PHARE

PHARE – Mailing List and Event Updates

Your privacy matters to us. This notice explains how the BBC collects and uses your personal information when you sign up to receive updates about PHARE, our BBC R&D creator economy pilot.

Why we collect your information and how you can take part

PHARE is new initiative and product from BBC R&D which looks to support the creative economy with new digital products and services. As part of this work, we will be speaking at conferences, running user research, and piloting new features with artists, industry professionals and other interested participants.

By completing our sign‑up form, you can choose to receive updates about:

• PHARE’s plans, developments and achievements
• opportunities to take part in user research
• invitations to product testing phases
• partnership or business development opportunities
• conference activity and related events

We only send marketing messages if you have given us clear consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

What information we collect and how we use it

When you sign up, we collect:

• your full name
• your email address
• your city and country
• your role and interest in PHARE (e.g., artist, industry professional, investor)
• your responses to optional questions (e.g., research participation, feature interests, private alpha access)
• your marketing consent preferences

Our email system also records standard information such as:

• whether an email was delivered
• whether it was opened
• whether links were clicked
• whether your email address has stopped working
• when you subscribed or unsubscribed

We use this information to:

• send you the updates you have chosen
• manage your subscription and communication preferences
• understand how our emails are used so we can improve them
• identify geographic clusters of interest (e.g., music hotspots) to support targeted events
• plan research, testing and partnership activity
• ensure we honour unsubscribe requests

We do not use analytics to profile you or make automated decisions about you. We do not collect sensitive personal data through this form. You must be 18 or over to sign up.

Who is responsible for your data

The BBC is the data controller. You can contact the BBC’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@bbc.co.uk.

Our legal basis for using your information

We use your information under:

Consent

For optional marketing messages, including:

• PHARE updates
• invitations to events, research or testing
• partnership or business development opportunities

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email.

Public task

For processing that supports the BBC’s public purposes, including research and development activity that informs future BBC services.

Who we share your information with

Your information is processed within BBC systems and by trusted suppliers who support our email and communication services.

• We use Infobip to send newsletters, updates and service messages, and to manage subscription preferences.
• Before Infobip is fully configured, we may temporarily store form submissions in a secure BBC system so we can record consent (timestamp, wording version, source). These records will be migrated to Infobip once setup is complete.

These suppliers process your data only on our instructions and do not use it for their own purposes. Infobip processes data within the UK/EEA.

We do not share your information with external organisations for their own marketing. 

How long we keep your information

We keep your information only for as long as we need it.

Email subscriptions (Infobip)

• We keep your details while you continue to engage with our emails.
• If you stop engaging for 2 years, we will ask you to reconfirm your subscription.
• If you unsubscribe, we delete your details after 90 days.
• If your email address stops working, we remove it after 90 days.

Temporary storage before Infobip setup

• Any interim consent records will be securely stored and deleted once migrated into Infobip.

Your rights

You have rights over your personal data, including:

• asking for a copy of your data
• asking us to correct inaccurate information
• asking us to delete your data (with some limitations)
• objecting to or restricting how we use your data
• withdrawing consent at any time
• asking for your data in a portable format

You can read more about your rights in the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at www.bbc.co.uk/privacy.

If you are concerned about how the BBC has handled your data, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

Updates to this notice

We will update this notice if we make significant changes to how we use your personal data.

Research Participation Terms

About

From time to time, the BBC may invite you to join research sessions about the PHARE pilot you participated in.

The BBC researcher will tell you what they hope to achieve from each research session. In general, in each research session we’d like you to:

- tell us about your experience during the pilot, such as:

• how in control you felt of your IP
• time and effort saved by using this platform
• contract accuracy

- give us your feedback on whether you would use a platform like this if it were publicly available

If you have any questions, please ask the BBC researcher at any time.

Agreement

By agreeing to participate in any research session you agree that:

The research session and you

1. You understand what you will do at this research session and you have had the opportunity to ask questions about this research session and you have received satisfactory answers. You will not be paid a fee by the BBC for this research.
2. You understand that the BBC may use an online video chat software (such as Microsoft Teams) to carry out the research session remotely.

Keeping research sessions safe and fun

1. You are fit and able to take part in this research session. If applicable, you will tell the BBC researcher if you have any allergies, infectious illnesses (like flu), other relevant health conditions or special needs. The BBC researcher may stop you taking part on the day of the research session if they are concerned about your ability to take part (e.g. because of an illness).

Contribution and recording the research session

1. Your research sessions may be recorded, edited, transcribed, and will be used only to analyse and discuss the research.
2. Your recorded contribution (and any related personal data held by the BBC) will not be shared with third parties, except with contracted agencies for the sole purpose of carrying out services for the BBC. The BBC may also share the anonymised findings of this research session in the form of a written report.
3. You can withdraw from the research session at any time. If you do, you will tell the BBC if you do not want my recorded contribution to be included in the BBC’s research findings.

General

1. The BBC will own the intellectual property rights (e.g. copyright) in your research contribution including the recorded, edited and translated versions. To avoid any doubt, you will still own your music.
2. The BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage to you or your property unless it is caused directly by the BBC’s negligence.
3. English law governs these terms, and only the courts of England and Wales can make judgments about them.

Privacy Notice

Your trust is very important to us. The BBC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such personal data. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law.

Why are we doing this and how you can participate?

Conducting research helps us to monitor our performance, inform the creation of new content and services, as well as help shape the BBC’s strategic direction. We use a range of different research methodologies on a wide range of subjects designed to help us innovate responsibly, support the future of the UK creative economy, and ensure that the benefits of new technologies are accessible, relevant and inclusive for everyone.

Our research projects vary in terms of length, degree of engagement from participants and in how it measures attitudes, user behaviour, usability, and challenges.

The subjects covered and the way we discuss, observe and record these depends on the product or service we are researching and the tools we use. For example, some research is done virtually, where we record a session, or we sometimes invite participants to a dedicated research facility within the BBC premises or a third-party agency. Some research projects can also be conducted by the participant in their own context (e.g., their home or workplace - even their car).

How will the BBC collect and how will it use my personal data?

We will collect and process the personal data that you provide about yourself in order to place you in the relevant group and/or to take part in the research project. Depending on the research project we will process personal data such as:

• Your full name
• Your title and pronoun
• Your age
• Your gender
• Your address (if you take part in an in-situ research or we need to send materials to you)
• Your email address
• Your postcode, or region
• Your contact numbers
• Photographs (when setting up equipment)
• IP address (when using a device as part of the research)
• Your views, opinions, and comments

When we record sessions, we will also process:

• Your audio (your voice) and video (your image) data

It is important that our research participants represent the UK population as a whole, including experiences by persons with specific challenges. For some research projects we therefore process additional information including data such as:

• Your level of technical competency
• Languages spoken
• Your income range
• Your NRS social grade (demographic classification sometimes provided by our research partner)
• Your level of education
• Your job role

We may also process the following special category data, such as:

• Your ethnicity
• Sexual orientation
• Health data

The reason we process this data is to select a diverse research group, to understand how accessible and inclusive our products and services are, and to help us to further improve the services and output of the BBC.

Who is the Data Controller?

The BBC is the “data controller” of your personal data that is collected. This means that the BBC decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, the BBC has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with data protection law.

Lawful basis for processing your personal information

The lawful basis on which the BBC processes personal data is the performance of its public task. The BBC's mission is to act in the public interest through the delivery of its public purposes. As part of this mission, BBC Research & Development undertakes research, innovation, and technology development that support the BBC, the wider creative sector, and the UK's media ecosystem. We process personal data to understand the needs, experiences and perspectives of audiences, creators, industry partners and other stakeholders, helping us develop technologies, services and standards that deliver public value.

The BBC processes your special category data (if applicable) on the basis that it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. This is to fulfil our public purposes set out in the BBC Charter which includes reflecting, representing and serving the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, supporting the creative economy across the United Kingdom.

Retaining your information

The BBC will store and retain the original research material for two (2) years from the start of the research. After this time, the original material will be deleted.

Personal data of research participants will be deleted after two (2) years.

The personal data collected will be stored within the UK, the EEA, and the US. If your information is processed outside the UK and EEA, we will ensure that it is protected to the same standards as if it were being processed within the UK and EEA, by putting in place contracts with our service providers that provides adequate safeguards.

Sharing your information

The BBC works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. For research projects this may include platforms to facilitate online interviews or online surveys, or platforms to recruit participants.

We also use third-party agencies to provide services which are subject to research and development. Your personal data may be shared with these third parties in order for them to perform their services and fulfil their contractual obligations to the BBC.

We ensure that our third-parties have all entered into an appropriate contract, which ensures they cannot do anything with your personal data except as we have instructed them to do. Our processors only use your personal data on behalf of the BBC and not independently of the BBC.

Before you take part in our research projects you will have signed a permission form, which allows us to use your data for the purposes set out above and any additional purposes as specified on the permission form.

We may share your personal data with third parties if required or permitted by law.

Your rights and more information

You have rights under data protection law.

• You can request a copy of the personal data BBC stores about you.
• If your personal data is inaccurate, you have the right to have the data rectified.
• You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted, however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the BBC to refuse your request.
• In certain circumstances, you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data or to object to the processing of your personal data.
• You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact our, Data Protection Officer if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights, please visit the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy.

If you have a concern about the way the BBC has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.