The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) maintains its social media accounts (including but not limited to LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram) as a public service for information purposes only.
These Terms of Use apply to you when you access or use the OEB’s social media accounts. By accessing or using the OEB’s social media accounts, you agree that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms of Use. The OEB may amend these Terms of Use at any time and without notice. Please check this website regularly for any changes. If you continue to access our social media accounts following a change to these Terms of Use, you will be deemed to have accepted the changes.
The OEB’s social media accounts are also subject to the terms and conditions or guidelines stipulated by the operator of the social media sites. By accessing or using our social media accounts, you agree to comply with the applicable operator’s terms and conditions or guidelines. We recommend that you review the Terms of Service/Use that may be provided on the social media platform provider’s accounts or websites. We also recommend that you review the privacy policy or privacy statement that may be provided on those social media platform provider’s accounts or websites.
General
Social media accounts will be monitored during normal business hours, unless otherwise specified. During this time we will try to respond to your questions.
Although we will work hard to help you, we can’t guarantee that we will understand your question completely or answer it accurately. By contacting us through a social media account, you acknowledge that any response we provide to you through the same account:
- is intended to provide helpful information or resources;
- is not considered to be definitive advice; and
- is not guaranteed to solve your issue.
Depending on the volume of posts received, we cannot commit to responding to everyone.
For any matter that is confidential, is about a specific complaint, or is too complicated for posting to a social media account, please contact us through any of the methods listed on our website.
Information posted on our social media accounts (including answers to questions) is for informational or educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial or legal advice and it should not be considered the authoritative source of new OEB policy or guidance. Official policy, guidance, and decisions can be found on the OEB’s website.
Your Content
Any content, views, opinions, responses to questions or other information which you upload or otherwise post to the OEB’s social media accounts will be available to the public. Other participants may use your posted information. If you do not wish to have any of the information you have uploaded or otherwise posted to be used, published, copied and/or reprinted by the OEB or any other person, please do not post such information.
All posts or comments by third party commenters or users on an OEB social media account are considered to be part of a public record as defined by section 37 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This includes any information attached or included in a post. Please be advised that the privacy provisions of Part III of that Act would not apply to any information you post.
Commenting Policy—Rules and Conditions
While the OEB welcomes user participation and engagement with content on its social media accounts that relates to the OEB or the subject being discussed, the OEB reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to hide or remove posts from third party commenters or users that do not comply with these Terms of Use, in particular the rules set out below.
Rules
- Do not post your own personal information;
- Do not post or solicit the personal information of another individual;
- Do not include confidential information in your posts;
- Do not post false or misleading information;
- Do not include offensive, hateful, discriminatory, defamatory, or obscene content or language in your post;
- Do not post anything that contains abusive, harassing, or threatening language or images;
- Do not impersonate some else or falsely claim to represent a person or organization; and
- Stay on topic and be respectful of other users of the social media accounts.
The OEB may also, at its sole discretion, hide or remove posts from third party commenters or users that:
- are unintelligible;
- are repetitive;
- include junk mail or spam;
- are put forward for advertising or solicitation of business purposes;
- infringe on third party intellectual property or proprietary rights;
- are contrary to any federal or provincial laws;
- promote illegal activity or conduct;
- are inconsistent with the purpose of the social media account;
- are rude in tone; or
- are written in a language other than Canada’s official languages.
The OEB reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict or block third party commenters or users from posting, commenting, or otherwise participating or engaging in or on the OEB’s social media accounts for violations of these Terms of Use.
We may also notify the social media service provider of your violation. If we suffer costs or damages as a result of your violating these Terms of Use, we expect you to cover our costs and damages.
Anything posted by third party commenters or users on the OEB’s social media accounts are solely the views, opinions and responsibility of the person submitting them and are not endorsed or approved by the OEB. The OEB is not responsible for content that third parties publish, post, upload, distribute, disseminate or otherwise transmit via any of the OEB’s social media accounts. The OEB also does not endorse or approve any events or other activities posted by a third-party commenter or user on the OEB’s social media accounts.
We will cooperate with law enforcement officials and comply with any court order with respect to any claim or investigation due to any content posted on our social media accounts. We will provide such content and information regarding your identity as well as other relevant information as required by law.
Links to Other Social Media Accounts and Websites
The OEB’s social media accounts may contain links to other websites or social media accounts that are created by other individuals or organizations.
Those individuals or organizations are solely responsible for the operation and information found on their respective social media accounts or websites. The linking to or from us to other social media accounts or websites does not imply on the part of the OEB any endorsement or guarantee of any of the individuals or organizations or information found on their respective social media accounts or websites.
The OEB does not assume and is not responsible for any liability whatsoever for any of these linked social media accounts or websites, the operation or content of any of the linked social media accounts or websites, nor for any of the information, interpretation, comments or opinions expressed in any of the linked social media accounts or websites. Any comments or inquiries regarding the linked social media accounts or websites are to be directed to the particular individual or organization responsible for or operating the social media accounts or website.
Furthermore, the OEB is not responsible for the security or privacy practices of any of the linked social media accounts or websites. We recommend that you review the privacy policy or privacy statement that may be provided on the social media accounts or websites.
Also, since these other websites are controlled and maintained by other people, we can’t be sure that the link will still work when you click on it or that the service or content is useful, appropriate, virus-free or reliable. Therefore, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to follow any link.
Following, liking, subscribing, and favouriting
Our decision to "follow”, “like”, subscribe to, or "favourite" another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page, or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting, or linking to) content from another user.
Disclaimer and Agreement
Use of the OEB’s social media accounts and their contents is at your own risk. They and all of their content are provided "as is". You must not rely on any content published on or linked from our social media accounts without first making your own enquiries to verify it is accurate, current and complete.
Third-party commenters and users of the OEB’s social media accounts are fully responsible for any comments or content they post; the OEB is in no way responsible for such comments and content posted by others nor for any information, references, links, opinions, claims, or advice in such comments and content.
By engaging with any of the OEB’s social media accounts (including without limitation by posting any comment or content), each third party commenter or user agrees to indemnify the OEB and to hold the OEB harmless from any liability, loss, damage or expense, including without limitation professional and other fees and expenses, arising out of such third party commenter or user’s use of any of the OEB’s social media accounts, and any comments or content posted.
Any use or reliance on any content or materials posted via the OEB’s social media accounts or obtained by you through the OEB’s social media accounts is at your own risk. The OEB does not represent or warrant that its social media accounts will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected or that they will be free of viruses or other harmful code, nor does the OEB represent or warrant the correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or appropriateness of the content contained in its social media accounts or that the content is free of viruses or other harmful code.
Limitation of Liability
Although the OEB has the right to review, edit and/or delete any comment, view, opinion, response or other content it deems inappropriate, the OEB is under no obligation to do so. You acknowledge that the OEB can neither review all material that is posted on its social media accounts nor ensure prompt removal of objectionable material. Accordingly, the OEB assumes no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by third party commenters or users. The OEB has no liability or responsibility to anyone for the performance or non-performance of the OEB’s roles in these Terms and Conditions.
The OEB and its Directors, Commissioners, employees, agents and independent contractors shall not be responsible or liable for any damages, whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other in any way arising out of or in connection with the OEB’s social media accounts, including their content.
Miscellaneous
If any term or condition set out in these Terms of Use is held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, the remaining terms and conditions will continue in full force.
These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and deemed to be entered into by you in the Province of Ontario.