Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026
Advertising Standards Canada (“Ad Standards” or “we”) is the national, not-for-profit, advertising self-regulatory organization created by the Canadian advertising industry with a mandate to ensure the integrity and viability of Canadian advertising for all consumers. We take seriously our commitment to protecting your privacy and Personal Information in accordance with our obligations under all applicable privacy laws and regulations. “Personal Information" is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. In this Privacy Policy, we set out how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your Personal Information on our website, databases, social media, and e-mail correspondence (the “Properties”).
Contact Us
Ad Standards is responsible for the Personal Information in our control, including information we receive directly or indirectly. If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please contact our Chief Privacy Officer at info@adstandards.ca.
Changes
We may change any part of this Privacy Policy at any time. Please check this Privacy Policy frequently for changes.
The Personal Information We Collect
We collect information when a person voluntarily provides us with his/her Personal Information. We collect, use, or disclose this information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.
Consumer Complaints
Ad Standards accepts written consumer complaints in English and French about advertising through email or, most commonly, our Online Complaint Submission Form. When you submit a complaint, we collect your contact information, such as your first and last name, complete mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address. When submitting a complaint, you will explain the reason or basis for the complaint and, if known, the provision(s) of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (the “Code”) that may apply.
General Inquiries
Ad Standards may collect your Personal Information if you contact us to help you with a problem. In most instances, we would collect your first and last name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
E-mail Updates
Ad Standards issues e-mail updates to help keep industry members informed about issues, trends, and developments concerning advertising self-regulation. We collect your first and last name, e-mail address, company, job title, communication language preference, and areas of interest for these communications.
We gather statistics about how many people open and click on links in the e-mails that we send, so that we can monitor how they are used and continue to improve upon them. You can opt-out of receiving e-mail updates from us by following the unsubscribe instructions contained in each of these e-mail communications. Alternatively, you can unsubscribe by contacting us at info@adstandards.ca.
Clearance Services
Ad Standards offers Clearance Services (“Clearance”) to help ensure advertising meets regulatory requirements for six advertising divisions: Alcoholic Beverages; Children’s Advertising; Cosmetics; Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages; Health Products; and Restriction on Food and Beverage Advertising to Children.
We use a proprietary online submission database to collect advertisements and concepts that have been submitted for review. In order to submit an advertisement or concept on the Clearance database, a Clearance account is needed. When you create a Clearance account, we will collect the following information from you: first and last name, e-mail, job title, company name and address, telephone number, correspondence language and/or to confirm media plans. We also use two-factor authentication for the account, which can be done through text message if you provide your mobile number. If you do not provide a mobile number, the authentication will be sent via email.
When an advertisement or concept is submitted for review, only the information relevant to Clearance is collected through the database. Such information includes the copy and creative for the advertisement, and when applicable, attestations to substantiate claims made in the advertisement, packaging, and licenses.
Event Registration
We may collect Personal Information from you when you sign-up for an Ad Standards event. This information may include your first and last name, job title, place of employment, and contact information.
For Ad Standards events, you may be re-directed to a third party website to complete registration and payment. See below regarding how Third Party Service Providers handle Personal Information.
Scholarship Applications
We may collect Personal Information from you when you apply for an Ad Standards’ scholarship. This information may include your first and last name, contact information, and school and program that you are attending. This information may be collected through a Third Party Service Provider. See below regarding how Third Party Service Providers handle Personal Information.
How we Use Personal Information
We limit the use of your Personal Information to the purpose for which it was collected. If we need to use your Personal Information for a different purpose, then we will contact you and obtain your consent.
Consumer Complaints
We use the Personal Information submitted by you through a complaint to respond to your complaint in an efficient and thorough manner. Ad Standards’ agents, including the Standards Council that adjudicates complaints, may also have the Personal Information you submit. The Standards Council adjudicates consumer complaints about advertising. It is composed of representatives from the advertising industry and the public, who volunteer their time to review complaints that raise potential issues under the Code.
When you submit a complaint, you can choose whether your Personal Information is included when Ad Standards contacts the advertiser about the complaint.
General Inquiries
If you have a question or concern for Ad Standards, we will collect and use only the information necessary to respond to you.
Newsletter Subscription
We use your Personal Information collected for the e-mail updates for the purpose of sending these updates to you.
Clearance Services
Information collected through the Clearance database is used to provide Clearance Services. This information may also be used to contact you in the future about Ad Standards events.
Event Registration
If you choose to reserve or purchase a spot at one of our events, such as our webinars or in-person events, we process the Personal Information that you provide for those events.
Scholarship Application
If you choose to apply for an Ad Standards’ scholarship, we will share your Personal Information with the scholarship judges and use it for the purposes of considering your scholarship application. We will also use your Personal Information to contact you with any questions and information regarding the status of your application.
Disclosure
Your Personal Information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with consent or as required or permitted by law. We do not trade, rent, sell or otherwise disclose any Personal Information to third parties for commercial purposes other than our own.
We may use third parties to perform functions on our behalf, such as sending e-mails, conducting surveys, analyzing data, information technology support, event registration, and processing credit card payments. These third parties will have access only to the information that is needed to perform their functions.
Consumer Complaints
Ad Standards may share your Personal Information with its agents, legal counsel, or other representative and affiliates in order to handle a complaint on your behalf. When required under the Consumer Complaint Procedure (in respect to complaints under clauses 10 and 14), or with express consent, we may also share your Personal Information with the advertiser responsible for the advertisement that is the subject of the complaint.
If your complaint is about something beyond Ad Standards’ scope, we may be able to forward it to the more suitable organization to handle the complaint. If we need to pass your Personal Information on to a third party to help resolve the complaint, we will seek your permission first.
If the Information is to be disclosed other than as set out above, we will contact you and provide the opportunity to choose not to have your Information disclosed.
Scholarship Applications
Ad Standards will share your Personal Information with Ad Standards’ scholarship judges in order to evaluate your application.
How we protect your Personal Information
We have safeguards in place to help protect your Personal Information according to the sensitivity of the information we hold. Third parties who have access to your Personal Information in connection with providing services for Ad Standards are required to keep the information confidential and are not permitted to use such information for any other purpose.
Accuracy, Retention, and Access
Ad Standards retains your Personal Information for only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes for which the information was collected and for our legal obligations. We endeavour to ensure our records of your Personal Information are accurate, current, and complete. You have a right to access and amend our records of your Personal Information. If you would like to access or change your Personal Information in our records, please contact info@adstandards.ca.
Third-Party Service Providers
We may use third-party service providers to administer event registration, event management, payment processing, surveys, webinars, training programs, and other services. Where you access or use a third-party platform in connection with our services, any Personal Information you provide through that platform may be collected, used, disclosed, and retained by the third-party provider in accordance with its own privacy policy and terms of use. Such providers are independently responsible for their handling of Personal Information and for compliance with applicable privacy laws. We encourage individuals to review the applicable privacy policy before submitting personal information through a third-party platform. To the extent we receive Personal Information from such providers in connection with the administration of our services, our handling of that information will be governed by this Privacy Policy.
Analytics and Cookies
We use Google Analytics and similar analytics tools to collect information about how visitors access and use our website. These tools may collect information such as IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, pages viewed, links clicked, date and time of visits, and referring websites.
The information is used to monitor website performance, analyze trends, administer and improve our website, and better understand how visitors engage with our content and services. The information collected through these tools may be aggregated or de-identified and is not used by us to identify individual visitors.
Google Analytics is provided by Google and may collect, use, and process information in accordance with Google's own privacy practices. Additional information regarding Google's privacy practices is available through Google's website.
You can manage certain cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of some website features.