Welcome to the Tonga National Portal provided by the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga. This privacy policy applies to the use of Tongan citizens and other visitors accessing the National Portal. It describes the types of information the Government collect or provides to the Government through other means, how the Government may use that information, to whom and under what circumstances the Government may disclose it, and how the Government protect it. By using this National Portal or voluntarily providing personal information to us, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the policy, please do not use the National Portal.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

• “Account” means a unique account created for You to access the National Portal of Tonga or parts of the e-government services of the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga.
• ” Government of the Kingdom of Tonga” (referred to as either “the Government”, “We”, “Us”, or “Our” in this Agreement) refers to [COMPANY INFORMATION]

For the purpose of this policy, the Government is the Data Controller.

• “Country” refers to Tonga.
• “Cookies” are small files that a website places on your computer, mobile device, or any other device. They contain details of your browsing history on that website and are used for many other purposes.
• “Data Controller“, for the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), refers to the Company as the legal person which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data.
• “Device” means any device that can access the Service, such as a computer, a mobile phone or a digital tablet.
• “Personal Data” is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

For the purposes of GDPR, Personal Data means any information relating to you, such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or one or more factors specific to your physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity.

• “Service” refers to the Website.
• “Service Provider” means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analysing how the Service is used. For the purpose of the GDPR, Service Providers are considered Data Processors.
• “Usage Data” refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
• “Website” refers to The National Portal of Tonga, accessible from www.gov.to
• “You” means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), You can be referred to as the Data Subject or as the User, as you are the individual using the Service.

Information You Give to the Government

We may collect any information, such as your first and last name, email address, and telephone number, that you provide when you interact with us. Some examples are when you:

• Sign up to receive email communications from the Government;
• Register or create an account on the Site;
• Correspond or communicate with the Government by phone, e-mail or otherwise;
• Use the Government Site to interact with the Government or other citizens or
• If you use social media to interact with the Government or share something from the Government Site with others, the Government will receive information about what you share and other details that may be based on your social media privacy settings.

Information Collected Automatically

Each time you visit the Site, the Government may automatically collect certain types of information. Some examples of automatic information the Government may collect are as follows:

• Your IP address, MAC address, browser type, operating system, device-identifying information, type of computer, and type of Web browser software, the specific webpages visited during your connection, and the domain name from which you accessed the Site.
• Information about your browsing behaviour, such as the date and time you visit the Site, the areas or pages of the Site that you visit, the amount of time you spend viewing the Site, the number of times you return to the Site and other clickstream data.
• We may use “cookies” of different types to recognise your computer. A cookie is a small text file that a website, online application, or e mail may save to your internet browser and/or your computer’s hard drive for use in subsequent visits to the Site or other Sites.

The Government may use web beacons, match scripts, pixel tags or similar technologies that allow the Government to know if a particular web page was visited, an e-mail opened, or links in the email utilised. In some instances, these technologies may allow the Government to match activities with particular users.

The Government may combine the information it collects through cookies, web beacons, or other technology tools with other information it has collected from you or from other sources.

The Government may use information about you for purposes described in this Privacy Policy or disclosed to you on the Site. For example, the Government may use information about you:

• For feedback purposes,
• For data training purposes,
• To create a statistical analysis of use of the Site;
• For content improvement and research,
• To customise the content and layout of the Site;
• To notify you about updates to the Site;
• To respond to your inquiries; or
• To take other actions in response to your inquiries or other website activities.

Unless otherwise agreed, the Government will not sell or disclose to third parties any personal information that users voluntarily provide to us, except as follows:

• The Government works with service providers to facilitate the Site’s overall operation and perform functions on the Government’s behalf, such as monitoring visitors to the Government Site, sending emails and promotional offers, analysing data, processing credit card payments, and providing customer service. These third-party service providers are prohibited from using personal information for any other purpose and are contractually required to comply with all applicable laws and requirements.
• To the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws or valid legal processes, such as in response to subpoenas or court orders.
• To protect the rights and intellectual property of Tonga National Portal.
• To investigate, prevent or act regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, violations of the Government policies, or as otherwise required by law.
• In urgent circumstances to protect Tonga National Portal or the personal safety of any individual.

The Site uses “cookies,” which are small pieces of information stored by your browser or other application on your computer’s browser or hard drive. The cookies are used to connect your computer with information stored about your online activity, searches and preferences both within the same website visit and from one visit to the next on the Site and/or other websites. Some examples of this data include your account preferences, user-specific information on pages accessed, search terms or addresses entered, and previous visits to the Sites. The Government use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie expires when your browser is closed, and a persistent cookie may stay on your hard drive for an extended period. Session cookies make it easier for you to navigate the Government Site; persistent cookies can perform such activities as storing your password for forums or blogs so you do not have to sign in every time you visit those areas, and/or may be used to enable the Government to track and target the interests of the Government users so as to enhance the overall experience of using the Government Site.

The “help” portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive new cookies or how to disable cookies altogether. If you reject cookies, you may not be able to participate in certain activities or receive a promotion tailored to you. The Site does not control and does not guarantee the effectiveness of browser-based tools for managing cookies.

We also use Google Analytics to monitor activity on the Site. To learn how Google Analytics collects and processes data, please visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners

The Government may also use web beacons, which are electronic images that may be used on the Government website or in Government emails. The Government uses web beacons to deliver cookies, count visits, understand usage and campaign effectiveness, and tell if an email has been opened and acted upon.

This Site may contain links to other websites that are not controlled in any way by the Government. Please be aware of this when you click on any such links; the Government are not responsible for the privacy practices and/or policies of any website other than the Government’s own. Consequently, the Government strongly suggest that you review the privacy policy of every website you visit, whether the Government’s own Site links to them.

We use industry-standard techniques on the Site to help protect any personal information you have provided to the Government from loss, misuse or alteration. However, please be aware that no electronic storage method can ever be 100% secure. Therefore, as is the case with any organisation – the Government are not in a position to guarantee the absolute security of your information. In this regard, the Government urge you to take every precaution to protect your personal data while you are on the Internet. At a minimum, the Government encourages you to make sure that you are using a secure browser when you surf the Internet.

The Government maintains multiple social media presences, such as Facebook pages, Instagram pages, and TikTok accounts. You can interact with the Government through social media, such as by entering Government contests, posting content, sharing material from the Government Site, and using the Government social media plug-ins. When you interact with the Government using social media, the Government may receive information such as your user ID, your profile picture, photos you post, and similar information, which is often determined by your privacy settings at social media sites. The government may use the information for the same purposes as the government describes throughout this privacy policy. The Site operators’ privacy policies primarily govern your use of social media sites and terms of service, and the information you share with the Government and with others is primarily controlled by the privacy settings you have established at those Sites.

Under Age 13

Our Site is not specifically directed toward children, and the Government do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 13 on the Government Site without verifiable parental consent. If the Government learn that a child under the age of 13 has submitted personally identifiable information online without parental consent, the Government will take all reasonable measures to delete such information from the Government databases and not use such information for any purpose (except where necessary to protect the safety of the child or others as required or allowed by law). If you become aware of any personally identifiable information the Government have collected from children under 13, please contact the Government at privacy@gov.to or by calling XXX-XXX.

Under Age 18

Minors under 18 years of age may have the Personal Information that they provide to the Government through the Site deleted by sending an email to privacy@gov.to requesting deletion. Please note that while the Government make reasonable efforts to comply with such requests, the deletion of your personal information does not ensure the complete and comprehensive removal of that data from all systems.

Do Not Track (DNT) is a privacy preference that users can set in some web browsers, allowing them to opt out of tracking by websites and online services. At present, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has not yet established universal standards for recognizable DNT signals, and therefore, the Tonga National Portal and the Site do not recognize DNT.

[To be defined]

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data under GDPR

The Government may process Personal Data under the following conditions:

• Consent: You have given your consent to process personal data for one or more specific purposes.
• Performance of a contract: Provision of Personal Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with You and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof.
• Legal obligations: Processing Personal Data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Government is subject. Vital interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another natural person.
• Public interests: Processing Personal Data is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Government.
• Legitimate interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Government.

In any case, the Government will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.

Your Rights under the GDPR

The Government undertakes to respect the confidentiality of Your Personal Data and to guarantee You can exercise Your rights. You have the right under this Privacy Policy, and by law if You are within the EU, to:

• Request access to Your Personal Data. The right to access, update or delete the information We have on You. Whenever made possible, you can access, update or request the deletion of Your Personal Data directly within Your account settings section. If you are unable to perform these actions yourself, please contact us so we can assist you. This also enables You to receive a copy of the Personal Data We hold about You.
• Request correction of the Personal Data that We hold about You. You have the right to have any incomplete or inaccurate information We hold about You corrected.
• Object to processing of your personal data. This right exists where we are relying on a legitimate interest as the legal basis for our processing and there is something about your particular situation that makes you want to object to our processing of your personal data on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
• Request the erasure of your personal data. You have the right to ask us to delete or remove Personal Data when there is no good reason for us to continue processing it.
• Request the transfer of Your Personal Data. The Government will provide to You, or to a third-party You have chosen, Your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information that You initially provided consent for Us to use or where We used the information to perform a contract with You.
• Withdraw your consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent to use your Personal Data. If you withdraw your consent, the Government may not be able to provide you with access to certain specific functionalities of the Service.

Exercising Your GDPR Data Protection Rights

You may exercise Your rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition by contacting the Government. Please note that the Government may ask You to verify Your identity before responding to such requests. If You make a request, the Government will try our best to respond to You as soon as possible.

You have the right to complain to a Data Protection Authority about Our collection and use of Your Personal Data. For more information, if You are in the European Economic Area (EEA), please contact Your local data protection authority in the EEA.

We will retain your information for no longer than is reasonably necessary to provide
you services, comply with the Government’s legal obligations, resolve disputes, and
enforce the Government agreements.

The Government may change this privacy policy from time to time, including as required
to keep current with rules and regulations, new technologies and security standards.
When the Government do, the Government will post the change(s) on the Government
Site. If the government changes the policy in a material and retroactive manner, it will
provide you with appropriate notice.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, or you wish to contact the Government by phone or postal mail, the Government contact information is as follows:

• Mailing address:
• Phone: XXX-XXX
• Email: privacy@gov.to