PRIVACY POLICY

Preface

The protection and security of personal data is a high priority for us. We therefore strictly adhere to the rules of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

Responsible Authority Within the Meaning of the Data Protection Laws

German University of Digital Science gGmbH
Prof. Dr. Mike Friedrichsen
Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel
Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 14
14482 Potsdam
Potsdam, Germany

Your Rights as a Person Affected

You can assert the following rights at any time using the contact details provided at the end of this privacy policy or by contacting the responsible authority:

Information about your data stored by us and its processing,
Correction of incorrect personal data,
Deletion of your data stored by us,
Restriction of data processing if we are not yet permitted to delete your data due to legal obligations,
Objection to the processing of your data by us, and
Data portability, provided that you have consented to the data processing or have concluded a contract with us.

If you have given us your consent, you can revoke it at any time with effect for the future.

You can contact the supervisory authority responsible for you at any time with a complaint. Your competent supervisory authority depends on the federal state of your place of residence, your work, or the alleged infringement. A list of supervisory authorities (for the non-public sector) with addresses can be found at BFDI.

Purposes of Data Processing by the Controller and Third Parties

We process your personal data only for the purposes stated in this privacy policy. Your personal data will not be transferred to third parties for purposes other than those stated. We only pass on your personal data to third parties if:

You have given your express consent,
The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you,
The processing is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation,
The processing is necessary to protect legitimate interests and there is no reason to assume that you have an outstanding interest worthy of protection in the non-disclosure of your data.

Deletion or Blocking of Data

We adhere to the principles of data avoidance and data economy. We therefore only store your personal data for as long as is necessary to achieve the purposes stated here or as provided for by the various storage periods stipulated by law. Once the respective purpose no longer applies or these periods have expired, the corresponding data is routinely blocked or deleted in accordance with the statutory provisions.

Collection of General Information / Data Logging When Visiting Our Website

When you access our website, information of a general nature is automatically collected. This information (server log files) includes the type of web browser (type and version), the operating system used, the IP address of the requesting computer, the domain name of your Internet service provider, the date and time of access, the requested document/URL, the referrer URL (the previously visited website), and similar information. This is exclusively information that does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about your person. This information is technically necessary to correctly deliver the website content requested by you and is mandatory when using the Internet. Anonymous information of this kind is statistically evaluated by us to optimize our Internet presence and the technology behind it. It is not passed on to third parties for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies

Our Internet pages use so-called “cookies”. Cookies are small text files that do not cause any damage to your end device. They are stored on your device either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (permanent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Permanent cookies remain stored on your end device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser.

Partially, cookies from third-party companies may also be stored on your device when you visit our website (third-party cookies). These enable us or you to use certain services of the third-party company (e.g., cookies for processing payment services).

Cookies have various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website functions would not work without them (e.g., the shopping cart function or the display of videos). Other cookies are used to evaluate user behavior or display advertising.

Cookies that are required to carry out the electronic communication process, to provide certain functions that you have requested (e.g., for the shopping cart function) or to optimize the website (e.g., cookies to measure the web audience) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If consent to the storage of cookies and comparable recognition technologies has been requested, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of this consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR and § 25 para. 1 TTDSG); the consent can be revoked at any time.

You can set your browser to notify you when cookies are set and to allow cookies only in individual cases, to exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and to activate the automatic deletion of cookies when the browser is closed. If cookies are deactivated, the functionality of this website may be restricted.

If cookies are used by third-party companies or for analysis purposes, we will inform you about that separately as part of this privacy policy and, if necessary, request your consent.

SSL Encryption

To protect the security of your data during transmission, we use the latest encryption methods (e.g., SSL) via HTTPS.

Newsletter Data

If you would like to receive the newsletter offered on our website, we require an email address from you, as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the email address provided and that you agree to receive the newsletter. No further data is collected, except on a voluntary basis. We use this data exclusively for sending the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

The data entered in the newsletter registration form is processed exclusively based on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You can revoke your consent to the storage of the data, the email address, and its use for sending the newsletter at any time, for example, via the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. The legality of the data processing operations that have already taken place remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data you provide for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us or the newsletter service provider until you unsubscribe from the newsletter, and it will be deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe. Data stored by us for other purposes remains unaffected.

After you unsubscribe from the newsletter distribution list, your email address may be stored by us or the newsletter service provider in a blacklist to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist will only be used for this purpose and will not be merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with the legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). Storage in the blacklist is not time-limited. You can object to the storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

Rapidmail

This website uses Rapidmail to send newsletters. The provider is rapidmail GmbH, located at Augustinerplatz 2, 79098 Freiburg i.Br., Germany. Rapidmail is a service used to organize and analyze the sending of newsletters. The data you enter for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter is stored on Rapidmail’s servers in Germany.

If you do not wish to be analyzed by Rapidmail, you must unsubscribe from the newsletter. We provide a link for this purpose in every newsletter message. You can also unsubscribe directly on the website.

Data Analysis by Rapidmail

For analysis purposes, emails sent with Rapidmail contain a so-called “tracking pixel,” which connects to Rapidmail servers when the email is opened. This allows us to determine whether a newsletter message has been opened. Additionally, we can see whether and which links in the newsletter message are clicked. All links in the email are tracking links, which can be used to count your clicks.

For more information on Rapidmail’s analysis functions, please visit: Rapidmail Wiki.

Legal Basis

Data processing is based on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You may withdraw this consent at any time. The legality of the data processing operations that have already taken place remains unaffected by the revocation.

Storage Period

The data you provide for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us or the newsletter service provider until you unsubscribe from the newsletter, and will be deleted from the newsletter distribution list after you unsubscribe. Data stored by us for other purposes remains unaffected.

For more information, please refer to Rapidmail’s data security information at: Rapidmail Data Security.

Conclusion of an Order Processing Contract

We have concluded a contract with Rapidmail, in which we require Rapidmail to protect our customers’ data and to not disclose it to third parties. This contract can be viewed at the following link: Rapidmail Order Processing Contract.

Microsoft Clarity

We partner with Microsoft Clarity and Microsoft Advertising to capture how you use and interact with our website through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay to improve and market our products/services. Website usage data is captured using first and third-party cookies and other tracking technologies to determine the popularity of products/services and online activity. Additionally, we use this information for site optimization, fraud/security purposes, and advertising. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy from time to time to ensure it complies with current legal requirements or to include changes to our services in the privacy policy, such as when introducing new services. The new privacy policy will apply from your next visit.

Questions for Us

If you have any questions about data protection, please send us an email at office@german-uds.de or write to us at:

German University of Digital Science gGmbH
Prof. Dr. Mike Friedrichsen
Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel
Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 14
14482 Potsdam