Legal
Terms of Service
Effective July 22, 2026
These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of The Waterloo Journal website, newsletters, live information features and related services. By using the site, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.
1. About The Waterloo Journal
The Waterloo Journal is a volunteer-run news publication founded by students at the University of Waterloo. We provide journalism and regional information without charging readers for access.
2. Journalistic and informational purpose
Our reporting, analysis, commentary, live dashboards and other material are provided for general informational and journalistic purposes. They are not legal, medical, financial, emergency or other professional advice. Use official sources and qualified professionals when making decisions that require specialized guidance.
3. Accuracy and corrections
We work to publish accurate and fair information. News develops quickly, however, and material may be incomplete, changed or corrected after publication. Headlines, stories, photographs, data displays and other content may be updated without notice. Publication of an allegation does not establish that it is true, and criminal charges are not proof of guilt.
4. Live and automated information
Weather, air quality, transit, police incidents, sports scores, events and other live features may rely on third-party data or automated systems. This information can be delayed, incomplete or unavailable. It must not be relied upon as an emergency service or as the sole basis for decisions affecting health, safety, travel or property. In an emergency, call 9-1-1 and follow instructions from the appropriate public authority.
5. Beta features
Some parts of the site may be identified as beta, experimental or under development. Those features may contain placeholder material, change without notice or fail to operate as expected.
6. Intellectual property
Unless otherwise stated, The Waterloo Journal owns or licenses the text, design, branding, graphics and original material published on the site. You may link to our pages and share brief excerpts for non-commercial purposes with clear attribution and a link to the original article. You may not reproduce entire articles, remove attribution, republish our material as your own, create a competing archive or use our content for commercial purposes without prior written permission. Photographs and third-party material remain subject to the rights and licence terms of their respective owners.
7. Acceptable use
You must not misuse the site. Prohibited conduct includes attempting to bypass security, access restricted systems, interfere with site operation, upload malicious code, scrape the site in a manner that degrades service, impersonate another person, or use the site for unlawful, fraudulent or abusive activity.
8. Newsroom manager and restricted areas
The newsroom editor and other administrative areas are restricted to authorized users. Credentials must be kept confidential and may not be shared. We may suspend or revoke access where we believe an account or the site is at risk.
9. Newsletter
If you subscribe to our newsletter, you consent to receive publication emails. You may unsubscribe using the link included in a newsletter. Delivery is not guaranteed and the schedule may change.
10. External links and services
The site links to third-party websites and may display information obtained from external services. A link does not imply endorsement. We do not control those services and are not responsible for their availability, accuracy, security, privacy practices or content. Your use of a third-party service is governed by its own terms.
11. Advertising and sponsorship
The Waterloo Journal may display advertising, sponsorships or paid placements. Sponsored material will be identified where appropriate. Advertisers and sponsors do not control our independent editorial judgments.
12. Privacy
Your use of the site may involve the collection and processing of limited technical or account information. Any separate privacy policy published by The Waterloo Journal forms part of these terms.
13. No warranties
The site and its content are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, we make no warranties, express or implied, about availability, accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, security or freedom from errors.
14. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Waterloo Journal and its volunteers, contributors and operators will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive losses arising from your use of, inability to use or reliance on the site or its content. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
15. Indemnity
You agree to be responsible for losses, claims and reasonable costs arising from your unlawful misuse of the site, your violation of these terms or your infringement of another person’s rights.
16. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario. Subject to any rights you may have under applicable consumer law, disputes will be submitted to the courts located in Ontario.
17. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the publication and its services evolve. The effective date at the top of this page will be revised when changes are made. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised terms.
18. Severability
If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
19. Entire agreement
These terms, together with any policies expressly incorporated into them, form the agreement between you and The Waterloo Journal concerning use of the site.