PRIVACY POLICY

Data protection at a glance

1. General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what happens with your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data by which you can be personally identified.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for collecting data on this website?

The data collected on this site is processed by the site operator. The contact details can be found in the “responsible party for data processing” section of this privacy policy.

How do we collect your data?

Some data is collected when you share it with us, for example by entering your information into a contact form. Other data is collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. It comprises technical information (e.g., your web browser, operating system or the time when you accessed the website). This information is collected automatically when you access this website.

What is your data used for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the site. Other data can be used to analyse how visitors use the site.

What are your rights regarding your data?

You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, recipients and the purpose of its collection, and receive this information free of charge. You also have the right to request that your data be rectified if incorrect, or erased. If you have consented to your data being collected, you can revoke this consent at any time, effective immediately and for the future. Under certain circumstances, you have the right to request for the processing of your personal data to be restricted. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authorities.

Please contact us if you have any further questions on data protection.


2. Hosting

This website is hosted by the following external service provider (host):

Host Europe

The provider is Host Europe GmbH, Hansestraße 111, 51149 Cologne (hereafter: Host Europe) When you visit our website, Host Europe collects various log files including your IP addresses.
For details, please refer to Host Europe’s privacy policy:
https://www.hosteurope.de/en/terms-and-conditions/privacy/

The use of Host Europe is based on Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR (Lawfulness of processing). We have a legitimate interest in ensuring that our website is presented as reliably as possible. If appropriate consent has been obtained, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR and Art. 25 (1) of the German Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG), insofar the consent includes the storage of cookies and the access to information in the user’s end device (e.g., device fingerprinting) as outlined in the TTDSG. This consent can be revoked at any time.


3. General and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we treat your personal data as confidential information. We comply with all relevant statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

Whenever you use this website, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data is data that can be used to personally identify you. This privacy policy explains what data we collect, how we collect it and the purposes we use this data for.

We advise you that there are security risks when transmitting data via the internet (for example through e-mail communications). It is not possible to completely protect data against third-party access.

Responsible party for data processing (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)

The data processing controller of this website is:

Bureau Ritter gUG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Crellestraße 29-30
10827 Berlin

Telefon: +49 (0)30 40203320
Email: datenschutz(at)bureau-ritter.de

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g., names, email addresses, etc.).

Storage duration

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was collected no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.

General information on the legal basis for data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR or, in the case that special categories of data are processed according to Art. 9 (1) GDPR, on the basis of Art. 9 (2)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the data processing is also based on Art. 49 (1)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to information in your end device being accessed (for example via device fingerprinting), the data processing is additionally based on § 25 (1) TTDSG. This consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the fulfilment of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we will process your data on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR. If your data is required for the fulfilment of a legal obligation, we process it on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(c) GDPR. Finally, data processing may be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest, as outlined in Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The following paragraphs of this privacy policy provide details of the legal basis of data processing in a range of specific cases.

Information on data transfer to the USA and other non-EU countries

We use certain tools provided by companies domiciled in the United States or other non-EU countries with weaker data protection laws. If these tools are active, your personal data may potentially be transferred to these non-EU countries and may be processed there. We must point out that in these countries, the level of data protection is not comparable to that in the EU. Your privacy therefore cannot be completely guaranteed. For instance, companies in the USA are obligated to release personal data to the security agencies and data subjects have no right to litigate against this. Hence, it cannot be ruled out that U.S. agencies (such as the United States Secret Service) may process, analyse, and permanently archive your personal data for surveillance purposes. We have no control over these processing activities.

Revoking your consent to the processing of data

Many data processing transactions are only possible if you consent to them. Your consent, when given, can be revoked at any time. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in particular situations; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR):

The data subject shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6 (1), including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, the data subject shall have the right to object at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her for such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing. Where the data subject objects to processing for direct marketing purposes, the personal data shall no longer be processed for such purposes.

Right to log a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority

In the event of violations against the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of his or her habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.

Right to data portability

You have the right to receive any data relating to you that we automatically process with your consent or collect in order to fulfil a contract in a commonly used, machine-readable format. You also have the right to transmit this data to another controller. If you demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

Right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to access your archived personal data, obtain information on its source and any recipients, and on the purpose of the processing of your data. You also have right to obtain rectification of inaccurate personal data and the erasure of your personal data. If you have questions about your right to access, rectification and erasure, or any other questions about your personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Right to restriction of processing

You have the right to obtain restriction of processing of your personal data where one of the following applies:

In the event that you contest the accuracy of your personal data collected by us, we require a period to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to obtain a restriction of processing of your personal data.

If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the right to obtain a restriction of processing of your data instead of the erasure of this data.
If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to obtain the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its erasure.

If you have objected to processing pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, pending the verification whether our legitimate grounds override yours as the data subject, you have the right to obtain a restriction of processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, this data – with the exception of storage – may be processed only subject to your consent, or in order to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements, or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities, or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content (such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator), this website uses SSL and/or TLS encryption programmes. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from http:// to https:// and also by the appearance of the lock icon on your web browser.

If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.


4. Data processing on this website

Cookies

Our website uses what the industry refers to as “cookies.” Cookies are small text files that do not cause any damage to your device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or they are permanently archived on your device (permanent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted once you terminate your visit. Permanent cookies remain archived on your device until you actively delete them, or they are automatically removed by your web browser.

In certain cases, third-party cookies may be stored on your device once you enter our site (third-party cookies). These cookies enable you or us to take advantage of certain services offered by the third party (such as cookies for payment services, for example).

Cookies have a variety of functions. Many cookies are essential and contribute to the correct functioning of the website (including the display of videos). Other cookies analyse how visitors use our website or track the effectiveness of promotional messages.

Unless stated otherwise, necessary performance cookies (such as for electronic communication transactions or for the provision of certain functions) and cookies that are required for the optimisation of the website (such as cookies that provide measurable insights into the website’s audience) are stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the storage of required cookies that ensure that the website performs reliably and without technical errors. If your consent to the storage of the cookies and similar recognition technologies has been requested, processing occurs exclusively on the basis of the consent obtained (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25 (1) TTDSG); this consent may be revoked at any time.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change the settings of your browser if you prefer not to transmit such information. You as the user have full control over the use of cookies. By managing the settings of your browser, you can elect to be notified of cookies, and restrict or fully deactivate the transmission of cookies. Any existing cookies can be deleted at any time via the internet browser or other software programmes. This is possible in all standard internet browsers. Please note that deactivating cookies may affect the functionality of parts of our website.

In this privacy policy we inform you and provide details of all third-party cookies and analytical cookies used by this website. You will always be asked to consent to the storage of these cookies.

Borlabs Cookie

This website uses Borlabs Cookie, which places a required cookie (borlabs cookie) to manage and store your cookie consent. Borlabs cookie does not process any personal data. The borlabs cookie stores the consent you gave when you first accessed the website. If you wish to revoke these consents, simply delete the cookie in your browser.

Server log files

The provider of this website automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

– Type and version of browser used
– Operating system used
– Referrer URL
– Host name of the accessing computer
– Time of the server inquiry
– IP addresses

This data is not merged with other data sources. It is recorded on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in ensuring that the website performs reliably and without technical errors.  In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.
 
Contact form

If you submit inquiries to us via our contact form, the information provided in the contact form as well as any contact information provided therein will be stored by us in order to handle your inquiry and in the event that we have further questions. We will not share this information without your consent.

If your request is related to the fulfilment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures, the processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained; this consent can be revoked at any time.

The information you have entered into the contact form shall remain with us until you ask us to erase the data, revoke your consent to the archiving of data or if the purpose for which the information is being archived no longer exists (e.g., after we have concluded our response to your inquiry). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions, particularly those related to retention periods.

Request by email or telephone

If you contact us by email or telephone, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, contact details, message) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass this data on without your consent.

If your request is related to the fulfilment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures, the processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR. In all other cases the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained; this consent can be revoked at any time.

The information sent by you to us via contact requests remains with us until you request us to delete it, until revoke your consent to the storage, or until the purpose for the data storage lapses (i.e., after completion of your request). This shall be without prejudice to any mandatory legal provisions, particularly those related to retention periods.


5. Social Media

Facebook
This website uses plug-ins by the social network Facebook. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s privacy policy, the collected data will be transmitted to the USA and other non-European countries.

An overview of Facebook plug-ins is available under the following link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/?locale=de_DE

When the plug-in is active, it establishes a direct connection between your end device and the Facebook server. As a result, Facebook receives the information that you have visited this website with your IP address. If you click the Facebook “Like” button while you are logged into your Facebook account, you can link the content of this website and its pages with your Facebook profile. As a result, Facebook will link your visit to this website to your Facebook user account. Please note that we as the provider of this website do not have any knowledge of the data collected by Facebook or of how it is used. For more detailed information, please consult Facebook’s privacy policy:
https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation

If you have given your consent, the use of the plug-in is based on Art. 6 (1) GDPR and § 25 TTDSG. This consent can be revoked at any time. If no consent was obtained, the use of the plug-in is based on our legitimate interest in ensuring the greatest possible visibility of our site on social media.

Insofar as the above plug-in collects data from our website and transmits it to Facebook, we and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland are jointly responsible for the processing of this data (Art. 26 GDPR). This joint responsibility is strictly limited to the collection of data by the plug-in and its transmission to Facebook. Facebook’s subsequent processing of this data is not part of our joint responsibility as data controllers. The following agreement sets out our joint responsibilities and obligations: 
https://www.facebook.com/legal/controller_addendum

According to this agreement, we are responsible for providing data protection information on the use of the Facebook plug-in and for implementing the tool in a data secure way. Facebook is responsible for the data security of its products. Regarding the data held about you by Facebook, you may exercise your rights as the data subject (such as the right to access information) in respect of and against Facebook directly. If you assert your rights as data subject with us, we are obliged to forward your claim to Facebook.

Any transfer of your data to the USA is based on the standard contractual clauses by the European Commission. Details can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/legal/EU_data_transfer_addendum
https://de-de.facebook.com/help/566994660333381

and

https://www.facebook.com/policy.php


6. Newsletter

Newsletter data

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter offered on this website, we require an email address and information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the email address provided, and that you consent to the receipt of the newsletter. Any additional data is collected on a purely voluntary basis. We use such data only for sending the information in the newsletters as requested. We do not share this data with any third parties.

We process the information you enter into the newsletter subscription form solely on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR). You may revoke this consent at any time, including to the storage of your data, your email address, and the use of this information for the purpose of sending newsletters. Your consent can be revoked by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place prior to the withdrawal of your consent.

The data we receive for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter (or newsletter service provider). When you unsubscribe from the newsletter or after the purpose has ceased to apply, your details will be deleted from the newsletter distribution list after. We reserve the right to delete or block email addresses from our newsletter distribution list at our own discretion within the scope of our legitimate interest in accordance with Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR.

Information about you 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, if such action is necessary to prevent future mailings. The data from the blacklist is used only for this purpose and not merged with other data. This serves both your interest and our interest in complying with the legal requirements when sending newsletters (legitimate interest according to Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR). Your email address will be stored in the blacklist indefinitely. You may object to this storage if your interests outweigh our legitimate interest.

Mailchimp

To send our newsletter, we use “Mailchimp” by The Rocket Science Group, LLC, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308 USA (Mailchimp). This enables us to contact our newsletter subscribers directly. It also allows us to analyse your usage so that we can optimise our offer.

For this purpose, we share the following personal data with Mailchimp:

Email address
[First name]
[Last name]
[Telephone number]
[Our email newsletters contain a link that you can click on to update your personal information.]

Mailchimp is the recipient of your personal data and acts as a processor for us. This processing is limited to the distribution of our newsletter. The processing of your data described in this section of the privacy policy is neither legally nor contractually required. If you do not consent and provide us with your personal data, we cannot send you a newsletter.

Mailchimp additionally collects the following personal data through cookies and other tracking devices: your end device (IP address, device information, operating system, browser ID), information about the application you use to read your emails, and other information about hardware and internet connection. It also collects usage data (such as the date and time when you opened the email) and browser activity (e.g., which emails/web pages were opened). Mailchimp needs this data to ensure the security and reliability of its systems, to comply with its terms of use and to prevent misuse. This is Mailchimp’s legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR) and serves the execution of our contract with Mailchimp (Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR). Mailchimp also evaluates performance data, such as email delivery statistics and other communication data. This information is used to create usage and performance statistics for its services.

Mailchimp additionally collects information about you from other sources. In an unspecified period and scope, personal data is collected via social media and other third-party data providers. We have no influence over this process.

To find out more about how to object to data collection by Mailchimp or to request erasure, visit: 
https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/#3._Privacy_for_Contacts

The legal basis for this processing is your consent (Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR). You can revoke your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. All our email newsletter contain an unsubscribe link. You can also unsubscribe by contacting us directly (see contacts page). Unsubscribing shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data processing transactions that have taken place prior to the withdrawal of your consent.

Your personal data will be processed as long as we have your consent to do so. Apart from this, it will be deleted once our contract with Mailchimp expires, unless there are legal requirements that require us to continue storing your data.

Mailchimp has implemented compliance measures for international data transfers. These apply to all global activities where Mailchimp or Stripe process personal data of individuals in the EU. These measures are based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). For further information, please visit: 
https://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/


7. Plugins und Tools

YouTube

Our website embeds videos by the website YouTube. The website operator is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

When you visit one of our webpages with an embedded YouTube video, a connection to YouTube’s servers will be established. As a result, the YouTube server is notified as to which of our pages you have visited.

YouTube may also save various cookies or other recognition devices on your end device (for example for device fingerprinting). In this way YouTube will be able to obtain information about this website’s visitors. Among other things, this information will be used to generate video statistics with the aim of improving the user friendliness of the site and to prevent attempts to commit fraud.

If you are logged into your YouTube account while you visit our site, you enable YouTube to directly link your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

The use of YouTube is based on our legitimate interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner (Art. 6 (1)(f )GDPR). If you have given your consent, the processing takes place solely on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR. This consent can be revoked at any time.

For more information on how YouTube handles user data, please visit the YouTube Data Privacy Policy on: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

Vimeo

This website uses plug-ins by the video portal Vimeo. The operator is Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA.

When you visit one of our pages with an embedded Vimeo video, a connection to Vimeo’s servers will be established.  As a result, the Vimeo server is notified as to which of our pages you have visited. Vimeo also receives your IP address. This also applies if you are not logged in to Vimeo or do not have an account with Vimeo. The information collected by Vimeo is transmitted to the Vimeo server in the USA.

If you are logged into your Vimeo account while you visit our site, you enable Vimeo to directly link your browsing patterns to your personal profile. You have the option to prevent this by logging out of your Vimeo account.

In order to recognise website visitors, Vimeo uses cookies or other recognition devices (such as device fingerprinting).

The use of Vimeo is based on our legitimate interest in presenting our online content in an appealing manner (Art. 6 (1)(f )GDPR) and § 25 Abs. 1 TTDSG. If you have given your consent, the processing takes place solely on the basis of Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR, insofar as your consent includes the storage of cookies and access to information about your end device (such as device fingerprinting) in accordance with the TTDSG. This consent can be revoked at any time.

The transmission of data to the USA is based on the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses and, according to Vimeo, on “legitimate business interests”. Details can be found here: https://vimeo.com/privacy

For further information on the handling of user data, please visit Vimeo’s privacy policy: https://vimeo.com/privacy