Data Privacy

This data protection declaration informs you about the nature, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) within our online offer and the websites, functions and content associated with it, as well as external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as “online offer”). With regard to the terms used, such as “processing” or “controller”, we refer to the definitions in Article 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Responsible

Institute for Competence in Argumentation
Fontanestraße 6
14621 Schönwalde-Glien (Schönwalde)

Phone: +49 3322 4237236
Mobile: +49 176 80012524
Email: info@argumentationskompetenz.de

Managing Director / Owner: Dr. Malte Engel

Types of data processed:

  • Inventory data (e.g., names, addresses).
  • Contact data (e.g., email, phone numbers).
  • Content data (e.g., text entries, photographs, videos).
  • Usage data (e.g., web pages visited, interest in content, access times).
  • Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses).

Categories of persons affected

Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter we also refer to the data subjects collectively as “users”).

Purpose of processing

– Zurverfügungstellung des Onlineangebotes, seiner Funktionen und Inhalte.
– Beantwortung von Kontaktanfragen und Kommunikation mit Nutzern.

  • Provision of the online offer, its functions and contents
  • Answering contact requests and communication with users
  • Security measures
  • Reach measurement/marketing

Terms used

“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier (e.g. cookie) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

“Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means. The term is broad and includes virtually any handling of data.

“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 such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures which ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

“Profiling” means any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects relating to that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or change of location.

“Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

Relevant legal basis

In accordance with Art. 13 DSGVO, we inform you about the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not mentioned in the privacy policy, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6(1)(a) and Art. 7 DSGVO, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our services and carry out contractual measures and respond to inquiries is Art. 6(1)(b) DSGVO, the legal basis for processing to fulfill our legal obligations is Art. 6(1)(c) DSGVO, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6(1)(f) DSGVO. In case that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person make processing of personal data necessary, Art. 6 (1) lit. d DSGVO serves as the legal basis.

Security measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk in accordance with Article 32 of the GDPR, taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing, as well as the varying likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical access to the data, as well as the access, input, transfer, safeguarding of availability and its separation. Furthermore, we have established procedures to ensure the exercise of data subjects’ rights, deletion of data, and response to data compromise. Furthermore, we already take the protection of personal data into account in the development and selection of hardware, software and processes, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings (Article 25 of the GDPR).

Cooperation with processors and third parties

If, in the course of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (processors or third parties), transmit it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of a legal permission (e.g. if a transmission of the data to third parties, such as to payment service providers, is required for the performance of the contract pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. b DSGVO), you have consented, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we commission third parties with the processing of data on the basis of a so-called “order processing agreement”, this is done on the basis of Art. 28 DSGVO.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA)) or if this is done in the context of using third-party services or disclosing or transferring data to third parties, this is only done if it is done to fulfill our (pre-)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, on the basis of a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we process or allow the processing of data in a third country only if the special requirements of Art. 44 et seq. DSGVO are met. This means that the processing is carried out, for example, on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognized determination of a level of data protection that corresponds to the EU (e.g. for the USA through the “Privacy Shield”) or compliance with officially recognized special contractual obligations (so-called “standard contractual clauses”).

Rights of the data subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether data in question is being processed and to information about this data, as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 of the GDPR.

You have according to. Art. 16 DSGVO the right to request the completion of the data concerning you or the correction of incorrect data concerning you.

You have the right, in accordance with Art. 17 DSGVO, to demand that data concerning you be deleted without delay, or alternatively, in accordance with Art. 18 DSGVO, to demand restriction of the processing of the data.

You have the right to request that the data concerning you that you have provided to us be received in accordance with Art. 20 DSGVO and to request that it be transferred to other data controllers.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with Art. 77 DSGVO.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to revoke given consents according to Art. 7 para. 3 DSGVO with effect for the future.

Right of objection

Sie können der künftigen Verarbeitung der Sie betreffenden Daten nach Maßgabe des Art. 21 DSGVO You may object to the future processing of data relating to you in accordance with Art. 21 DSGVO at any time. The objection can be made in particular against the processing for purposes of direct marketing.

Cookies and right to object to direct advertising

“Cookies” are small files that are stored on users’ computers. Different information can be stored within the cookies. A cookie is primarily used to store information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after his visit to an online offer. Temporary cookies, or “session cookies” or “transient cookies”, are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online offer and closes his browser. Such a cookie may store, for example, the contents of a shopping cart in an online store or a login status. Cookies that remain stored even after the browser is closed are referred to as “permanent” or “persistent”. For example, the login status can be stored if users visit them after several days. Likewise, the interests of users can be stored in such a cookie, which is used for range measurement or marketing purposes. Third-party cookies” are cookies that are offered by providers other than the responsible party that operates the online offer (otherwise, if they are only its cookies, they are referred to as “first-party cookies”).

We may use temporary and permanent cookies and provide information about this in our privacy policy.

If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to deactivate the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of the services, especially in the case of tracking, via the U.S. site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by disabling them in the browser settings. Please note that not all functions of this online offer can then be used.

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or restricted in its processing in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 DSGVO. Unless expressly stated within the scope of this data protection declaration, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations. If the data is not deleted because it is required for other and legally permissible purposes, its processing will be restricted. I.e. the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for reasons of commercial or tax law.

According to legal requirements in Germany, data is stored for 10 years in accordance with §§ 147 para. 1 AO, 257 para. 1 nos. 1 and 4, para. 4 HGB (books, records, management reports, accounting vouchers, commercial books, documents relevant for taxation, etc.) and 6 years according to § 257 para. 1 nos. 2 and 3, para. 4 HGB (commercial letters).

According to legal requirements in Austria, storage is in particular for 7 years in accordance with § 132 para. 1 BAO (accounting records, vouchers/invoices, accounts, receipts, business papers, statement of income and expenditure, etc.), for 22 years in connection with real estate and for 10 years for documents in connection with electronically provided services, telecommunications, radio and television services provided to non-entrepreneurs in EU member states and for which the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) is used.

Contractual services

We process the data of our contractual partners and interested parties as well as other clients, customers, clients or contractual partners (uniformly referred to as “contractual partners”) in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. DSGVO, in order to provide them with our contractual or pre-contractual services. The data processed in this context, the type, scope and purpose and the necessity of their processing, are determined by the underlying contractual relationship.

The data processed includes the master data of our contractual partners (e.g., names and addresses), contact data (e.g., e-mail addresses and telephone numbers) as well as contractual data (e.g., services used, contract contents, contractual communication, names of contact persons) and payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history).

As a matter of principle, we do not process special categories of personal data, unless these are components of a commissioned or contractual processing.

We process data that are necessary for the justification and fulfillment of contractual services and point out the necessity of their disclosure, unless this is not evident to the contractual partners. Disclosure to external persons or companies is made only if it is necessary in the context of a contract. When processing data provided to us in the context of an order, we act in accordance with the instructions of the client as well as the legal requirements.

In the context of the use of our online services, we may store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. The storage is based on our legitimate interests, as well as the interests of users in protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. As a matter of principle, this data is not passed on to third parties unless it is necessary for the pursuit of our claims pursuant to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO or there is a legal obligation to do so pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. DSGVO.

The deletion of the data takes place when the data is no longer required for the fulfillment of contractual or legal duties of care as well as for dealing with any warranty and comparable obligations, whereby the necessity of the retention of the data is reviewed every three years; otherwise, the legal retention obligations apply.

Administration, financial accounting, office organization, contact management

We process data in the context of administrative tasks as well as organization of our operations, financial accounting and compliance with legal obligations, such as archiving. In this context, we process the same data that we process in the course of providing our contractual services. The processing bases are Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c. DSGVO, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO. Customers, interested parties, business partners and website visitors are affected by the processing. The purpose and our interest in the processing lies in the administration, financial accounting, office organization, archiving of data, i.e. tasks that serve the maintenance of our business activities, performance of our tasks and provision of our services. The deletion of data with regard to contractual services and contractual communication corresponds to the data mentioned in these processing activities.

In this context, we disclose or transfer data to the tax authorities, consultants, such as tax advisors or auditors, as well as other fee offices and payment service providers.

Furthermore, based on our business interests, we store information on suppliers, event organizers and other business partners, e.g. for the purpose of contacting them at a later date. This data, most of which is company-related, is generally stored permanently.

Akismet Anti-Spam Check

Our online offer uses the service “Akismet”, which is offered by Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. The use is based on our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) DSGVO. With the help of this service, comments from real people are distinguished from spam comments. For this purpose, all comment details are sent to a server in the USA, where they are analyzed and stored for four days for comparison purposes. If a comment has been classified as spam, the data is stored beyond this time. This information includes the name entered, the email address, the IP address, the comment content, the referrer, information on the browser used as well as the computer system and the time of the entry.

More information on the collection and use of data by Akismet can be found in Automattic’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Users are welcome to use pseudonyms, or to refrain from entering their name or email address. You can completely prevent the transfer of data by not using our commenting system. That would be a shame, but unfortunately we don’t see any other alternatives that work just as effectively.

Contact

When contacting us (e.g. by contact form, e-mail, telephone or via social media), the user’s data will be used to process the contact request and its settlement pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b. (in the context of contractual/pre-contractual relations), Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. (other requests) DSGVO processed. The user’s details may be stored in a customer relationship management system (“CRM system”) or comparable inquiry organization.

We delete the requests if they are no longer necessary. We review the necessity every two years; Furthermore, the legal archiving obligations apply.

Hosting and e-mailing

The hosting services used by us serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, e-mail dispatch, security services and technical maintenance services, which we use for the purpose of operating this online offering.

In doing so, we, or our hosting provider, process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta data and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors of this online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of this online offer pursuant to Art. 6 (1) lit. f DSGVO in conjunction with Art. 28 DSGVO. Art. 28 DSGVO (conclusion of order processing contract).

Collection of access data and log files

We, or rather our hosting provider, collects on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO data about each access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.

Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g. for the clarification of abuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data whose further storage is required for evidentiary purposes is excluded from deletion until the final clarification of the respective incident.

Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager is a solution with which we can manage so-called website tags via an interface (and thus, for example, integrate Google Analytics as well as other Google marketing services into our online offer). The Tag Manager itself (which implements the tags) does not process any personal data of the users. With regard to the processing of users’ personal data, please refer to the following information on Google services. Usage guidelines: https://www.google.com/intl/de/tagmanager/use-policy.html.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”), on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) lit. f. DSGVO) Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offer by the users is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

Google will use this information on our behalf for the purpose of evaluating your use of our website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. In doing so, pseudonymous usage profiles of the users can be created from the processed data.

We only use Google Analytics with IP anonymization activated. This means that the IP address of the user is shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of 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 shortened there.

The IP address transmitted by the user’s browser is not merged with other data from Google. Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online offer to Google, as well as the processing of this data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads) and the settings for the display of advertisements by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).

The users’ personal data is deleted or anonymized after 14 months.

You can prevent the collection by Google Analytics by clicking on the following link. An opt-out cookie will be set, which prevents the future collection of your data when visiting this website:

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to be able to communicate with the customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services there.

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This may result in risks for users because, for example, it could make it more difficult to enforce users’ rights. With regard to U.S. providers that are certified under the Privacy Shield, we point out that they thereby undertake to comply with the data protection standards of the EU.

Furthermore, user data is usually processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, usage profiles can be created from the usage behavior and resulting interests of the users. The usage profiles can in turn be used, for example, to place advertisements within and outside the platforms that presumably correspond to the interests of the users. For these purposes, cookies are usually stored on the users’ computers, in which the usage behavior and interests of the users are stored. Furthermore, data may also be stored in the usage profiles regardless of the devices used by the users (especially if the users are members of the respective platforms and are logged in to them).

The processing of the users’ personal data is based on our legitimate interests in effectively informing users and communicating with users pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO. If users are asked by the respective providers for consent to data processing (i.e. declare their consent, e.g. by ticking a checkbox or confirming a button), the legal basis for processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. a., Art. 7 DSGVO.

For a detailed description of the respective processing and the opt-out options, please refer to the information of the providers linked below.

Also in the case of requests for information and the assertion of user rights, we point out that these can be asserted most effectively with the providers. Only the providers have access to the users’ data and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, you can contact us.

– Facebook (Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) – Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads and http://www.youronlinechoices.com, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active.

– Google/ YouTube (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) – Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active.

– Instagram (Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: http://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

– Twitter (Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA) – Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/de/privacy, Opt-Out: https://twitter.com/personalization, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TORzAAO&status=Active.

– Pinterest (Pinterest Inc., 635 High Street, Palo Alto, CA, 94301, USA) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://about.pinterest.com/de/privacy-policy.

– LinkedIn (LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland) 

– Privacy Policy https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy , Opt-Out: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000L0UZAA0&status=Active.

– Xing (XING AG, Dammtorstraße 29-32, 20354 Hamburg, Germany) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://privacy.xing.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung.

– Wakalet (Wakelet Limited, 76 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 4PR, United Kingdom) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://wakelet.com/privacy.html.

– Soundcloud (SoundCloud Limited, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77, 10115 Berlin, Germany) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within our online offer, we use content or service offers of third party providers on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) to integrate content or services offered by third-party providers, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

This always requires that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, since without the IP address they could not send the content to their browser. The IP address is thus required for the display of this content. We endeavor to use only such content whose respective providers use the IP address only for the delivery of the content. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as “web beacons”) for statistical or marketing purposes. The “pixel tags” can be used to evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also be stored in cookies on the user’s device and may contain, among other things, technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, time of visit and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as be combined with such information from other sources.

Google Fonts

We integrate the fonts (“Google Fonts”) of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google ReCaptcha

We integrate the function for the recognition of bots, e.g. for entries in online forms (“ReCaptcha”) of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

LinkedIn

Within our online offer, functions and contents of the service LinkedIn, offered by LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland, may be integrated. This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can share content of this online offer within LinkedIn. If the users are members of the LinkedIn platform, LinkedIn can assign the call of the above-mentioned content and functions to the profiles of the users there. Privacy policy of LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.. LinkedIn is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000L0UZAA0&status=Active). Privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy, Opt-Out: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out..

Created with Datenschutz-Generator.de by RA Dr. Thomas Schwenke.