Privacy

This is an English translation of our privacy policy at ruralvision.eu. You can read the original version in German (language and country of hosting) here.

This data protection declaration explains to you the type, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) within our online offer and the associated websites, functions and contents as well as external online presences, e.g. our social media profile. (hereinafter jointly referred to as “online offer”). With regard to the terms used, such as “processing” or “person responsible”, we refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Person in charge

Alistair Adam Hernández
Grisebachstrasse 4
37077 Goettingen
Germany
info@ruralvision.eu

Types of data processed:

  • Inventory data (e.g., names, addresses).
  • Contact details (e.g., e-mail, telephone numbers).
  • Content data (e.g., text input, photographs, videos).
  • Usage data (e.g., visited websites, interest in content, access times).
  • Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses).

Purpose of processing:

  • Provision of the online offer, its functions and contents.
  • Answer contact requests and communicate with users.
  • Security measures.
  • Range measurement/marketing

Terms used

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

“processing” means any operation carried out with or without the aid of automated procedures or any such series of operations in connection with personal data. The term goes a long way and covers practically every handling of data.

“pseudonymisation” 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 organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;

“Profiling” means any automated processing of personal data consisting in the use of such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects relating to the work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or relocation of that natural person;

Responsible” means the natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body that alone or together with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data.

“processor” means a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other body processing personal data on behalf of the controller;

Applicable legal bases

In accordance with Art. 13 GDPR, we inform you of the legal basis of our data processing. If the legal basis is not mentioned in the data protection declaration, the following applies: The legal basis for obtaining consents is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 GDPR, the legal basis for processing for the performance of our services and performance of contractual measures as well as for answering inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR, the legal basis for processing to fulfil our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR, and the legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. In the event that the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Article 6(1)(d) GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Safety precautions

We shall take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk, in accordance with Article 32 GDPR, taking into account the state of the art, implementation costs and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of processing and the different likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons; the measures shall include in particular safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical access to the data, as well as the access, input, transmission, security of availability and its separation. Furthermore, we have established procedures that guarantee the exercise of data subject rights, deletion of data and reaction to data risks. Furthermore, we already consider the protection of personal data during the development or selection of hardware, software and procedures, in accordance with the principle of data protection through technology design and data protection-friendly presettings (Art. 25 GDPR).

Cooperation with contract processors and third parties

If we disclose data to other persons and companies (contract processors or third parties) within the scope of our processing, transmit it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this shall only take place on the basis of a legal permission (e.g. if a transmission of the data to third parties, such as payment service providers, in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPRfor contract fulfilment is necessary), if you have consented, if 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 contract”, this is done on the basis of Art. 28 GDPR.

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 occurs in the context of the use of third-party services or disclosure or transfer of data to third parties, this only takes place if it occurs for the fulfilment of 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 leave the data in a third country only if the special requirements of Art. 44 ff. Process GDPR. This means, for example, processing is carried out on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognised determination of a data protection level corresponding to the EU (e.g. for the USA by the “Privacy Shield”) or compliance with officially recognised special contractual obligations (so-called “standard contractual clauses”).

Rights of affected subjects

You have the right to request confirmation as to whether the data concerned are being processed and to request information about these data as well as further information and a copy of the data in accordance with Art. 15 GDPR.

They have correspondingly. In accordance with Article 16 of the DSBER, you have the right to request the completion of data concerning you or the correction of inaccurate data concerning you.

In accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to demand that relevant data be deleted immediately or, alternatively, to demand a restriction on the processing of the data in accordance with Art. 18 GDPR.

You have the right to request that the data concerning you that you have provided to us be received in accordance with Art. 20 GDPR and to request its transmission to other persons responsible.

In accordance with Art. 77 GDPR, they also have the right to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

Right of objection

You have the right to revoke consents granted pursuant to Art. 7 para. 3 GDPR with future effect

Right of revocation

You can object to the future processing of the data concerning you in accordance with Art. 21 GDPR at any time. The objection may be lodged in particular against processing for direct marketing purposes.

Cookies and right of objection in direct advertising

Cookies” are small files that are stored on the user’s computer. Different data 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 or her 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. In such a cookie, for example, the content of a shopping basket can be stored in an online shop or a login jam. Cookies are referred to as “permanent” or “persistent” and remain stored even after the browser is closed. For example, the login status can be saved when users visit it after several days. Likewise, the interests of users used for range measurement or marketing purposes may be stored in such a cookie. Third-party cookies” are cookies that are offered by providers other than the person responsible for operating 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 clarify this within the framework of our data protection declaration.

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 many of the services, especially in the case of tracking, via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by deactivating them in the browser settings. Please note that in this case not all functions of this online offer can be used.

Deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted or their processing restricted in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 GDPR. Unless expressly stated in 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 storage obligations. If the data are not deleted because they are necessary for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing is restricted. This means that the data is blocked and not processed for other purposes. This applies, for example, to data that must be retained for commercial or tax reasons.

According to legal requirements in Germany, the storage is carried out in particular for 10 years in accordance with §§ 147 para. 1 AO, 257 para. 1 no. 1 and 4, para. 4 HGB (books, records, management reports, accounting documents, trading books, documents relevant for taxation, etc.) and 6 years in accordance with § 257 para. 1 no. 2 and 3, para. 4 HGB (commercial letters).

In accordance with legal requirements in Austria, storage is carried out in particular for 7 years in accordance with § 132 (1) BAO (accounting documents, receipts/invoices, accounts, receipts, business papers, statement of income and expenses, 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 which are provided to non-entrepreneurs in EU member states and for which the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) is used.

Hosting

The hosting services we use serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, security services and technical maintenance services that we use for the purpose of operating this online offering.

We or our hosting provider process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta- 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 according to Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR in conjunction with. Art. 28 GDPR (conclusion of order processing contract).

Contacting

When contacting us (e.g. via contact form, e-mail, telephone or social media), the user’s details are processed for processing the contact enquiry and its processing in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR. User information can be stored in a customer relationship management system (“CRM system”) or comparable request organization.

We delete the requests if they are no longer necessary. We review this requirement every two years; the statutory archiving obligations also apply.

Comments and contributions

If users leave comments or other contributions, their IP addresses may be used on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) (f). GDPR for 7 days. This takes place for our safety, if someone leaves illegal contents in comments and contributions (insults, forbidden political propaganda, etc.). In this case we can be prosecuted ourselves for the comment or contribution and are therefore interested in the identity of the author.

Furthermore, we reserve the right, on the basis of our legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR to process user information for spam detection.

The data provided in the context of comments and contributions will be permanently stored by us until the user objects.

Comment subscriptions

Users may subscribe to the follow-up comments with their consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR. Users will receive a confirmation email to verify that they are the owner of the email address they entered. Users can unsubscribe from ongoing comment subscriptions at any time. The confirmation email will contain information on the cancellation options. For the purpose of providing proof of user consent, we store the login dot along with the user’s IP address and delete this information when users unsubscribe from the subscription.

You can cancel the receipt of our subscription at any time, i.e. revoke your consent. We may store the e-mail addresses we have unsubscribed for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests before we delete them in order to be able to prove a previously given consent. The processing of these data is limited to the purpose of a possible defence against claims. An individual application for cancellation is possible at any time, provided that at the same time the former existence of a consent is confirmed.

Akismet Anti-Spam Check

Our online offer uses the service “Akismet” 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) GDPR. With the help of this service, comments of real people are distinguished from spam comments. All comment information is sent to a server in the USA, where it is analyzed and stored for four days for comparison purposes. If a comment has been classified as spam, the data will be stored after this time. This information includes the name entered, the e-mail address, the IP address, the comment content, the referrer, information on the browser used, the computer system and the time of entry.

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

Users are welcome to use pseudonyms or refrain from entering their name or email address. You can completely prevent the transfer of data by not using our comment system. That would be a pity, but unfortunately we see no other alternatives that work just as effectively.

Retrieval of profile pictures from Gravatar

We use the service Gravatar of Automattic Inc. 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA, within our online offer and especially in our blog.

Gravatar is a service where users can log in and store profile pictures and their e-mail addresses. If users leave contributions or comments with the respective e-mail address on other online presences (above all in blogs), their profile pictures can be displayed next to the contributions or comments. For this purpose, the e-mail address provided by the users is transmitted to Gravatar in encrypted form for the purpose of checking whether a profile has been saved for it. This is the sole purpose of the transmission of the e-mail address and it will not be used for other purposes, but will be deleted thereafter.

The use of Gravatar is based on our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 letter f) GDPR, as we offer the possibility of personalising their contributions with a profile picture with the help of Gravatar.

By displaying the images, Gravatar obtains the IP address of the users, as this is necessary for communication between a browser and an online service. For more information on Gravatar’s collection and use of the data, please refer to Automattic’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

If users do not want an image associated with their email address to appear in Gravatar’s comments, you should use a non-Gravatar email address for commenting. We would also like to point out that it is also possible to use an anonymous or no e-mail address if users do not wish their own e-mail address to be sent to Gravatar. Users can completely prevent the transfer of data by not using our comment system.

VG word / scalable central measuring method

We use the “Scalable Central Measurement Method” (SZM) of INFOnline GmbH (INFOnline GmbH, Brühler Str. 9, D-53119 Bonn, Germany) to determine statistical parameters for determining the copy probability of texts. Anonymous measured values are collected. The access number measurement alternatively uses a session cookie or a signature, which is created from various automatically transmitted information of your browser, to recognize computer systems. IP addresses are only processed in anonymous form. The procedure was developed with data protection in mind. The sole aim of the procedure is to determine the likelihood of copying individual texts. Individual users are never identified at any time. Your identity is always protected. You will not receive any advertising through the system.

Many of our pages are provided with JavaScript calls, via which we report the access to the Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort (VG Wort). We thus make it possible for our authors to participate in the distributions of VG Wort, which ensure the legal remuneration for the use of works protected by copyright in accordance with Section 53 UrhG.

User data and metadata of the users are processed, whereby the IP addresses are shortened and the measurement methods are pseudonymous. The shortened IP address is stored for a maximum of 60 days. The usage data in connection with a pseudonymous assignment value (“identifier”) are stored for a maximum of 6 months.

Furthermore, users have an opt-out at their disposal to object to the collection for the aforementioned purposes: https://optout.ioam.de. Further information can be found in INFOnline’s data protection declaration https://www.infonline.de/datenschutz/benutzer.

Jetpack (WordPress Stats)

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR) the plugin Jetpack (here the subfunction “WordPress Stats”), which integrates a tool for statistical analysis of visitor access and from Automattic Inc. 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. Jetpack uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of this online offer is stored on a server in the USA. The processed data can be used to create user profiles, which are only used for analysis purposes and not for advertising purposes. You can find further information in Automattic’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/ and information on jetpack cookies: https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to communicate with active customers, interested parties and users and to inform them about our services. When accessing the respective networks and platforms, the terms and conditions and the data processing guidelines of their respective operators apply.

Unless otherwise stated in our privacy policy, we process the data of users who communicate with us within social networks and platforms, e.g. write articles on our websites or send us messages.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within our online offer, we make no representations or warranties of any kind based on our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR) content or service offerings of third parties to incorporate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

This always presupposes that the third party providers of this content perceive the IP address of the users, since without the IP address they could not send the content to their browser. The IP address is therefore required for the display of this content. We make every effort to use only those contents whose respective providers use the IP address only for the delivery of the contents. Third-party providers may also use so-called pixel tags (invisible graphics, also known as “web beacons”) for statistical or marketing purposes. 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 include technical information about the browser and operating system, referring websites, visiting time and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as be linked to such information from other sources.

Vimeo

We can integrate the videos of the platform “Vimeo” of the provider Vimeo Inc, Attention: Legal Department, 555 West 18th Street New York, New York 10011, USA. Privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy. We point out that Vimeo may use Google Analytics and refer to the privacy policy (https://www.google.com/policies/privacy) and opt-out options for Google Analytics (http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en) or Google’s settings for data use for marketing purposes (https://adssettings.google.com/.).

YouTube

We integrate the videos of the platform “YouTube” 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.

Using Facebook Social Plugins

On the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimisation and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. GDPR) Social Plugins (“Plugins”) of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Facebook”). The plugins can display interaction elements or content (e.g. videos, graphics or text contributions) and are identified by one of the Facebook logos (white “f” on blue tile, the terms “like”, “like” or a “thumbs up” sign) or are marked with the addition “Facebook Social Plugin”. The list and appearance of Facebook Social Plugins can be viewed here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.

Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee to comply with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).

When a user calls up a function of this online offer that contains such a plugin, his device establishes a direct connection to the Facebook servers. The content of the plugin is transmitted by Facebook directly to the user’s device and integrated into the online offer. The processed data can be used to create user profiles. We therefore have no influence on the amount of data Facebook collects with the help of this plugin and therefore inform users according to our level of knowledge.

By integrating the plugins, Facebook receives information that a user has called up the corresponding page of the online offer. If the user is logged in to Facebook, Facebook can assign the visit to his Facebook account. When users interact with the plugins, such as pressing the Like button or posting a comment, the information is sent directly from your device to Facebook and stored there. If a user is not a member of Facebook, it is still possible for Facebook to obtain and store their IP address. According to Facebook, only an anonymized IP address is stored in Germany.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook, as well as the relevant rights and setting options for the protection of users’ privacy, can be found in Facebook’s data protection information: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

If a user is a Facebook member and does not want Facebook to collect data about him via this online offer and link it to his membership data stored on Facebook, he must log out of Facebook before using our online offer and delete his cookies. Further settings and objections to the use of data for advertising purposes are possible within the Facebook profile settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads or via the US page http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU page http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. The settings are platform-independent, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

Twitter

Functions and contents of the Twitter service, offered by Twitter Inc, 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA, can be integrated into our online offering. This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can express their appreciation of the content, subscribe to the authors of the content or our contributions. If the users are members of the Twitter platform, Twitter can assign calling up the above content and functions to the users’ profiles there. Twitter is certified under the Privacy Shield Agreement and thus offers a guarantee to comply with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TORzAAO&status=Active). Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/de/privacy, Opt-Out: https://twitter.com/personalization.

Instagram

Within our online offer, functions and contents of the Instagram service, offered by Instagram Inc, 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA, can be integrated. This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can express their appreciation of the content, subscribe to the authors of the content or our contributions. If the users are members of the Instagram platform, Instagram can assign the call of the above contents and functions to the profiles of the users there. Instagram Privacy Policy: http://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

Xing

Functions and contents of the Xing service, offered by XING AG, Dammtorstrasse 29-32, 20354 Hamburg, Germany, can be integrated into our online offer. This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can express their appreciation of the content, subscribe to the authors of the content or our contributions. If the users are members of the Xing platform, Xing can assign the call of the above contents and functions to the profiles of the users there. Privacy Policy of Xing: https://www.xing.com/app/share?op=data_protection .