DATA COLLECTION – LEGAL NOTICE:
“In compliance with the provisions of the act of 8th December 1992 concerning the processing of personal data, we inform you that by completing this form, your personal data will be stored and processed in a file owned by EMES European Research Network asbl (hereto “EMES”), with the aim of handling your registration. Also, unless you explicitly expresses otherwise, we may use your personal data to keep you informed of news and developments related to the activities and initiatives of EMES and its members. We also inform you of the possibility of exercising rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition of your personal data by email (info@emes.net) or by regular letter addressed to EMES Coordination Unit, c/o University of Liege, Sart-Tilman, Bd du Rectorat, B33, box 4 4000 Liege (Belgium) accompanied by a photocopy of your national identity card.”
GENERAL TERMS
Declaration of confidentiality
EMES places a great deal of importance on the private life of members and users. Although the majority of the information available on or via the portal site does not require the user to provide any personal data, it is possible that users will be asked to enter personal information. In this case, the data will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the act of 8th December 1992 concerning the processing of personal data.
In particular, this means that:
- Personal data cannot be recorded or processed except for the purpose of responding to a request for information which you have made.
- Personal data will not be passed to third parties or used for any commercial purposes.
- You have the right to refer to your own personal data, to check the accuracy of the data and to have any errors corrected.
- EMES undertakes to put in place the best possible security measures in order to ensure that third parties cannot misuse the personal data which you have provided.
1. General principles
The protection of your private life and your privacy is of the greatest importance to EMES. This declaration of confidentiality describes which measures are taken in order to protect your private life when you are using the services organised by or on the orders of EMES within the framework of signing up for the news alert mailing list, donating, using the Members Area, and/or the publication of documents and information by members and what rights and obligations you have as a user of these services.
All data of a personal nature (namely: data which can identify you directly or indirectly) which you provide to EMES will be handled with the necessary care. This naturally means that this data of a personal nature will always be processed in accordance with the law of 8th December 1992 relating to the protection of private life with regard to processing data of a personal nature, as amended by law of 11 December 1998 transposing directive 95/46/CE of 24 October 1995 of the European Parliament and the Council relating to the protection of individuals in connection with processing data of a personal nature and to the unrestricted circulation of this data (Belgian Monitor of 03/02/1999).
You are invited to read through this declaration of confidentiality and to take note of its content. This declaration of confidentiality may be adapted in the future. We therefore ask you to re-read the declaration of confidentiality from time to time in order to remain abreast of these adaptations. It goes without saying that all new versions of the declaration of confidentiality will at all times comply with the aforementioned Law relating to the protection of private life.
In this declaration, we start from the principle that the data is not being transferred outside the EU. Nevertheless, organizations which do this as part of their tasks must mention this in an additional declaration.
2. Field of application of the declaration of confidentiality
The declaration of confidentiality applies to all the services organised by or on the orders of EMES within the framework of signing up for the news alert mailing list, donating, and/or using the Members Area.
Within the context of this declaration of confidentiality, the following are considered to be part of EMES: the users database/mailing list, the data related to donations, the Members’ Area, and/or the public documents and information shared by the members.
You should preferably take into account the fact that the various services offered by or on the orders of EMES are also subject, because of their specific nature, to specific declarations of confidentiality. Before you connect up to use a service, you are therefore advised to check whether the service has a separate declaration of confidentiality, which involves more detailed regulations for this specific service. It goes without saying that these specific declarations of confidentiality will also be reconcilable with the aforementioned Law relating to the protection of private life and that they will never contradict this general declaration of confidentiality.
Also note that the websites and blogs created and maintained by or on the orders of EMES can have links with other websites run by organizations over which EMES does not exercise any technical control or control relating to content. EMES cannot therefore offer any guarantee over the policies of these websites on the subject of private life. EMES does not therefore accept any liability in the event of direct or indirect damage resulting from consulting or using these external web sites. We recommend that you read through the policy of these websites on the subject of private life and privacy issues.
3. Public and anonymous access
EMES uses different levels of securitising the various services it offers. The lowest level comprises services and information offered on a public and anonymous basis.
With regard to the services offered on a public and anonymous basis (i.e. without any prior registration procedure or without any subsequent transfer of data), only a limited amount of data can be collected. This data is obtained from the use of cookies and logging.
Cookies are small information files which are automatically recorded onto the hard disk of your computer when you visit a site, and which have a unique identification number. These cookies can simplify access to the site as well as navigation, and increase the speed and efficiency of using sites. They can also be used to customise the site to suit your personal preferences. Cookies also allow you to analyse the use of a site in order to identify and eliminate any problems.
The configuration of most navigators allows you to accept or refuse cookies, and informs you each time a cookie is used. You are free to refuse these cookies, although this may be detrimental to optimum navigation and the functionality of the services on the site. Please consult the aid function on your navigator if you require further information.
>In addition, any use you make of the services which are created by or on the orders of EMES can be logged within the framework of EMES services. This means that the following data can be collected:
- the IP address which was allocated to you at the time of connection;
- the date and time of accessing the service;
- any pages consulted over a certain period;
- any navigator used;
- the platform and/or the user system installed on your system;
- the search engine and the passwords used to find the site offering the service;
- the files downloaded;
- the choice of language;
- the site you used to get there.
- This data will only be processed in order to find out about the number of users from the various sections of the services and in order to improve the content of the services. They will never be used to establish an individual’s profile.
4. Voluntary transfer of information
In order to be able to use certain services with a higher level of securitisation, you will be asked to notify certain data of a personal nature to EMES. To this end, only the data required to be able to provide a top quality service will be requested. The necessary measures will be taken in relation to this data to guarantee the protection of your private life and privacy, as will be described below. Note that special services can fulfil these guarantees in a more detailed manner by means of a separate declaration of confidentiality. You are therefore advised to check whether the service has a separate declaration of confidentiality. The level of security used will also be clearly indicated in the declaration of confidentiality or the regulations for use for the users of each service.
The services offered with a higher level of security pose a series of typical requirements relating to your identification and your authentication.
Depending on the level of security, you will be asked to send through a series of data with a view to your registration, identification and authentication.
This means that you can be allocated a username so that EMES can identify you correctly when you use the electronic services.
In addition to this data which is needed if services are to be supplied, you may also be asked to provide a certain amount of feedback. Obviously, you are entirely free to accept or refuse to do so. By returning this feedback, you are giving us authorisation to process the data of a personal nature which you have returned in order to improve user experience or to allow new services to be provided.
5. Use of contact information
In order to be able to use the services, you will sometimes be asked for your contact information (such as e-mail address, telephone number or fax number). This data will only be processed by EMES in order to ensure satisfactory functioning of the service, i.e.:
- in order to contact you if necessary for the additional data required to guarantee the satisfactory functioning of the service; or
- in order to supply you with all the useful and relevant information relating to changes in the provision of services which may affect your user experience in a significant way, such as messages relating to user management or interruptions in services; or
- possibly in order to notify modifications to the declaration of confidentiality or to the user’s regulations for use which are being applied, in order to keep you up to date with your rights and obligations as a user; or
- if you explicitly authorise this, your e-mail address will be used by EMES in order to communicate electronically with you.
This contact information will not under any circumstances be used for advertising purposes or transferred to third parties. The organizations responsible for fulfilling a service or for carrying out a task on behalf of EMES on the basis of an agreement, independently of their legal form, are not considered as third parties within the context of this article if they are directly or indirectly involved in providing the services to which this declaration of confidentiality applies. An illustration of this instance could be a member of EMES hosting an international research conference.
It goes without saying that this data will be processed in a confidential way, in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Law relating to the protection of privacy.
If you contact EMES by e-mail in order to obtain information or to request publications, EMES will automatically obtain certain data of a personal nature. This data will be used to reply to your message. They can also be recorded in a user database/mailing list, to which the provisions of the Law relating to the protection of private life apply. You are entitled to consult your data, modify it or have it deleted.
6. Security and confidentiality
EMES takes all the steps necessary in order to guarantee the security of your personal data. In order to monitor whether your data is protected, particularly against unauthorised access, unlawful use, loss or unauthorised modifications, the services use various securitisation techniques and procedures. The necessary measures have been taken to guarantee the securitisation and confidentiality of your personal data both from a physical, electronic and organisational point of view.
So, for example, the personal data you provide is registered on servers which are only accessible to the relevant personnel. This personnel has been notified of this declaration of confidentiality and about all the applicable internal directives which have been issued for the protection of your personal data. They are obliged to respect the confidentiality of your personal data.
7. Legality and transparency
For each service organised by or on the orders of EMES within the framework of the users database/mailing list, the data related to donations, the Members’ Area, and/or the public documents and information shared by the members, the following information must be clearly repeated in this service’s additional declaration of confidentiality:
- data of a personal nature which is to be processed
- the purposes of this processing
- the person responsible for correct processing
- the source of any personal data which has not been notified by you, but which has been extracted from authentic sources (such as registers)
- contact information should you wish to exercise your right of access and correction, as described below.
If data of a personal nature has not been notified by you (for example because the administration already has this data), and the federal Administration is only acting as an intermediate organisation, this notification can be omitted provided that the federal Administration has received by or by virtue of a law the formal assignment to collect and code personal data, and that it is consequently subject to the specific measures established by or by virtue of the law protecting your private life.
Any legal regulation on the basis of which the processing of data for the service is authorised must also be explicitly notified in the declaration of confidentiality of each specific service.
Unless explicitly indicated to the contrary in the declaration of confidentiality for a specific service, EMES is responsible for the processing. Contact information in the event of questions or remarks will also be recorded.
8. Purpose
In each service organised by or on the orders of EMES within the framework of the users database/mailing list, the data related to donations, the Members’ Area, and/or the public documents and information shared by the members, the additional declaration of confidentiality for this service must clearly describe what specific aim the processing of your personal data serves within the framework of this service, even though this has already been clearly indicated in this declaration of confidentiality. Personal data collected when the service is used can be processed in order to manage and supply the service.
Within the context of the support for services organised by or on the orders of EMES, your personal data can be processed in order to improve your experience as a user and to simplify the use of services as a result of the fact that you do not have to encode the same data on a frequent basis and that the services can be adapted to suit your preferences or interests.
Within the organisation of each service, what is known as “authentic sources” will be used as far as possible. These are data sources (databases) which are kept updated on the orders of EMES and where official data relating to a person or to an organization are collected. EMES will make an effort never to ask individuals or an organization for this information again after it has been initially collected.
The information collected as a result of a service being used can be combined with personal data which is collected as a result of other services being used, so that your interaction with EMES is as consistent as possible.
9. Proportionality
EMES ensures that the personal data collected is adequate, relevant and not excessive, taking into account the purpose of the processing as indicated in the declaration of confidentiality for each specific service. Your personal data will not be kept for a duration in excess of that needed for achieving the purpose of the processing, unless the data must be kept in order to comply with the law, a decree or order.
10. Right of access and correction
You are entitled to access your personal data and correct it.
With regard to all services organised by or on the orders of EMES within the framework of the users database/mailing list, the data related to donations, the Members’ Area, and/or the public documents and information shared by the members, a procedure will be repeated in the declaration of confidentiality for this service to allow you to exercise these rights.
It will repeat the contact information which will allow you to obtain information on the following:
- the personal data itself which is processed as part of the service and which relates to you;
- the origin of this data;
- the purposes of the processing;
- the recipients to whom the personal data can be supplied;
- the logic at the basis of any automated processing of this personal data if this processing has legal consequences for you or if it affects you significantly in another way;
- the steps you can take to correct or complete any incorrect or incomplete data.
11. User’s liability
Although EMES makes every possible effort to protect your privacy, effective protection is naturally only possible if you yourself take the necessary measures to protect your private life.
With regard to using services organised by or on the orders of EMES, you must:
- supply complete, accurate and truthful information;
- duly monitor the confidentiality of any user data (such as a username or a password), so that this data remain accessible only to you. These data are strictly personal and non transmissible;
- choose a safe password. This means that it must comprise at least 8 characters combining both letters and other characters, which are placed in an order which cannot be easily discovered. Each user is personally liable in the event of discovery and/or abuse of a password which has not been composed in accordance with these rules; send through valid and usable contact information so that you can be contacted within a reasonable period of time and in a reasonably confidential way.
12. Transfer to third parties
Your personal data will never be made available to third parties unless a transfer of this kind is imposed by or by virtue of a law, a decree or an order.
Your personal data will never be used for advertising purposes or passed on to third parties who might use this data for these purposes.
Your personal data will never be processed by an institution or a business set up outside the European Union.
13. Adaptations to the declaration of confidentiality
This declaration of confidentiality may be adapted in the future. We therefore ask you to reread the declaration of confidentiality from time to time in order to remain abreast of these adaptations. After each adaptation, the date on which this document was most recently updated will also be amended.
It goes without saying that all new versions of the declaration of confidentiality will at all times comply with the aforementioned Law relating to the protection of private life.
If the declaration of confidentiality is amended in a significant way, you will be informed of this as far as possible. To do this, a notification can be sent out on the service’s website and any contact information you have sent through at the time of registering to use the service may be utilised.
Any use made of the services is subject to the provisions of the version of the declaration of confidentiality which applies at that particular point.