Privacy policy

Version of: Mai 26, 2021

Changes to the previous version of October 31, 2019

  • Previous Chapter 6) Information about Google services and 7) Using Google Maps deleted without replacement, because Google Maps is not directly integrated in the website any longer
  • Chapter 6 (previous Chapter 8) Use of YouTube: Update, because EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework is not valid any longer

1) Preamble

Welcome to our website! We take the protection of your data and your privacy very seriously. The purpose of this document is to provide you with information about what types of data we process and when, for what purpose and on what legal basis we process data. In this document, we would like to explain to you how our services work and how we protect your personal data.

In accordance with Article 4 (1) of the GDPR, personal data means all information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. An identifiable natural person is someone who can be identified, either directly or indirectly. For further information, please refer to Article 4 (1) of the GDPR.

This privacy policy is accessible electronically via our https://www.AiF.de/english/privacy-policy.html and may be downloaded, saved and printed any time.

If we use our legitimate interest or the legitimate interest of a third party as the legal basis for processing your personal data (Article 6 (1) point f) of the GDPR), you have the right to object to this processing pursuant to Article 21 of the GDPR:

Pursuant to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data that is based on our legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) point f) of the GDPR).

Pursuant to Article 21 of the GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data which relies on our legitimate interests as the legal basis for the processing of personal data (Article 6 (1) point (f) of the GDPR).
Under Article 21 of the GDPR, you have the right to
object to the processing of your personal data at any time. We shall then no longer process your personal data for purposes of direct marketing or any related profiling.

Likewise, we shall then no longer process your personal data for any other purpose, unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate reasons for processing that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves to enforce, exercise or defend legal claims (see Article 21 (1) of the GDPR, the so-called ‘Limited right of objection’). In this case, you have to set out the reasons for the objection that relate to your particular situation.

Where personal data is processed for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89 (1) of the GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for reasons relating to your particular situation, unless processing is required to carry out a task for reasons of public interest (see Article 21 (6) of the GDPR).

2) Controller

The controller for the processing of personal data within the meaning of Article 4 (7) of the GDPR is:

AiF Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen „Otto von Guericke“ e.V.
Bayenthalgürtel 23
50968 Köln
Phone +49 221 376 80-0
Fax +49 221 376 80-27
E-Mail: info(at)AiF.de

3) Contact details of the data protection officer

If you have any questions regarding the processing of your personal data or your rights with respect to data protection, please contact:

Dr. Alexandra Böcke
AiF Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen „Otto von Guericke“ e.V.
Bayenthalgürtel 23
50968 Köln
Phone +49 221 376 80-338
Fax +49 221 376 80-27
E-Mail: datenschutz(at)AiF.de

4) Log files

Every time you visit our website, we automatically collect data and information from your device's system and store it in so-called ‘server log files’. This is data that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person (in this case: website visitors). The data is automatically transmitted by your browser when you visit our website. This following data is collected:

  • the time our website is accessed (request to host provider server);
  • referring website URL;
  • your operating system;
  • your browser type and version; and
  • your computer’s IP address.

We process this data to ensure that our website is accessible from your device, and that it displays correctly on your device or in your browser. In addition, the data is used to optimise the website and to ensure the security of our systems. We do not analyse this data for marketing purposes.

The legal basis for this processing is Article 6 (1) point (f) of the GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in presenting you with a website that is optimised for your browser, and to facilitate communication between our server and your device. The latter, in particular, requires your IP address to be processed.

We shall store the data for seven days.

The recipient of the data is our server host, media experts, Walchenseestr. 19, 95445 Bayreuth, server location: Düsseldorf, which works on our behalf under the terms of a data processing agreement.

Right of objection
You have the right to object to data processing. You can send us or communicate to us your objection at any time (e.g. by email to datenschutz(at)AiF.de).

The provision of personal data is not a statutory or contractual requirement, nor a requirement necessary to enter into a contract. While you are not under any obligation to provide us with your personal data, if you do not do so, you may not be able to use all the features of the website fully.

5) Cookies

Our websites uses cookies. Cookies are text files that are saved on your device to make the use of this website more convenient, or to recognise a user’s device and save settings, etc. Input into and settings for a website can be saved in cookies so that you don’t have to re-enter anything or change the settings every time your revisit a website. Cookies contain a ‘cookie-ID’, which is used to assign a device on which the cookie is saved. We specifically use the following cookies:

  • Cookies that contain a randomly generated specific ID number that make you or your device identifiable on our website during your visit. These are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. (Cookie "fe_typo_user": These are written when you access the contact form, to cache a user’s form input.)
  • Cookies that contain a randomly generated specific ID number that make you or your device identifiable on our website. These cookies (in this case: cookieconsent_dismissed) are used to determine whether the user has already accepted the use of cookies and can therefore control visibility of the cookie notice. These cookies are automatically deleted after one year.

The purpose of this type of processing is to make your use of our website convenient and to give you the option of saving your settings.

The legal basis for this processing is Article 6 (1) point (f) of the GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in presenting you with a website that saves your personal settings and makes your visit to our website easier.

Right of objection

You have the right to object to data processing.
You can restrict the use of cookies or completely disable them in your browser settings. You can also enable the automatic deletion of cookies when you close your browser window.

You can learn more about how to delete cookies in the most common browsers, and about how to change cookie settings etc. here:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en

Mozilla Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored

Apple Safari: https://support.apple.com

Microsoft Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies

The provision of personal data is not a statutory or contractual requirement, nor a requirement necessary to enter into a contract. While you are not under any obligation to provide us with your personal data, if you do not do so, you may not be able to use all the features of the website fully.

Other services that we use also use cookies. We shall draw your attention separately to the use of cookies when dealing with those individual services.

6) Use of social media channels

The AiF e.V. uses the social networks Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.
The AiF e.V. uses data of persons communicating with the AiF e.V. for editorial purposes in the social channels. Short-term data storage by a service provider is necessary for this and takes place on a server located in the European Union. The backup includes: Profile and account name as well as picture, content of the request, number of followers and profiles the profile follows, as well as latest tweets. This information is stored for six months.
The data is processed on the basis of Article 6 (1) lit. e DSGVO in conjunction with Section 3 BDSG. The use of the transmitted personal data is necessary to process your request.
We draw your attention to the fact that the above-mentioned services store the users' data in accordance with their own data usage policies and use it for business purposes and that we have no influence on the data collection and its further use. 

We base our processing operations in connection with American service providers on the EU standard contractual clauses and other measures.

 

Twitter
The AiF e.V. uses the services of Twitter. These functions are offered by Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland. By using Twitter (retweeting, rating), data is collected and transmitted to Twitter. The use of the Twitter plug-in is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO.  If a corresponding consent was requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user's terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) as defined by the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time. We would like to point out that we, as the provider of the website and the Twitter channel, have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by Twitter. For more information, please refer to Twitter's privacy policy at: https://twitter.com/de/privacy.

You can view your privacy settings on Twitter in the account settings https://twitter.com/account/settings.

 

YouTube
This website embeds videos from our YouTube channel. The operator of the pages is Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
We use YouTube in extended data protection mode. According to YouTube, this mode means that YouTube does not store any information about visitors to this website before they watch the video. However, the transfer of data to YouTube partners is not necessarily excluded by the extended data protection mode. Thus, YouTube - regardless of whether you watch a video - establishes a connection to the Google DoubleClick network.
As soon as you start a YouTube video on this website, a connection to YouTube's servers is established. This tells the YouTube server which of our pages you have visited. If you are logged into your YouTube account, you enable YouTube to assign your surfing behavior directly to your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.
Furthermore, YouTube can save various cookies on your end device after starting a video or use comparable recognition technologies (e.g. device fingerprinting). In this way, YouTube can obtain information about visitors to this website. This information is used, among other things, to collect video statistics, improve the user experience, and prevent fraud attempts.
If necessary, further data processing operations may be triggered after the start of a YouTube video, over which we have no control.
YouTube is used in the interest of an appealing presentation of our online offers. This represents a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. If a corresponding consent was requested, the processing is based exclusively on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO; the consent can be revoked at any time.
For more information about data protection at YouTube, please see their privacy policy at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.
 

Instagram
Functions integrated by Instagram are offered by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland. The storage and analysis of the data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO.  If a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user's terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) as defined by the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time. We would like to point out that we, as the provider of the website and the Instagram channel, have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by Instagram.
 The data transfer to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum, https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875 and https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381.
For more information, please see Instagram's privacy policy: https://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

 

LinkedIn
AiF e.V. uses functions of the network LinkedIn. The provider is LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.  Each time you access a page of this website that contains functions of LinkedIn, a connection to servers of LinkedIn is established. LinkedIn is informed that you have visited this website with your IP address. If you click the "Recommend Button" of LinkedIn and are logged into your account at LinkedIn, it is possible for LinkedIn to assign your visit to this site to you and your user account. We would like to point out that we, as the provider of the website and the LinkedIn channel, have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by LinkedIn.
The use of the LinkedIn plugin is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Insofar as a corresponding consent has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information in the user's terminal device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TTDSG. The consent can be revoked at any time.
Data transfer to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/62538/datenubertragung-aus-der-eu-dem-ewr-und-der-schweiz?lang=de
For more information, please see LinkedIn's privacy policy at: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

7) Matomo

We use the open source software Matomo (formerly PWIK) on our website. Matomo is provided by Matomo.org. Specifically, Matomo is provided by the InnoCraft Ltd. company, 150 Willis St, 6011 Wellington, New Zealand.

Matomo is a web analysis tool that analyses and evaluates our website and its users. In particular, we use Matomo to record and analyse the surfing behaviour of our website users.

Matomo is exclusively run on our servers as part of this website, so that data is not shared with third parties and data is exclusively processed on our servers.

Matomo is embedded onto our site by loading a relevant JavaScript.  Matomo also uses the following cookies (for more details about cookies, see “Section 5: Cookies”):

  • _pk_id
  • _pk_ses
  • _pk_ref
  • _pk_cvar

When you use or access our website, including all of our individual pages and subpages, we process the following data:

  • two bytes of the IP address of the user’s system accessing the website;
  • the referring website;
  • the subpages visited from the accessed website;
  • the length of stay on the website; and
  • the frequency of website access.

You can particularly find more information about Matomo’s features at: https://matomo.org/what-is-matomo/ and https://matomo.org/docs/

The purpose of processing personal data in this case is to analyse and evaluate our users’ surfing behaviour. This allows us to continually improve our online content.

The legal basis for processing personal data as described above is Article 6 (1) point f) of the GDPR. Our justified legitimate interest for this processing lies in the great benefits that the above-mentioned features have for our online content. The statistical evaluation of user behaviour particularly allows us to respond and optimise our online content based on interests.

The recipient of the data is our server host, media experts, Walchenseestr. 19, 95445 Bayreuth, server location: Düsseldorf, which works on our behalf under the terms of a data processing agreement.

Right of objection

You have the right to object to data processing. You can disable Matomo at any time by clicking on the button designated for this. Your data will then not be processed any more. If you disable Matomo via the said button, the deactivation will take place through installation of another cookie. If you delete this cookie, Matomo will be reactivated.

You can make a decision here as to whether you want to store a distinct web analysis cookie in your browser to allow the website operator to collect and analyse a variety of statistical data.

If you don’t want the operator to do so, click on the following link to store the Matomo deactivation cookie in your browser.

Your visit to this website is currently being recorded by Matomo web analysis. Click here if you no longer want your visit to be recorded.

You can learn more about how to delete cookies in the most common browsers, and about how to change cookie settings etc. here:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en

Mozilla Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored

Apple Safari: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411?locale=de_DE&viewlocale=en_US

Microsoft Internet Explorer:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies


The information processed is saved for 180 days and is then automatically deleted after this storage period.

You can find more information about how Matomo handles data in Matomo’s privacy policy https://matomo.org/privacy-policy/.

You can find information about Matomo’s privacy settings at https://matomo.org/docs/privacy/.

The provision of personal data is not a statutory or contractual requirement, nor a requirement necessary to enter into a contract. While you are not under any obligation to provide us with your personal data, if you do not do so, you may not be able to use all the features of the website fully.

8) Contacting us

There is an option for you to contact us by phone or by e-mail on our website.

If you use this option to contact us, we shall process your telephone number or your e-mail address and information in the body of your message, where applicable.

The purpose of processing your telephone number or e-mail address is to process the contact request and to enable us to contact the person making the inquiry, so as to answer his query.

The legal basis for processing personal data as described above is Article 6 (1) point f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest is to give you the opportunity to contact us at any time to allow us to respond to any queries you may have.

Personal data will only be processed if it is necessary for the provision of this feature.

Right of objection
You have the right to object to data processing.
You can send us or communicate to us your objection at any time (e.g. by email to datenschutz(at)AiF.de).

The provision of personal data is not a statutory or contractual requirement, nor a requirement necessary to enter into a contract. While you are not under any obligation to provide us with your personal data, if you do not do so, you may not be able to get in touch with us.

9) External links

We would like to note that our website contains links to external websites, but we have no influence over the processing of data on these external websites.

10) Data security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect our website and other systems against loss, destruction, access, modification, or distribution of your data by unauthorised persons. Notwithstanding our best efforts, data security and protection against all risks cannot be fully guaranteed.

11) Amendments to the privacy policy

We may have to amend our privacy policy to reflect changes in the law or changes in our internal processes. If we have to amend our privacy policy on this basis, we shall communicate this to you with underneath the subject line: ‘Privacy policy’.  

12) Withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw your consent with future effect at any time, without affecting the legality of the processing done before withdrawal and based on your consent.

13) Data subject rights

As a data subject, you have the following rights:

  • right of access (Article 15 of the GDPR);
  • right to rectification of data (Article 16 of the GDPR);
  • right of objection (Article 21 of the GDPR);
  • right to erasure (Article 17 of the GDPR);
  • right to restriction of processing (Article 18 et seq. of the GDPR); and
  • right to data portability (Article 20 of the GDPR).

If you have any questions regarding your rights, please contact datenschutz(at)AiF.de. Please note that in this case, we have to ensure that we are dealing with the actual data subject.

Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

We do not use automated decision-making on our website.