Data Protection
Security and protection of your personal data
We consider it our primary task to safeguard the confidentiality of the personal data you provide and to protect it against unauthorized access. Therefore, we will exercise the utmost care and adopt the most modern security standards to ensure maximum protection of your personal data.
As a private company, we are subject to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the provisions of the German Federal Data Protection Act (FDPA). We have adopted technical and organizational measures to ensure that both we and our external service providers comply with data protection regulations.
Definitions
The law requires that personal data be processed in a lawful manner, in good faith and in a manner that is comprehensible to the person concerned (“lawfulness, processing in good faith, transparency”). To ensure this, we will inform you about the individual legal definitions which are also used in this data protection declaration:
- Personal data
"Personal data” is all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (subsequently referred to as a "data subject"). A natural person is deemed identifiable, directly or indirectly, if they can be identified by assignment to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more special features expressing that natural person’s physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity.
- Processing
“Processing” is any operation or sequence of operations carried out with or without the aid of automated procedures in connection with personal data, such as the collection, recording, organization, ordering, storage, adaptation or modification, sorting, retrieval, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or any other form of making available, matching or linking, restriction, erasure or destruction.
- Restriction of processing
"Restriction of processing" means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting their future processing.
- Profiling
“Profiling” is any automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of this personal data to evaluate specific personal aspects relating to a natural person, and particularly to analyze or predict aspects concerning this natural person’s work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, residence or change of location.
- Pseudonymization
"Pseudonymization" means the processing of personal data in such a way that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that this additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures which ensure that the personal data cannot be attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
- File System
“File system” means any structured collection of personal data accessible according to specific criteria, irrespective of whether this collection is managed in a centralized or decentralized manner or according to functional or geographical criteria.
- Data Controller
"Controller" means a natural person, legal entity, public authority, institution or other body which alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are specified by Union law or the law of the Member States, the controller or certain criteria for its appointment may be laid down in accordance with EU law or the law of the Member States.
- Processors
"Processor" means a natural person, legal entity, public authority, institution or other body processing personal data on the data controller’s behalf.
- Recipients
“Recipient” means a natural person, legal entity, public authority, institution or other body to which personal data is disclosed, whether or not it is a third party. However, public authorities which may receive personal data under Union law or the law of the Member States under a particular investigation mandate shall not be deemed recipients, and these public authorities shall process this data in compliance with the applicable data protection rules in accordance with the purposes of the processing.
- Third party
"Third party" means a natural person, legal entity, public authority, institution or other body other than the data subject, the data controller, the data processor and the persons authorized to process the personal data under the direct responsibility of the data controller or the data processor.
- Consent
The data subject's "consent" means any voluntary declaration of intent in the specific case, given in an informed and unequivocal manner in the form of a declaration or other clear affirmative act with which the data subject indicates that they agree to the processing of personal data concerning them.
Lawfulness of processing
The processing of personal data is only lawful if there is a legal basis for the processing. Under Articles 6(1)(a) - (f) GDPR, the legal basis for processing may be, in particular:
- The data subject has given their consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes;
- processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject’s request;
- the processing is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
- processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person;
- processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
- processing is necessary to safeguard the legitimate interests of the data controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the data subject’s interests or fundamental rights and freedoms which require the protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.
Information on the collection of personal data
(1) We will give you information below about the collection of personal data when using our website. Personal data are, for example, name, address, email addresses, user behavior.
(2) If you contact us by e-mail, we will store the data you provide (your e-mail address, and your name and your telephone number, if applicable) in order to answer your questions. We will erase the data generated in this context after storage is no longer necessary, or will restrict processing if statutory retention obligations exist.
Collection of personal data when you visit our website
When using the website for information purposes only, i.e. if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information, we will only collect the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. If you wish to view our website, we will collect the following data which are technically necessary for us to display our website to you and to guarantee stability and security (legal basis is Art. 6(1)(1)(f) GDPR):
- IP address;
- Date and time of the request;
- Time zone difference from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT);
- Content of the request (specific page);
- Access Status/HTTP status code;
- the amount of data transferred in each case;
- website from which the request comes;
- Browser;
- Operating system and its interface;
- Language and browser software version.
Use of Cookies
(1) In addition to the above-mentioned data, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your hard disk in the browser you use and through which certain information flows to the site that sets the cookie. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Their purpose is to make the Internet offer more user-friendly and effective overall.
(2) This website uses the following types of cookies, whose scope and operation will be explained below:
- Transient cookies (see a.).
- Persistent cookies (see b.).
- Transient cookies will be deleted automatically when you close your browser. This includes session cookies in particular. These store a so-called session ID, with which your browser’s different requests can be assigned to the common session. This will allow your computer to be recognized when you return to our website. Session cookies will be deleted when you log out or close the browser.
- Persistent cookies will be deleted automatically after a specified duration, which may differ depending on the cookie. You can delete cookies at any time in your browser’s security settings.
- You can configure your browser settings as you wish and refuse the acceptance of third party cookies or all cookies, for example. So-called “third party cookies” are cookies set by a third party, therefore not by the actual website you are currently visiting. Please note that if you deactivate cookies, you may not be able to use all this website’s functions.
- We use cookies to identify you for subsequent visits if you have an account with us. Otherwise, you may need to re-login for each visit.
- Your Flash plug-in, and not your browser, will record the flash cookies used. We also use HTML5 storage objects that are stored on your terminal device. These objects store the required data independently of your browser and do not have an automatic expiry date. If you do not wish Flash cookies to be processed, you must install an appropriate add-on, e.g. “Better Privacy” for Mozilla Firefox (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/) or the Adobe Flash killer cookie for Google Chrome. You can prevent the use of HTML5 storage objects by using private mode in your browser. We also recommend that you regularly delete your cookies and your browser history manually.
Additional features and offers of our website
(1) In addition to the purely informational use of our website, we offer various services which you can use if you are interested. Generally, you must provide more personal data, which we will use to provide the respective service and to which the above-mentioned data processing principles apply.
(2) We use external service providers to process your data in some cases. We have carefully selected and commissioned these providers, who are bound by our instructions and are regularly monitored.
(3) Furthermore, we may pass on your personal data to third parties if we offer participation in promotions, competitions, conclusion of contracts or similar services together with partners. For more information, please provide your personal data or see the description of the offer below.
(4) If our service providers or partners are based in a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we will inform you of the consequences of this circumstance in the description of the offer.
Children
Our offer is targeted at adults. Persons under the age of 18 should not transmit any personal data to us without the consent of their parents or legal guardians.
Data subject’s rights
(1) Withdrawal of consent
If the processing of personal data is based on consent given, you have the right to withdraw the consent at any time. In the event of such a revocation, the legality of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent until the revocation shall not be affected.
You can contact us at any time to exercise your right of withdrawal.
(2) Right to Confirmation
You have the right to request confirmation from the controller as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed. You can request confirmation at any time using the above contact details.
(3) Right to information
If personal data is being processed, you can request information about this personal data and about the following information at any time:
- processing purposes;
- categories of personal data processed;
- recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data has been or will be disclosed, especially recipients in third countries or international organizations;
- if possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if this is not possible, the criteria for determining that duration;
- the existence of a right to rectify or erase personal data concerning you or to restrict its processing by the controller or a right to object to such processing;
- the existence of a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;
- if the personal data is not collected from the data subject, all available information about the data’s origin;
- the existence of an automated decision-making process, including profiling in accordance with Sections 22 (1) and (4) GDPR and - in these cases at least - meaningful information on the logic involved and the scope and intended effects of such processing on the data subject.
If personal data are transferred to a third country or an international organization, you have the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards in accordance with Article 46 GDPR in connection with the transfer. We will make available a copy of the personal data that is the subject of the processing. We may charge an appropriate fee based on administrative costs for any additional copies you request from a person. If you submit the request electronically, the information shall be provided in a common electronic format, unless otherwise specified. The right to obtain a copy of personal data in accordance with paragraph 3 shall not prejudice other persons’ rights and freedoms.
(4) Right to rectification
You have the right to demand immediate rectification of any inaccurate personal data concerning you (Article 16 GDPR). Taking into account the purposes of the processing, you have the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data - also by means of a supplementary declaration.
(5) Right to erasure ("Right to be forgotten")
You have the right to request the data controller to erase personal data concerning you immediately, and we are obliged to erase personal data immediately if one of the following reasons applies:
- The personal data are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed.
- The data subject withdraws their consent on which the processing under Article 6(1)(a) or Article 9(2)(a) GDPR was based, and there is no other legal basis for processing.
- The data subject opposes processing under Article 21(1) GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing or the data subject opposes processing under Article 21(2) GDPR.
- The personal data was processed illegally.
- The personal data erasure is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the controller is subject.
- The personal data was collected in relation to the information society services offered under Section 8(1) GDPR.
If the controller has made the personal data public and is obliged to erase them in accordance with paragraph 1, it shall take appropriate measures, including technical measures, taking into account the available technology and implementation costs, to inform data processors who process the personal data that a data subject has requested them to erase all links to such personal data or copies or replications of such personal data.
There is no right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") if the processing is necessary:
- to exercise the right to freedom of expression and information;
- for the performance of a legal obligation which requires the processing under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority conferred on the controller;
- on grounds of public interest in the field of public health in accordance with Article 9(2)(h) and (i) and Article 9(3) GDPR;
- for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) GDPR, in so far as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing; or
- for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
(6) Right to restriction of processing
You have the right to demand restriction of processing from us if one of the following conditions is met:
- The data subject has contested the personal data’s accuracy for a period enabling the controller to verify the personal data’s accuracy;
- The processing is unlawful, and the data subject opposes the personal data’s erasure and requests the restriction of the personal data’s use instead.
- The controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of processing, but the data subject needs them for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
- the data subject has lodged an objection to the processing in accordance with Article 21(1) GDPR as long as it has been established whether the controller's justified grounds outweigh those of the data subject.
If processing has been restricted in accordance with the conditions set out above, such personal data shall only be processed - apart from being stored - with the data subject’s consent or for the purpose of establishing, exercising or defending legal claims or protecting the rights of another natural person or legal entity or on grounds of an important public interest of the Union or a Member State.
The data subject may contact us at any time using the contact details provided above to exercise the right to restrict processing.
(7) Right to data portability
You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly-used and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit this data to another controller without interference by the controller to whom the personal data was provided, if:
- processing is based on consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) or Article 9(2)(a) or on a contract pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, and
- the processing is carried out by automated means
When exercising the right to data portability, you have the right to request that we transmit the personal data directly to another controller, where this is technically feasible. The exercise of the right to data portability does not affect the right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”). This right shall not apply to processing necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority conferred on the controller.
(8) Right to object
You also have the right to object at any time, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning you under Article 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR. This also applies to a profiling based on these provisions. In the event of an objection, the controller shall no longer process personal data unless it can prove compelling reasons worthy of protection for the processing that override the data subject’s interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims
If we process your personal data for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purposes of such advertising. This also applies to profiling, if it is associated with such direct marketing. If you object to the processing for direct marketing purposes, the personal data will no longer be processed for these purposes.
In connection with the use of information society services, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, you may exercise your right to object by means of automated procedures using technical specifications.
You have the right to object, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to the respective processing of personal data concerning you for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1), unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest.
You can exercise your right to object at any time by contacting the respective controller.
(9) Automated decisions in individual cases including profiling
You have the right not to be subject to a decision based exclusively on automated processing - including profiling - which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly affects you significantly. This does not apply if the decision:
- is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller,
- is permitted by Union law or the law of the Member States to which the data controller is subject and that law contains appropriate measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights, freedoms and legitimate interests; or
- is based on the data subject’s express consent.
The controller shall implement suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, including at least the right to obtain human intervention on the controller’s part, to express their point of view and to contest the decision.
The data subject may exercise this right at any time by contacting the respective controller.
(10) Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority
Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, the data subject shall also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if they believe that the processing of personal data relating to them infringes this Regulation.
(11) Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor
Without prejudice to any available administrative or extra-judicial remedy, including the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, they shall have the right to an effective judicial remedy if they consider that their rights under this Regulation have been infringed as a result of a processing of their personal data that was not in compliance with this Regulation.
Use of Google Analytics
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google Inc. "("Google"). Google Analytics uses so-called "cookies", which are text files stored on your computer to enable the website analyze your use of the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there. However, if IP anonymization has been activated on this website, Google shall truncate your IP address beforehand within Member States of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the USA and truncated there. On behalf of this website’s operator, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide the website operator with other services relating to website and internet use.
(2) The IP address transmitted by your browser in the context of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data.
(3) You may prevent the use of cookies by selecting your browser software’s appropriate settings. However, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use this website’s full functionality. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and relating to your use of the website (including your IP address) and from processing this data by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
(4) This website uses Google Analytics with the extension "_anonymizeIp()". As a result, IP addresses will be further processed in truncated form, so that any direct personal reference can be excluded. If the data collected about you is personal data, it will be excluded immediately and the personal data will be deleted promptly.
(5) We use Google Analytics to be able to analyze and regularly improve the use of our website. We can improve our offer and make it more interesting for you as a user. Google has signed up to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework, for the exceptional cases in which personal data is transferred to the USA. The legal basis for the use of Google Analytics is Article 6 ( 1 )(f) GDPR.
(6) Third party information: Google Dublin, Google Ireland Ltd., Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, Fax: +353 1 436 1001. Terms of use:
https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html, Overview of data protection: https://www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html?hl=en-GB, as well as the privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-GB&gl=uk
(7) This website also uses Google Analytics for a device-independent analysis of visitor flows that is carried out through a user ID. You can deactivate the cross-device analysis of your usage in your customer account under “My data”, “Personal data”.