Data Protection

The following pertains to the use of this website. As the party responsible for the data processing (controller), we process the personal data collected via our website and store them for the period, which is required to achieve the specified purpose and to comply with the statutory requirements. The following text informs you of the data we collect and the way we process the collected data. We also inform you about on data privacy rights as they pertain to the use of our website.

Pursuant to Article 4 No. 1 Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO) , personal data are all data referring to a specific or identifiable natural person.

 

1. Name and contact information of the person who signs responsible for the data processing (controller) and of the society’s data protection officer

This data protection information shall apply to the processing of data on our institute’s website www.ime.fraunhofer.de/en the controller, the:


Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Hansastrasse 27 c,
D-80686 München (Munich, Germany)

On behalf of your Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME

(in the following referred to as ‘Fraunhofer IME’)

Email: datenschutz@ime.fraunhofer.de

 

You can reach the Data Protection Officer of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft at the above address c/o Data Protection Officer or at datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de. You can contact the data protection representative of the Fraunhofer IME at datenschutz@ime.fraunhofer.de.

Please feel free to contact the data protection officer directly at any time with your questions concerning your data protection rights and/or your rights as affected person.

 

2. Processing of Personal Data and Purposes of the Data Processing

a) During your Website Visit

You can visit the website www.ime.fraunhofer.de without revealing your identity. The browser used on your terminal device merely automatically sends information to the server of our website (e.g. browser type and version, date and time of access) to enable the website to connect. This also includes the IP address of your requesting terminal. This is temporarily stored in a so-called log file and automatically deleted after 4 days.

The IP address is processed for technical and administrative purposes of establishing a stable connection. This guarantees the security and functionality of our website and enables us to trace any illegal attacks if necessary.

The legal basis for processing the IP address is Art. 6 Par. 1 S. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Our legitimate interest follows from the aforementioned security interest and the need to provide a trouble-free website.

We cannot draw any direct conclusions about your identity from the processing of the IP address and other information in the log file.

Furthermore, we place cookies on the devices of our website visitors and use analytical services. For more information on the use of cookies and analytical services, please see Sections 4 and 5 of this Data Protection Statement.

b) The Use of Contact Forms

We offer you the possibility to contact us via contact forms  provided on the website. The following information is required:

  • First and last name
  • Email address

We need these required data to learn who contacted us and to process the user request.

We process the requested data in response to your enquiry. Our purpose is to answer your query in pursuit of our legitimate interests pursuant to Article 6 para. 1, page 1 lit. f DSGVO.

Once we have satisfied the enquiry via contact form, we will immediately delete the collected personal data.

c)       When registering for events

We regularly offer a variety of events through our website, for which you can register online.

In order to register online, our website’s visitors have to provide some mandatory data, which generally include:

  • First and last name
  • Address
  • Email address

Any other mandatory data are marked as such (e.g., with *). Often, additional information can be provided voluntarily.

The purpose of processing the mandatory data is to identify you as event participant, to reserve a spot for you as well as to establish and implement a contractual relationship regarding your participation, and to provide you before, during and after the event with information that will optimize your participation, and to help us plan and ensure a smooth event experience. If we collect your payment information for events that require payment, those data are needed to process the registration fee. Voluntary data allow us to plan and conduct the event based on participants’ interest.

We process data at your request, and it is mandatory pursuant to Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR for the purposes named to fulfill the obligations of the participant agreement and implement precontractual measures.

We store the data we collect in the context of event registrations for 6 months unless you have consented to a longer storage period under Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR.

To accept event registrations via our online forms, we have commissioned the service provider Mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan (“Mailingwork”). The purpose of working with the service provider is the professional management of online registrations. For this purpose the collected data are stored on the servers of Mailingwork in Germany.

We have entered into a data processing agreement with Mailingwork. By concluding this contract with us, Mailingwork undertakes to process the data on our behalf in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and to ensure that the rights of the data subjects are protected.

d) When subscribing to a newsletter

We offer on our website the option to register for a newsletter distribution list. If you have expressly given your consent pursuant to the first sentence of point (a) of Article 6(1) GDPR, we will use your email address to regularly send you information corresponding to your selection. To receive the information, an email address, first name and name, and the desired language version is sufficient.

You may provide additional personal data voluntarily (e.g. address and telephone number). We use this data to contact you (e.g. sending the Newsletter).

You will then receive a registration notification by email, which you need to confirm to be able to receive the newsletter (so-called double opt-in). This helps us verify that it is actually you who have initiated the registration.

Unsubscribing is possible at any time, e.g. via a link at the end of each newsletter. Alternatively, you may also send your unsubscribing request to datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de by email.

After withdrawing your consent for sending the newsletter, your email address will be deleted immediately.

We send our newsletter by means of the service provider Mailingwork GmbH, Birkenweg 7, 09569 Oederan (“Mailingwork”). The email addresses and data of our newsletter recipients are stored on our behalf on the servers of Mailingwork in Germany.

Mailingwork uses this information to send and evaluate the newsletter on our behalf. For this purpose we have concluded an order processing agreement with Mailingwork. By means of this agreement, Mailingwork assures that it processes the data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and guarantees the protection of rights of the data subjects.

Mailingwork assures that personal data is fully protected against unauthorised access. Mailingwork itself does not use the data of our newsletter recipients to write to them or to transfer the data to third parties. As a reliable email sender, Mailingwork is also certified by the Certified Senders Alliance.

 

3. Transfer of Personal Data to Third Parties

We give your personal data only to third parties (i.e. to natural and legal persons other than you, the affected person), the controller or the service provider or his/her vicarious agents under the following circumstances:

  • You consented explicitly to the data transfer to a third party according to Article 6 para. 1, page 1 lit. a DSGVO
  • this is necessary for the fulfilment of a contract with you pursuant to Art. 6 Par. 1 S. 1 lit. b DSGVO,
  • in the event that a legal obligation exists for the transfer pursuant to Art. 6 Par. 1 S. 1 lit. c DSGVO.

The transfer/transmission of personal data to countries outside the EU or an international organisation shall be excluded.

 

4. Cookies

We use server-side cookies. Cookies are small files, which are automatically created by the browser of the user device and stored in your device (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone or similar device) when you visit our website. Cookies do not harm your computer, and they do not contain viruses, Trojans or other malware. Cookies contain information pertaining to the specific device, which accessed our website. However, this does not give us direct knowledge of your identity.

We also use cookies to gather data for our website statistics. This helps us to evaluate and optimise our web offerings (see Section 5). These cookies allow us to recognise repeat visits from your device. These cookies will be deleted automatically after a specific time.

The data obtained with the help of cookies serve us to pursue our legitimate interests as website owners and serve the legitimate interests of third parties according to Article 6 para. 1, page 1 lit. f DSGVO.

Most browsers accept cookies automatically. However, you are able to configure your browser in such a way that the application does not store cookies on your computer or always shows an alert before storing new cookies. The complete deactivation of cookies may prevent you from using all functions on our website.

 

5. Web analysis/Tracking

LeadLab (wiredminds GmbH)

For our website, we use the Leadlab service of the service provider Wiredminds GmbH and the company’s pixel counting technology to analyse the habits of our website users. The analysis helps us to optimise our website. The service allows us to recognise, which companies visit our website. The data do not enable us to identify users directly.

In context with the Leadlab web services, we use cookies and tag pixels (also known as web or tracking bugs). These cookies and tag pixels allow our service to analyse how our website visitors use our website.The cookie stores information including personal data on the behaviour of website visitors and transmits this information directly to Wiredminds if Wiredminds does not collect it directly. Wiredminds uses pseudonyms and anonymises the data whenever possible before processing and analysing the data and creating a user profile.

Without your specifically given explicit consent, neither Wiredminds nor we use the so collected data to identify you personally, and your personal data are never comingled with data under a pseudonym associated with you.

To the extent that the web analysts collect IP addresses, these addresses are stripped of their last control number block upon collection to anonymise the addresses instantly.

You find the data protection statement of Wiredminds on the Wiredminds website at https://www.wiredminds.de/datenschutzhinweis/.

The provider processes the statistical data based on our legitimate interests in the optimisation of our online offerings and our web presence according to Article 6 para.1 lit. f DSGVO. Wiredminds processes the data on our behalf, and we have entered into an order processing agreement with Wiredminds. Wiredminds agrees to process the data on our behalf and in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO). Wiredminds also agrees to protect the rights of the affected persons.

In case you reject the collection of data and the analysis of your user activities, please use our opt-out cookie to prevent the installation of our cookies. This will prevent the future collection of data when you use our website.  The opt-out cookie in your device works only in the used browser and applies only to our website. If you delete the cookies in the computer’s cookie folder, you have to install the opt-out cookie again.

 

6. Social Plugins

We use social plug-ins (media buttons) on our website. These are small box-like buttons. Click on them to place the content of our website under your profile in social network sites.

If you click on such a button, a link will be established between our website and the social network to which you subscribe. Aside from the respective content, the social network provider will receive other personal information. This includes the information that you visit our website at that time.

For the integration of the social plug-in we use the Shariff Solution. This solution prevents your device from creating a link to the social network merely because you visit a website featuring a social plug-in button without clicking on it. This means that a link is only established if a when you click on the social plug-in button.

We integrate the following social plug-in on our website:

a)    Facebook Sharing of Facebook Ireland Limited

Sometimes, information is transmitted to the US domicile of the parent company Facebook Inc. This company complies with the data protection regulations of the ‘US Privacy Shield’ and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Commerce.

Purpose and scope of the data collection and further processing and use of the data by Facebook and your user rights in your relationship with Facebook as well as your ability to influence your privacy rights by changing your browser settings are subject to your privacy agreement with Facebook. Please consult the Facebook Data Protection Statement.

b)  Twitter Sharing by the Twitter International Company

Sometimes, information is transmitted to the US parent company Twitter Inc. The Twitter International Company complies with the data protection regulations of ‘US Privacy Shield’. Twitter Inc. is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Trade.

Please find more information on the data protection in the Twitter Data Protection Statement.

c)   Google+ Sharing Google LLC

Google complies with the Data Protection Regulations of ‘US Privacy Shield’ and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Trade.

Please find more information on Google data protection in the Google Data Protection Declaration.

d)  Xing Sharing by Xing SE

Please find more information on Xing data protection in the Xing SE Data Protection Declaration.

e)   LinkedIn Sharing by LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company

Sometimes, information is transmitted to the parent company LinkedIn Corporation with its domicile in the USA. LinkedIn complies with the Data Protection Regulations of ‘US Privacy Shield’ and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Commerce.

Please find more information on LinkedIn data protection in the LinkedIn Data Protection Declaration.

 

7. YouTube

Based on the agreement according to Article 6 Para. 1, page 1 lit. f DSGVO, we use components (videos) of YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, 94066 San Bruno, CA (USA) (in the following referred to as ‘YouTube’), a company of Google Inc., Amphitheatre Parkway, 94043 Mountain View (USA),  (in the following referred to as ‘Google’).

In the process, we use the ‘extended data protection mode’ option provided by YouTube.

Upon requesting an Internet page with embedded video, our website connects to the YouTube servers and renders the content on the Internet page using your browser.

According to the information provided by YouTube, in the ‘extended data protection mode’, your data will be transmitted to the US YouTube servers only while you watch the video. The transmitted data include the Internet page you just viewed and device-specific data including your IP address. By clicking ‘run’ on the video you agree to this mode of transmission.

Should you be logged into your YouTube account at the same time, YouTube will associate these collected data with your member account. You are able to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

Google complies with the data protection regulation of US Privacy Shield and is registered with the US Privacy Shield Program of the US Department of Trade.

You find further information on the data protection in context with YouTube in the Google Data Protection Regulations.

 

8. Your Rights as Affected Person

You have the following rights:

  • According to Article 7 para. 3 DSGVO, you have the right to revoke any consent declaration at any time, which you may have given to us before. This has the consequence that we are no longer privileged to continue the respective activity.
  • According to Article 15 DSGVO, you have the right to demand information on your personal data, which we have processed. In particular, you have the right to information on the following:

Purposes of the data processing

The categories of personal data,

The categories of recipients to which we transmitted/disclosed or will transmit your data

The planned storage periods of data

The existence of the right to correction, deletion, restriction of processing and objection

The right to appeal

The right to know the origin of data in the event that we did not collect these data

The right to meaningful and detailed information on the existence on automated decision-making including profiling

  • According to Article 16 DSGVO, you have the right to the correction of incorrect and/or the completion of incomplete personal data in storage at the Fraunhofer Society
  • According to  Article 17 DSGVO, you have the right to the deletion of your personal data providing the deletion does not interfere with the execution of the right to the free expression of opinions and with the compliance with legal obligations, providing the deletion is not against public interest and providing the deletion does not hamper the enforcement, execution or defence of legal claims
  • According to Article 18 DSGVO, you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data if you contest or challenge the accuracy of these data, the processing of the data is illegal but you reject the deletion of these data and we no longer need the data while you still need the data to enforce, execute or defend legal claims or you have raised an objection against the data processing according to Article 21 DSGVO
  • According to Article 20 DSGVO, you have the right to receive the personal data you provided to us in a structured, well-established and machine-readable format or to demand the transmission to another authority and
  • According to Article 77 DSGVO, you have the right to complain to a superior authority. As a rule, you may find such authority at your place of residence, your workplace or our company domicile.

 

Information on your Right of Objections according to Article 21 DSGVO

You have the right to object at any time against the processing of your personal data, based on Article 6 para. 1, lit. f DSGVO (data processing in the public interest) and Article 6, para. 1, lit. e DSGVO (data processing based on fair balancing) for reasons, which arise from your specific situation. This shall also apply to the profiling as prescribed by Article 4 No. 4 DSGVO, which is supported by this provision.

Once you file an objection, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can establish compelling evidence, which is worthy of protection and outweighs your interests, rights and privileges, or unless the processing serves the enforcement, exercise or defence of legal claims.

To the extent that your objection addresses the processing of data for direct advertising, we will stop the processing immediately. In this case, citing a special situation is not required. This shall also apply to profiling in as far as it does not relate to such direct advertising.

If you wish to make use of your right to object, please send an email to datenschutz@zv.fraunhofer.de.

 

9. Data Security

We transmit all your personal data using the generally used and secure encryption standard TLS (Transport Layer Security). The TLS protocol is a proven and secure standard. Bankers use the standard for online banking transactions. You recognise a secure TLS connection by the s following the http (https://...) in your browser URL or by the lock symbol in the lower section of your browser.

By the way, we use suitable technical and organisational safety procedures to protect your data against inadvertent or wilful manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or against the unauthorised access by third parties. We constantly improve these security measures as the technology advances.

 

10. Timeliness of the Data and Amendments to this Data Protection Information

This data protection information as amended on May 2018 is currently applicable.

Due to improvements of our website and website offers or based on statutory or government standard, it may become necessary to amend this data protection information. You find the latest applicable data protection information by clicking the link on this website: https://www.ime.fraunhofer.de/en/data_protection.html. You may read or print this updated and amended version at any time.

 

11. Severability

Should individual provisions of this data protection declaration be or become invalid either in part or in its entirety or prove infeasible at any time, this shall not affect the remaining provisions of this data protection declaration. This shall apply accordingly to gaps in this declaration.