IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND AT YOUR OWN RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM/DEVICE OR ANY LOSS OF DATA RESULTING FROM THE DOWNLOADING OF SAID DOCUMENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE OR THROUGH THE PLATFORM WILL CREATE A WARRANTY THAT IS NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS OF USE.

Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, French for the Future and its partners, affiliates, consultants, suppliers, and providers, as well as their respective directors, administrators, employees, agents, subcontractors, and representatives, shall not be liable to you or to a third party for any direct or indirect, special, accessory, or punitive damage, injury, loss, or claim, even if they were aware of that possibility, including but not limited to, any damage or loss of use, data, income, or profits arising directly or indirectly from or related to: (a) access to your account by you or any other person, or the inability to access it, or any activity carried out from it; (b) your access to or use of the platform or any service or tool available on the platform and any inability to access or use it; (c) your subscription, your purchase, your location, or your use of the products or services provided by French for the Future through the platform; (d) the content of the platform; (e) any error, inaccuracy, or omission contained in the platform, in the content of the platform, or in the services, links, or any other information from third parties; or (f) any non-performance, error, omission, interruption, communication failure, performance or transmission delay, failure, theft, virus, destruction, access, or unauthorized use, or any modification or closure of the platform. Under no circumstances shall French for the Future be liable to you or anyone else for any loss or damage to your systems, computers, devices or other equipment, or to any data contained in them, and expressly disclaims any liability in that respect. We cannot control or direct what people do or say, and we are not liable for their actions or behaviour (online or offline) or for the content they share (whether it is offensive, inappropriate, obscene, illegal or otherwise objectionable). You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users of the platform. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to monitor differences between you and other users, unless otherwise provided for by law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, French for the Future shall not be liable for any claims, damages, or other losses arising from any disputes among users. You agree that your sole and exclusive remedy against French for the Future under these Terms of Use consists of ceasing to use the platform.

We cannot predict when problems may arise with our platform. Consequently, our liability shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and we shall in no circumstances be liable to you for loss of profits, income, information, or data, or for accessory, special, indirect, exemplary, punitive, or incidental damages arising from these terms or the products of French for the Future, or in connection with them, even if we were informed of the possibility of such damages.

You acknowledge and agree that French for the Future shall not be liable and provides no warranty as to the accuracy, currency, completeness, security, or legality of third-party resources. The inclusion of links to such third-party resources in no way implies that French for the Future endorses, approves of, guarantees, or warrants the information and content that is disseminated by or representations made by those resources, or that French for the Future is associated with them or is legally authorized to use them.

You acknowledge and agree that you are fully responsible and assume all the risks in accessing and using third-party resources (including any transactions made with them). You may be subject to the terms, conditions, and policies of use of these third parties when you access and use third-party resources and these Terms of Use may no longer apply. Please read the terms, conditions, and policies of these third parties carefully.

APPLICABLE LAW. Any disputes, differences, or contentions shall be resolved, governed by, and construed, for all purposes, in accordance with the laws of the province of Ontario and federal laws of Canada, notwithstanding the conflict-of-law rules of each of the parties’ jurisdictions. Subject to the previously stated mandatory provisions concerning adjudication, the parties attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Quebec, Montreal district, with respect to any issues related hereto.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION. Unless otherwise agreed between you and French for the Future, all disputes arising from, or in relation to the platform, the privacy policy, and the terms of use must be referred to mandatory arbitration under the auspices of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”) and commence with a notice of arbitration served in accordance with the JAMS rules in force (“the Rules”). The arbitration will take place in Ottawa, Ontario, and will be referred to an arbitrator who is mutually chosen by the parties. If within ten (10) working days after the issuance of a notice of arbitration, the parties have not agreed on an arbitrator who is available and willing to serve, and is not otherwise disqualified, the arbitrator will be selected in accordance with the Rules. If arbitration is instituted with respect to this contract and/or is the subject hereof, the successful party shall be awarded its arbitration costs, including, without limitation, the reasonable legal fees of external counsel.

Compensation

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless French for the Future, its subsidiaries, associated entities, suppliers, and its licensors, and their respective directors, administrators, employees, agents, subcontractors, and representatives, in case of claims, recourse, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including, but not limited to, legal fees for counsel and legal costs) arising from or related in any way to: (a) your failure to comply with these Terms of Use or any other conditions, where applicable; (b) any access by you or any other person to your user account, and any activity carried out on that account; (c) your user content; (d) your violation of any of French for the Future intellectual property rights; or (e) your violation of the law or of third-party rights.

We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defence and control of any compensable claims, and you agree to assist us and cooperate with us, at our request, in defending or attempting to settle the claim out of court.

CURRENT LEGISLATION OR REGULATIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. CONSEQUENTLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY IN YOUR CASE. THE PRECEDING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY WILL APPLY TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY EXISTING LEGISLATION. NONE OF THE PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS OF USE EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY FOR LOSSES THAT CANNOT LEGALLY BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED BY EXISTING LEGISLATION. IF YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM RESULTS IN THE NEED TO MAINTAIN OR REPLACE EQUIPMENT OR DATA, FRENCH FOR THE FUTURE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THOSE COSTS.

  1. Termination

Fr+ reserves the right to terminate your account and to block the platform is we believe that you are using your account in a fraudulent manner or violating the terms of use, or if we can no longer provide the service for legitimate reasons.

  1. Unsubscribing and end of access to Fr+ (majority)

You may unsubscribe at any time and cease using the Fr+ platform. If you wish to unsubscribe, contact us at frplus@francais-avenir.org with “unsubscribe” in the subject line and we will remove your account.

If you cease using Fr+ without deleting your account, we may deactivate your account due to prolonged inactivity. We may also suspend or ban your account and your ability to access the platform at any time, for any reason, including violation of the terms of use. Your account will be automatically blocked as soon as you reach the age of majority, because the Fr+ platform is reserved for youth aged 14 to 17.

If you unsubscribe or if your access to the platform is terminated, your content will be automatically removed from the platform and will no longer be accessible by other users.