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10.04.2023

AI-Powered PR: Navigating the Ethical Landscape

Agency Principal John McCartney offers three ethical guidelines for PR professionals to keep in mind when using AI

September is PRSA’s ethics month, a time when PR professionals reflect on their ethical responsibilities in an ever-evolving landscape. As artificial intelligence keeps revolutionizing our lives in new ways, PRs face important ethical questions. The PR Council has even released their own list of guidelines on Generative AI Tools. 

Ethical challenges have always existed in the industry. Some cases are undeniably egregious, such as when Ronn Torossian secretly used a news outlet to promote his PR firm, a clear violation of the PRSA Code of Ethics. However, the ethical quandaries surrounding AI in PR are complex and demand a nuanced approach. AI technology introduces never-before-seen shades of gray.

In a time when convenience often trumps discretion, people are inclined to give up some measure of control and agency for the sake of efficiency. Using specialized AI-driven tools like Grammarly for proofreading might seem innocuous, but what about large language models, or even more “intelligent” advancements to come? This is an ongoing conversation with many elements to consider. Here are three key ethical guidelines PR professionals should keep in mind when using AI.

1. Save Room for Human Intelligence

AI innovation is relentless, and the PR industry is no exception to its influence. While AI can undoubtedly enhance efficiency, PR professionals need to exercise due diligence in ensuring that AI-generated content aligns with the authentic voice and values of their clients.

The role of a PR professional is not just to generate content but to ensure that it resonates with the target audience and aligns with the client’s brand identity. While AI can assist in content generation, the final responsibility for the quality and authenticity of the content still rests with the human PR professional. Striking the right balance between AI assistance and human intelligence is vital to ethical use.

2. Use AI as a Means, Not an End

Ethical use of AI in PR entails treating AI as a tool rather than an autonomous entity. In practice, this means employing AI at a specific stage of a task or project rather than entrusting it with the entire process. By using AI as a means to an end, PR professionals ensure that AI complements their expertise rather than replacing it. 

This approach harnesses AI’s capabilities while preserving the unique human touch that defines good public relations. Ethical considerations should guide the decision on when and how to integrate AI into PR tasks, always emphasizing the human element.

3. Maintain Transparency and Accountability

As AI advances, its outputs become more difficult to distinguish from human-generated content. This raises ethical concerns about transparency and accountability. PR professionals must be up-front about the use of AI-generated content and clearly disclose when such content is employed in communications. 

Accountability is essential in the ethical use of AI. PR professionals should exercise oversight and assume ultimate responsibility for AI-generated content. This includes reviewing and validating the content to ensure it aligns with the client’s objectives, ethical standards, and legal regulations.

Shaping the future of AI in PR

The rapid advancement of AI presents both opportunities and ethical challenges for PR professionals. The future of the industry depends on how we use these tools and integrate them into our profession. Moreover, the trends in AI adoption within the PR field will influence the trajectory of AI development in general. The questions we pose to large language models will shape their future responses and capabilities. This underscores the pivotal role that responsible human thought plays in the evolution of AI.

As AI technology progresses, we may eventually confront a world where AI becomes truly generative, capable of creating stories without human intervention. This raises profound ethical considerations about the boundaries of storytelling and the essence of free will. PR is not merely about selling products; it is about crafting narratives, and entrusting this task entirely to entities without free will poses major existential questions.

Regardless of the technological advances that lie ahead, PR professionals bear a responsibility to uphold the truth, maintain ethical standards, and ensure that AI serves as a tool to enhance the craft rather than replace it. The ethical principles we establish today will determine the ethical compass for PR in an increasingly AI-driven world, guiding us toward a future where PR continues to be a beacon of authenticity, transparency, and responsible communication.

This article was originally published in PRWeek.

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MONICA IRIARTE

Head of HR

Monica Iriarte joins Jmac PR as an HR Consultant with 20+ years experience in management, training, employee relations, and employment law. A Southern California native, she has worked in a variety of industries including consumer products, banking, and healthcare. She is passionate about dealing directly with employees and being as transparent as possible when engaging with them. In her spare time she scouts out her next travel destination with a cup of coffee in her hand. 

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AUDREE HERNANDEZ

Senior Account Executive

Audree Hernandez joined Jmac PR in 2022. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations from CSU Chico. She works with clients across the technology and advertising/marketing industry. Some clients include Playin Pickleball, M&C Saatchi Performance, Matik, and more. Audree works to obtain the best thought leadership placements for her clients as they innovate in the niches of Silicon Valley. Outside of work she’s an active volunteer serving on the board as the Mentorship Chair for her local PRSA chapter (SF), and as a Secretary in Lions Club (Pleasanton chapter). Audree is also passionate about travel and photography.

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LIBBY COLLETT

Social Media Strategist

Libby Collett is a Marketing Strategist and founder of Libco Creative who supports clients in expanding and elevating their profiles through innovative social media marketing. At Jmac PR she provides social media expertise with a focus on attracting new audiences and increasing engagement for the brand and its clients through graphic design and strategy.

Libby enjoys traveling and exploring new places. In her downtime you can find her in a tropical location working on her next design and sipping an iced coffee.

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KEITH O’BRIEN

Sr. Editorial Strategist

Keith O’Brien is a content and marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience. He is the founder of Total Emphasis, an NYC-based consultancy. He provides content strategy, ghostwriting, editing, digital marketing, and digital transformation services for a variety of startups, small businesses and global enterprises.

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FARAH K. REID MBA, CSM

Special Projects

Farah Reid joins the Jmac team with an extensive background as a manager, project manager, and management consultant. After spending nearly a decade as a manager in the healthcare industry she transitioned into Project Management and Consulting for small businesses. She is well-versed in project management methodologies, project planning, team building, communication, and technical implementations of organizational changes.

Born in Jamaica, she grew up in  Miami, FL where her family relocated in her youth. She attended Florida International University, where she received a BA in Communications. Later earning a MS in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. Farah recently qualified as a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and is working towards PMP certification. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA where she nurtures a true affection for movies, traveling, and exploring new places.

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CASEY BURKE

Content Writer

Casey Burke brings a wealth of content writing and digital marketing experience to JMAC PR. He has written longform articles, blog posts, website copy, digital ads, and social media copy. Casey relishes the challenge of translating ideas into crisp, engaging content, and he has a particular passion for promoting thought leadership in PR and Marketing. In his spare time he enjoys distance running and all things music.

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GABRIELA RUDOLPH

Account Executive

Gabriela Rudolph joined Jmac PR in 2023 after graduating from CSU Chico. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an option in Public Relations. After interning at different agencies Gabriela was excited to join the team and begin her journey as a PR professional. She works with clients in a variety of industries in the ad tech sector. Gabriela works to secure optimal media coverage for her clients and enhance the Jmac PR’s social media presence. Outside of work Gabriela is passionate about thrifting and exploring new places.

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Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. It is Jmac PR’s policy to respect your privacy and comply with any applicable law and regulation regarding any personal information we may collect about you, including across our website, https://www.jmacpr.com, and other sites we own and operate.

Personal information is any information about you which can be used to identify you. This includes information about you as a person (such as name, address, and date of birth), your devices, payment details, and even information about how you use a website or online service.

In the event our site contains links to third-party sites and services, please be aware that those sites and services have their own privacy policies. After following a link to any third-party content, you should read their posted privacy policy information about how they collect and use personal information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any of your activities after you leave our site.

This policy is effective as of 12 November 2021.

Last updated: 12 November 2021

Information We Collect

Information we collect falls into one of two categories: “voluntarily provided” information and “automatically collected” information.

“Voluntarily provided” information refers to any information you knowingly and actively provide us when using or participating in any of our services and promotions.

“Automatically collected” information refers to any information automatically sent by your devices in the course of accessing our products and services.

Log Data

When you visit our website, our servers may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, and other details about your visit.

Additionally, if you encounter certain errors while using the site, we may automatically collect data about the error and the circumstances surrounding its occurrence. This data may include technical details about your device, what you were trying to do when the error happened, and other technical information relating to the problem. You may or may not receive notice of such errors, even in the moment they occur, that they have occurred, or what the nature of the error is.

Please be aware that while this information may not be personally identifying by itself, it may be possible to combine it with other data to personally identify individual persons.

Personal Information

We may ask for personal information — for example, when you subscribe to our newsletter or when you contact us — which may include one or more of the following:

  • Name
  • Email

Legitimate Reasons for Processing Your Personal Information

We only collect and use your personal information when we have a legitimate reason for doing so. In which instance, we only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services to you.

Collection and Use of Information

We may collect personal information from you when you do any of the following on our website:

  • Sign up to receive updates from us via email or social media channels
  • Use a mobile device or web browser to access our content
  • Contact us via email, social media, or on any similar technologies
  • When you mention us on social media

We may collect, hold, use, and disclose information for the following purposes, and personal information will not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with these purposes:

  • to provide you with our platform’s core features and services

We may combine voluntarily provided and automatically collected personal information with general information or research data we receive from other trusted sources. For example, Our marketing and market research activities may uncover data and insights, which we may combine with information about how visitors use our site to improve our site and your experience on it.

Security of Your Personal Information

When we collect and process personal information, and while we retain this information, we will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Although we will do our best to protect the personal information you provide to us, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and no one can guarantee absolute data security.

You are responsible for selecting any password and its overall security strength, ensuring the security of your own information within the bounds of our services. For example, ensuring you do not make your personal information publicly available via our platform.

How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need to. This time period may depend on what we are using your information for, in accordance with this privacy policy. For example, if you have provided us with personal information such as an email address when contacting us about a specific enquiry, we may retain this information for the duration of your enquiry remaining open as well as for our own records so we may effectively address similar enquiries in future. If your personal information is no longer required for this purpose, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you.

However, if necessary, we may retain your personal information for our compliance with a legal, accounting, or reporting obligation or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Children’s Privacy

We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 13.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties

We may disclose personal information to:

  • a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of our company
  • third-party service providers for the purpose of enabling them to provide their services, including (without limitation) IT service providers, data storage, hosting and server providers, error loggers, debt collectors, maintenance or problem-solving providers, marketing providers, professional advisors, and payment systems operators
  • our employees, contractors, and/or related entities
  • our existing or potential agents or business partners
  • credit reporting agencies, courts, tribunals, and regulatory authorities, in the event you fail to pay for goods or services we have provided to you
  • courts, tribunals, regulatory authorities, and law enforcement officers, as required by law, in connection with any actual or prospective legal proceedings, or in order to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights
  • third parties, including agents or sub-contractors, who assist us in providing information, products, services, or direct marketing to you
  • third parties to collect and process data
  • an entity that buys, or to which we transfer all or substantially all of our assets and business

Third parties we currently use include:

  • MailChimp

Your Rights and Controlling Your Personal Information

Your choice: By providing personal information to us, you understand we will collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. You do not have to provide personal information to us, however, if you do not, it may affect your use of our website or the products and/or services offered on or through it.

Information from third parties: If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.

Marketing permission: If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us using the details below.

Access: You may request details of the personal information that we hold about you.

Correction: If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or out of date.

Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights over your personal information. Unless your personal information is required to provide you with a particular service or offer (for example providing user support), we will not deny you goods or services and/or charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties, or provide you with a different level or quality of goods or services.

Notification of data breaches: We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.

Complaints: If you believe that we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint. You also have the right to contact a regulatory body or data protection authority in relation to your complaint.

Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from our email database or opt-out of communications (including marketing communications), please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy, or opt-out using the opt-out facilities provided in the communication. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

Use of Cookies

We use “cookies” to collect information about you and your activity across our site. A cookie is a small piece of data that our website stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use our site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences you have specified.

Please refer to our Cookie Policy for more information.

Business Transfers

If we or our assets are acquired, or in the unlikely event that we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, we would include data, including your personal information, among the assets transferred to any parties who acquire us. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any parties who acquire us may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, continue to use your personal information according to this policy, which they will be required to assume as it is the basis for any ownership or use rights we have over such information.

Limits of Our Policy

Our website may link to external sites that are not operated by us. Please be aware that we have no control over the content and policies of those sites, and cannot accept responsibility or liability for their respective privacy practices.

Changes to This Policy

At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy to reflect updates to our business processes, current acceptable practices, or legislative or regulatory changes. If we decide to change this privacy policy, we will post the changes here at the same link by which you are accessing this privacy policy.

If required by law, we will get your permission or give you the opportunity to opt in to or opt out of, as applicable, any new uses of your personal information.

Additional Disclosures for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance (EU)

Data Controller / Data Processor

The GDPR distinguishes between organisations that process personal information for their own purposes (known as “data controllers”) and organizations that process personal information on behalf of other organizations (known as “data processors”). We, Jmac PR, located at the address provided in our Contact Us section, are a Data Controller with respect to the personal information you provide to us.

Legal Bases for Processing Your Personal Information

We will only collect and use your personal information when we have a legal right to do so. In which case, we will collect and use your personal information lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner. If we seek your consent to process your personal information, and you are under 16 years of age, we will seek your parent or legal guardian’s consent to process your personal information for that specific purpose.

Our lawful bases depend on the services you use and how you use them. This means we only collect and use your information on the following grounds:

Consent From You

Where you give us consent to collect and use your personal information for a specific purpose. You may withdraw your consent at any time using the facilities we provide; however this will not affect any use of your information that has already taken place. You may consent to providing your email address for the purpose of receiving marketing emails from us. While you may unsubscribe at any time, we cannot recall any email we have already sent. If you have any further enquiries about how to withdraw your consent, please feel free to enquire using the details provided in the Contact Us section of this privacy policy.

Performance of a Contract or Transaction

Where you have entered into a contract or transaction with us, or in order to take preparatory steps prior to our entering into a contract or transaction with you. For example, if you contact us with an enquiry, we may require personal information such as your name and contact details in order to respond.

Our Legitimate Interests

Where we assess it is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as for us to provide, operate, improve and communicate our services. We consider our legitimate interests to include research and development, understanding our audience, marketing and promoting our services, measures taken to operate our services efficiently, marketing analysis, and measures taken to protect our legal rights and interests.

Compliance with Law

In some cases, we may have a legal obligation to use or keep your personal information. Such cases may include (but are not limited to) court orders, criminal investigations, government requests, and regulatory obligations. If you have any further enquiries about how we retain personal information in order to comply with the law, please feel free to enquire using the details provided in the Contact Us section of this privacy policy.

International Transfers Outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)

We will ensure that any transfer of personal information from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries outside the EEA will be protected by appropriate safeguards, for example by using standard data protection clauses approved by the European Commission, or the use of binding corporate rules or other legally accepted means.

Your Rights and Controlling Your Personal Information

Restrict: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information if (i) you are concerned about the accuracy of your personal information; (ii) you believe your personal information has been unlawfully processed; (iii) you need us to maintain the personal information solely for the purpose of a legal claim; or (iv) we are in the process of considering your objection in relation to processing on the basis of legitimate interests.

Objecting to processing: You have the right to object to processing of your personal information that is based on our legitimate interests or public interest. If this is done, we must provide compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which overrides your interests, rights, and freedoms, in order to proceed with the processing of your personal information.

Data portability: You may have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Where possible, we will provide this information in CSV format or other easily readable machine format. You may also have the right to request that we transfer this personal information to a third party.

Deletion: You may have a right to request that we delete the personal information we hold about you at any time, and we will take reasonable steps to delete your personal information from our current records. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will let you know how the deletion affects your use of our website or products and services. There may be exceptions to this right for specific legal reasons which, if applicable, we will set out for you in response to your request. Please be aware that search engines and similar third parties may still retain copies of your personal information that has been made public at least once, like certain profile information and public comments, even after you have deleted the information from our services or deactivated your account.

Additional Disclosures for California Compliance (US)

Under California Civil Code Section 1798.83, if you live in California and your business relationship with us is mainly for personal, family, or household purposes, you may ask us about the information we release to other organizations for their marketing purposes.

To make such a request, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy with “Request for California privacy information” in the subject line. You may make this type of request once every calendar year. We will email you a list of categories of personal information we revealed to other organisations for their marketing purposes in the last calendar year, along with their names and addresses.

Not all personal information shared in this way is covered by Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code.

Do Not Track

Some browsers have a “Do Not Track” feature that lets you tell websites that you do not want to have your online activities tracked. At this time, we do not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals.

We adhere to the standards outlined in this privacy policy, ensuring we collect and process personal information lawfully, fairly, transparently, and with legitimate, legal reasons for doing so.

Cookies and Pixels

At all times, you may decline cookies from our site if your browser permits. Most browsers allow you to activate settings on your browser to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. Accordingly, your ability to limit cookies is based only on your browser’s capabilities. Please refer to the Cookies section of this privacy policy for more information.

CCPA-permitted financial incentives

In accordance with your right to non-discrimination, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels for the goods or services we provide.

Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to the value of your personal information, and we will provide written terms that describe clearly the nature of such an offer. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time.

California Notice of Collection

In the past 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information enumerated in the California Consumer Privacy Act:

  • Identifiers, such as name, email address, phone number account name, IP address, and an ID or number assigned to your account.

For more information on information we collect, including the sources we receive information from, review the “Information We Collect” section. We collect and use these categories of personal information for the business purposes described in the “Collection and Use of Information” section, including to provide and manage our Service.

Right to Know and Delete

If you are a California resident, you have rights to delete your personal information we collected and know certain information about our data practices in the preceding 12 months. In particular, you have the right to request the following from us:

  • The categories of personal information we have collected about you;
  • The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected;
  • The categories of personal information about you we disclosed for a business purpose or sold;
  • The categories of third parties to whom the personal information was disclosed for a business purpose or sold;
  • The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling the personal information; and
  • The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy.

Shine the Light

If you are a California resident, in addition to the rights discussed above, you have the right to request information from us regarding the manner in which we share certain personal information as defined by California’s “Shine the Light” with third parties and affiliates for their own direct marketing purposes.

To receive this information, send us a request using the contact details provided in this privacy policy. Requests must include “California Privacy Rights Request” in the first line of the description and include your name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code.

Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding your privacy, you may contact us using the following details:

John McCartney
hello@jmacpr.com

Terms of Service

These Terms of Service govern your use of the website located at https://www.jmacpr.com and any related services provided by Jmac PR.

By accessing https://www.jmacpr.com, you agree to abide by these Terms of Service and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree with these Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using or accessing this website or using any other services provided by Jmac PR.

We, Jmac PR, reserve the right to review and amend any of these Terms of Service at our sole discretion. Upon doing so, we will update this page. Any changes to these Terms of Service will take effect immediately from the date of publication.

These Terms of Service were last updated on 12 November 2021.

Limitations of Use

By using this website, you warrant on behalf of yourself, your users, and other parties you represent that you will not:

  1. modify, copy, prepare derivative works of, decompile, or reverse engineer any materials and software contained on this website;
  2. remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from any materials and software on this website;
  3. transfer the materials to another person or “mirror” the materials on any other server;
  4. knowingly or negligently use this website or any of its associated services in a way that abuses or disrupts our networks or any other service Jmac PR provides;
  5. use this website or its associated services to transmit or publish any harassing, indecent, obscene, fraudulent, or unlawful material;
  6. use this website or its associated services in violation of any applicable laws or regulations;
  7. use this website in conjunction with sending unauthorized advertising or spam;
  8. harvest, collect, or gather user data without the user’s consent; or
  9. use this website or its associated services in such a way that may infringe the privacy, intellectual property rights, or other rights of third parties.

Intellectual Property

The intellectual property in the materials contained in this website are owned by or licensed to Jmac PR and are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law. We grant our users permission to download one copy of the materials for personal, non-commercial transitory use.

This constitutes the grant of a license, not a transfer of title. This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions or the Terms of Service, and may be terminated by Jmac PR at any time.

Liability

Our website and the materials on our website are provided on an ‘as is’ basis. To the extent permitted by law, Jmac PR makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties including, without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property, or other violation of rights.

In no event shall Jmac PR or its suppliers be liable for any consequential loss suffered or incurred by you or any third party arising from the use or inability to use this website or the materials on this website, even if Jmac PR or an authorized representative has been notified, orally or in writing, of the possibility of such damage.

In the context of this agreement, “consequential loss” includes any consequential loss, indirect loss, real or anticipated loss of profit, loss of benefit, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of goodwill, loss of opportunity, loss of savings, loss of reputation, loss of use and/or loss or corruption of data, whether under statute, contract, equity, tort (including negligence), indemnity, or otherwise.

Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.

Accuracy of Materials

The materials appearing on our website are not comprehensive and are for general information purposes only. Jmac PR does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on this website, or otherwise relating to such materials or on any resources linked to this website.

Links

Jmac PR has not reviewed all of the sites linked to its website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval, or control by Jmac PR of the site. Use of any such linked site is at your own risk and we strongly advise you make your own investigations with respect to the suitability of those sites.

Right to Terminate

We may suspend or terminate your right to use our website and terminate these Terms of Service immediately upon written notice to you for any breach of these Terms of Service.

Severance

Any term of these Terms of Service which is wholly or partially void or unenforceable is severed to the extent that it is void or unenforceable. The validity of the remainder of these Terms of Service is not affected.

Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California. You irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that State or location.

Acceptable Use Policy

This acceptable use policy covers the products, services, and technologies (collectively referred to as the “Products”) provided by Jmac PR under any ongoing agreement. It’s designed to protect us, our customers, and the general Internet community from unethical, irresponsible, and illegal activity.

Jmac PR customers found engaging in activities prohibited by this acceptable use policy can be liable for service suspension and account termination. In extreme cases, we may be legally obliged to report such customers to the relevant authorities.

This policy was last reviewed on 12 November 2021.

Fair use

We provide our facilities with the assumption your use will be “business as usual”, as per our offer schedule. If your use is considered to be excessive, then additional fees may be charged, or capacity may be restricted.

We are opposed to all forms of abuse, discrimination, rights infringement, and/or any action that harms or disadvantages any group, individual, or resource. We expect our customers and, where applicable, their users (“end-users”) to likewise engage our Products with similar intent.

Customer accountability

We regard our customers as being responsible for their own actions as well as for the actions of anyone using our Products with the customer’s permission. This responsibility also applies to anyone using our Products on an unauthorized basis as a result of the customer’s failure to put in place reasonable security measures.

By accepting Products from us, our customers agree to ensure adherence to this policy on behalf of anyone using the Products as their end users. Complaints regarding the actions of customers or their end-users will be forwarded to the nominated contact for the account in question.

If a customer — or their end-user or anyone using our Products as a result of the customer — violates our acceptable use policy, we reserve the right to terminate any Products associated with the offending account or the account itself or take any remedial or preventative action we deem appropriate, without notice. To the extent permitted by law, no credit will be available for interruptions of service resulting from any violation of our acceptable use policy.

Prohibited activity

Copyright infringement and access to unauthorized material

Our Products must not be used to transmit, distribute or store any material in violation of any applicable law. This includes but isn’t limited to:

  1. any material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and
  2. any material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat or violates export control laws.

The customer is solely responsible for all material they input, upload, disseminate, transmit, create or publish through or on our Products, and for obtaining legal permission to use any works included in such material.

SPAM and unauthorized message activity

Our Products must not be used for the purpose of sending unsolicited bulk or commercial messages in violation of the laws and regulations applicable to your jurisdiction (“spam”). This includes but isn’t limited to sending spam, soliciting customers from spam sent from other service providers, and collecting replies to spam sent from other service providers.

Our Products must not be used for the purpose of running unconfirmed mailing lists or telephone number lists (“messaging lists”). This includes but isn’t limited to subscribing email addresses or telephone numbers to any messaging list without the permission of the email address or telephone number owner, and storing any email addresses or telephone numbers subscribed in this way. All messaging lists run on or hosted by our Products must be “confirmed opt-in”. Verification of the address or telephone number owner’s express permission must be available for the lifespan of the messaging list.

We prohibit the use of email lists, telephone number lists or databases purchased from third parties intended for spam or unconfirmed messaging list purposes on our Products.

This spam and unauthorized message activity policy applies to messages sent using our Products, or to messages sent from any network by the customer or any person on the customer’s behalf, that directly or indirectly refer the recipient to a site hosted via our Products.

Unethical, exploitative, and malicious activity

Our Products must not be used for the purpose of advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product, or service designed to violate this acceptable use policy, or the acceptable use policy of other service providers. This includes but isn’t limited to facilitating the means to send spam and the initiation of network sniffing, pinging, packet spoofing, flooding, mail-bombing, and denial-of-service attacks.

Our Products must not be used to access any account or electronic resource where the group or individual attempting to gain access does not own or is not authorized to access the resource (e.g. “hacking”, “cracking”, “phreaking”, etc.).

Our Products must not be used for the purpose of intentionally or recklessly introducing viruses or malicious code into our Products and systems.

Our Products must not be used for purposely engaging in activities designed to harass another group or individual. Our definition of harassment includes but is not limited to denial-of-service attacks, hate-speech, advocacy of racial or ethnic intolerance, and any activity intended to threaten, abuse, infringe upon the rights of, or discriminate against any group or individual.

Other activities considered unethical, exploitative, and malicious include:

  1. Obtaining (or attempting to obtain) services from us with the intent to avoid payment;
  2. Using our facilities to obtain (or attempt to obtain) services from another provider with the intent to avoid payment;
  3. The unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction (or any attempt thereof) of any information about our customers or end-users, by any means or device;
  4. Using our facilities to interfere with the use of our facilities and network by other customers or authorized individuals;
  5. Publishing or transmitting any content of links that incite violence, depict a violent act, depict child pornography, or threaten anyone’s health and safety;
  6. Any act or omission in violation of consumer protection laws and regulations;
  7. Any violation of a person’s privacy.

Our Products may not be used by any person or entity, which is involved with or suspected of involvement in activities or causes relating to illegal gambling; terrorism; narcotics trafficking; arms trafficking or the proliferation, development, design, manufacture, production, stockpiling, or use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, weapons of mass destruction, or missiles; in each case including any affiliation with others whatsoever who support the above such activities or causes.

Unauthorized use of Jmac PR property

We prohibit the impersonation of Jmac PR, the representation of a significant business relationship with Jmac PR, or ownership of any Jmac PR property (including our Products and brand) for the purpose of fraudulently gaining service, custom, patronage, or user trust.

About this policy

This policy outlines a non-exclusive list of activities and intent we deem unacceptable and incompatible with our brand.

We reserve the right to modify this policy at any time by publishing the revised version on our website. The revised version will be effective from the earlier of:

  • the date the customer uses our Products after we publish the revised version on our website; or
  • 30 days after we publish the revised version on our website.
 

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JOHN McCARTNEY, APR

Principal, Jmac PR

John McCartney, APR, a seasoned PR expert, is the Founder and Principal of Jmac PR. With over two decades of experience in public relations and marketing, he has led traditional and social media campaigns for prominent tech, advertising, marketing, and media brands. In March 2020, John fulfilled his long standing dream with the launch of Jmac PR, a company built on values, dedicated to skillfully navigating challenges, and fostering sustainable awareness, visibility, and thought leadership with unwavering integrity. Committed to nurturing the next generation of publicists and marketers, he envisions a future marked by enduring success.

John excels in securing earned media coverage and implementing PR best practices, backed by a robust network and widespread respect from clients and colleagues. Before founding Jmac PR, he contributed his expertise to tech PR agencies such as Wise, Attention, and Middleberg & Associates, and held in-house roles at Wenner Media.

As a proud member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), John has actively served on boards in San Francisco and Los Angeles, revitalizing awards programs and leading chapters. Currently on the PRSA Los Angeles board, he dedicates time to mentoring tech startups. John was a PR 101 instructor at General Assembly and earned recognition on Business Insider’s Tech PR 50 list. Achieving accreditation in public relations (APR) in March 2023 solidified his commitment to excellence in the field.

Beyond his professional pursuits, John finds fulfillment in volunteering, exploring new destinations through travel, hiking adventures, attending music shows, and savoring the latest culinary delights. Proudly calling Los Angeles home, he has a penchant for enjoying a well-crafted Vieux Carre cocktail.




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