This website is operated by Open Debate Community Interest Company, which supports the activities of the Open University Debate Club, also known as OU Debate Club or OUDC.

Registered company name: Open Debate Community Interest Company
Company number: 16236970
Registered in: England and Wales
Registered office: Flat 1, 20 Handen Road, Lee, London, England, SE12 8NP
Email: oudebateclub@gmail.com

Cookies are small files that a website stores on your computer, telephone, tablet or other device.

Cookies can help a website:

• work correctly

• keep information secure

• remember choices you have made

• provide shopping or checkout functions

• understand how people use the website

Some cookies are deleted when you close your browser. These are called session cookies.

Other cookies remain on your device for a fixed period or until you delete them. These are called persistent cookies.

This policy also covers technologies that perform a similar function to cookies.

These may include:

• local storage

• session storage

• scripts and tags

• tracking pixels

• embedded content

• technologies that recognise a browser or device

We use the term cookies throughout this policy to include these similar technologies unless the context requires a distinction.

First-party cookies are set through oudebateclub.com.

Third-party cookies are set by another organisation whose service, form or content appears on our website.

Our website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace may therefore place cookies on our behalf to operate, secure and analyse the website.

Other providers may place cookies when you use an embedded form, video, payment service or other external feature.

How we use cookies

We divide the cookies used on this website into the following categories:

• necessary cookies

• preference and functional technologies

• analytics and performance cookies

• marketing cookies

Necessary cookies may be used without your consent where they are required to provide the website or a feature you have requested.

We ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies where consent is required.

Necessary cookies help the website operate securely and provide functions that you request.

They may be used to:

• display and navigate the website

• prevent security attacks

• remember your cookie choices

• test whether your browser supports cookies

• prevent redirect errors

• operate a shopping basket

• process a checkout

• show an order-status page

You cannot disable necessary cookies through our cookie settings because parts of the website may not work without them.

You can block them through your browser, although this may prevent you from using some website functions.

Squarespace may use the Crumb cookie to protect forms and other website functions against cross-site request forgery.

Cross-site request forgery is a type of attack that attempts to make a browser perform an unwanted action.

This is a session cookie and is normally deleted when the browsing session ends.

Test

Squarespace may use the Test cookie to check whether your browser supports cookies and to prevent technical errors.

This is a session cookie.

Squarespace may use the Test cookie to check whether your browser supports cookies and to prevent technical errors.

This is a session cookie.

Squarespace may use the RecentRedirect cookie where the website uses a redirect from one address to another.

It helps prevent repeated redirect loops.

It normally remains on your device for 30 minutes.

Squarespace may use ss_performancecookiesAllowed to remember whether you accepted or rejected analytics and performance cookies.

Squarespace may use ss_marketingcookiesAllowed to remember whether you accepted or rejected marketing cookies.

These preference cookies normally remain on your device for 30 days.

They are used to record and respect your choice. They do not, by themselves, measure your activity or display advertising.

Where our Squarespace shop is available, Squarespace may use CART and hasCart when you add a product to your basket.

CART records that an item has been added to the basket.

hasCart tells Squarespace that your browser has an active basket.

These cookies normally remain on your device for two weeks.

Squarespace may use CHECKOUT_WEBSITE to identify the correct website during checkout.

This is a session cookie.

Squarespace may use Commerce-checkout-state in session storage to maintain the state of a PayPal checkout. It normally lasts for the checkout session.

Squarespace may use orderStatusSessionToken to authenticate someone who signs in to view an order-status page. It may remain on the device for up to one year.

These technologies are only used when the relevant shopping, payment or order function is used.

Preference and functional technologies remember choices connected with a feature you have used.

Depending on which features are active on the website, Squarespace may use local storage to remember:

• that you dismissed an announcement

• that you dismissed a promotional message

• your video-player preferences

• another display or functional preference you selected

These technologies do not normally expire automatically. They remain until you clear your browser storage or the website removes them.

Where an announcement bar is used, squarespace-announcement-bar may remember that you dismissed it.

This prevents the same announcement from appearing repeatedly.

It is stored in local storage and is persistent.

Where a promotional pop-up is used, squarespace-popup-overlay may remember that you dismissed it.

This prevents the pop-up from appearing repeatedly.

It is stored in local storage and is persistent.

Where we upload a video directly to Squarespace, squarespace-video-player-options may remember settings such as volume, playback speed or video quality.

It is stored in local storage and is persistent.

Analytics and performance cookies help us understand how people use the website.

They may collect information about:

• the pages you visit

• how you reached the website

• the approximate time and date of a visit

• how long a browsing session lasts

• links or buttons you use

• your browser and device type

• general location information

• whether a website function works correctly

We use this information to understand demand, identify problems and improve the website.

We do not use Squarespace analytics cookies until you have consented to analytics and performance cookies.

Squarespace may use ss_cid to distinguish unique visitors and connect visits made during different sessions.

It may remain on your device for up to two years.

Squarespace may use ss_cpvisit to distinguish unique visitors and understand visits to the website.

It may remain on your device for up to two years.

Squarespace may use ss_cvr to distinguish unique visitors and connect visits made during different sessions.

It may remain on your device for up to two years.

Squarespace may use ss_cvisit to understand activity during a website visit.

It normally remains on your device for 30 minutes.

Squarespace may use ss_cvt to understand activity during a website visit.

It normally remains on your device for 30 minutes.

At the date of this policy, we do not intentionally use cookies to build advertising profiles, track people across unrelated websites or provide personalised advertising.

Squarespace may still use ss_marketingcookiesAllowed to remember the choice you made about the marketing-cookie category.

If we introduce advertising, social-media tracking or another marketing technology, we will:

• update this policy

• identify the relevant provider and purpose

• explain the cookies or technologies involved

• ask for consent before using them where consent is required

We use services such as Luma to provide event information, registration and event communications.

Where we provide a link to an external service, you leave our website when you select that link. The external provider may then place its own cookies under its own cookie and privacy policies.

A link to an external website does not mean that the provider can automatically place cookies through oudebateclub.com.

We may use Zeffy or another provider to process donations, ticket payments, purchases or fundraising activity.

The provider may use cookies or similar technologies to:

• operate its form

• process a payment

• protect against fraud

• remember transaction information

• provide a receipt

• meet legal or security requirements

Where a donation or payment service opens on another website, that provider controls the cookies used on its website.

Where a service is embedded into oudebateclub.com, we will take reasonable steps to prevent its non-essential cookies from loading before consent where this is required and technically possible.

We may use content provided by another organisation, such as a video, event listing, form or social-media feature.

Embedded content may allow the provider to receive information about:

• your internet protocol address

• your browser and device

• the page containing the content

• whether you viewed or interacted with the content

• your account with that provider, where you are signed in

We will use privacy-protective settings where they are available.

Where non-essential cookies are involved, we will seek consent before loading the relevant technology where required.

This policy applies only to cookies and similar technologies used through oudebateclub.com.

Websites that we link to have their own cookie and privacy policies. We do not control the cookies they use after you leave our website.

When you first visit the website, our cookie banner should allow you to:

• accept non-essential cookies

• reject non-essential cookies

• manage individual cookie categories

Non-essential cookies should remain disabled until you make a positive choice where prior consent is required.

Continuing to browse the website does not, by itself, mean that you have consented.

Rejecting non-essential cookies should not prevent you from reading the main website content.

You can change or withdraw your consent through the Cookie settings control on the website.

Necessary cookies will remain active because they support the website and features you request.

After you withdraw consent, we will stop using the affected non-essential technologies as soon as reasonably possible.

You may also need to delete cookies already stored on your device through your browser settings.

Withdrawing consent does not make earlier processing unlawful where valid consent applied at the time.

We may ask you to make a new cookie choice where:

• your preference cookie expires

• you clear your browser storage

• you use a different device or browser

• we add a new cookie or provider

• we change how an existing technology is used

• the law or regulatory guidance changes

We will not repeatedly ask you to reconsider a refusal without a reasonable reason.

Most browsers allow you to view, delete or block cookies.

You may be able to:

• delete all cookies

• delete cookies from a particular website

• block all cookies

• block third-party cookies

• prevent local storage

• receive a warning before a cookie is stored

The steps differ between browsers and devices. Use the help section of your browser for instructions.

Blocking all cookies may prevent shopping, forms, preferences or other website functions from working correctly.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations govern the storage of information on a device and access to information already stored on it.

We rely on an applicable legal exception where a cookie is necessary to:

• transmit a communication

• provide a website function requested by the user

• maintain security

• remember a cookie choice

• provide another exempt function permitted by law

Where no exception applies, we rely on your consent before storing or accessing information.

Where the technology also processes personal information, our UK GDPR lawful basis is normally:

• legitimate interests for essential security and website operation

• contract where the technology is necessary to provide a paid service you requested

• consent for non-essential analytics, marketing or similar processing

More information about our lawful bases appears in our Privacy Policy.

Squarespace and other infrastructure providers may still process limited technical information without analytics cookies where this is needed to:

• deliver the website

• keep it secure

• prevent abuse

• diagnose faults

• comply with legal requirements

This may include an internet protocol address, request time, browser information and security records.

We explain how long we keep website security and technical records in our Privacy Policy.

Where information collected through cookies identifies you, you may have rights under UK data protection law.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

• ask for access to your personal information

• correct inaccurate information

• ask for information to be deleted

• restrict or object to processing

• withdraw consent

• complain about how your information is used

Our Privacy Policy explains these rights and how to exercise them.

We review this policy when:

• the website changes

• we add or remove a service

• our cookies or purposes change

• Squarespace changes the technologies it uses

• the law or regulatory guidance changes

We will update the date at the top of the page when we make a change.

Where a change affects an existing consent choice, we will ask you to make a new choice where required.

For questions about this policy or how the website uses cookies, contact:

Open Debate Community Interest Company
Email: oudebateclub@gmail.com
Registered office: Flat 1, 20 Handen Road, Lee, London, England, SE12 8NP
Company number: 16236970