Privacy Policy

Preamble

With the following data protection declaration, we would like to inform you about the types of your personal data (hereinafter also referred to as “data” for short) that we process, for what purposes and to what extent. The data protection declaration applies to all processing of personal data carried out by us, both as part of the provision of our services and, in particular, on our websites, in mobile applications and within external online presences, such as our social media profiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Online Offer”).

The terms used are not gender-specific.

Status: May 24, 2023

Data Controller

This website is administered by the Max Weber Foundation – German Humanities Institutes Abroad (MWS) – on behalf of the CRAFT-OA consortium.

Max Weber Foundation – German Humanities Institutes Abroad
Central Office
Rheinallee 6
53173 Bonn
Germany
Phone +49-(0)228-37786-0
Website: https://www.maxweberstiftung.de

E-mail address:
arasteh@maxweberstiftung.de

Contact Data Protection Officer

Reinhard Hiss
datenschutz@maxweberstiftung.de

Overview of processing operations

The following overview summarizes the types of data processed and the purposes of their processing and refers to the data subjects.

• Types of data processed
• Inventory data.
• Contact data.
• Content data.
• Usage data.
• Meta, communication and procedural data.
• Categories of data subjects
• Communication partners.
• Users.
• Purposes of processing
• Contact requests and communication.
• Security measures.
• Direct marketing.
• Reach measurement.
• Management and response to requests.
• Feedback.
• Marketing.
• Profiles with user-related information.
• Provision of our online services and user experience.
• Information technology infrastructure.
• Relevant legal bases

Below you will find an overview of the legal bases of the DSGVO, on the basis of which we process personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection regulations may apply in your or our country of residence or domicile. Furthermore, should more specific legal bases be relevant in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.

Legal Bases for the Processing

In the following, you will find an overview of the legal basis of the GDPR on which we base the processing of personal data. Please note that in addition to the provisions of the GDPR, national data protection provisions of your or our country of residence or domicile may apply. If, in addition, more specific legal bases are applicable in individual cases, we will inform you of these in the data protection declaration.

• Consent (Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO) – The data subject has given his/her consent to the processing of personal data relating to him/her for a specific purpose or purposes.

• Contract performance and pre-contractual requests (Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. b) GDPR) – Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or for the performance of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject’s request.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO) – Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party unless such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require the protection of personal data.
• In addition to the data protection regulations of the GDPR, national regulations on data protection apply in Germany. These include, in particular, the Act on Protection against Misuse of Personal Data in Data Processing (Federal Data Protection Act – BDSG). In particular, the BDSG contains special regulations on the right to information, the right to erasure, the right to object, the processing of special categories of personal data, processing for other purposes and transmission, as well as automated decision-making in individual cases, including profiling. Furthermore, it regulates data processing for employment purposes (Section 26 BDSG), in particular with regard to the establishment, implementation or termination of employment relationships as well as the consent of employees. Furthermore, state data protection laws of the individual federal states may apply.

Security measures

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures in accordance with the legal requirements, taking into account the state of the art, the implementation costs and the nature, scope, circumstances and purposes of the processing, as well as the different probabilities of occurrence and the extent of the threat to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, in order to ensure a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

The measures include, in particular, safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by controlling physical and electronic access to the data as well as access to, the input of, disclosure of, assurance of availability of and segregation of the data. Furthermore, we have established procedures to ensure the exercise of data subjects’ rights, the deletion of data, and responses to data compromise. Furthermore, we already take the protection of personal data into account during the development or selection of hardware, software as well as procedures in accordance with the principle of data protection, through technology design and through data protection-friendly default settings.

TLS encryption (https): To protect your data transmitted via our online offer, we use TLS encryption. You can recognize such encrypted connections by the prefix https:// in the address bar of your browser.

Transmission of personal data

In the course of our processing of personal data, it may happen that the data is transferred to or disclosed to other bodies, companies, legally independent organizational units or persons. Recipients of this data may include, for example, service providers commissioned with IT tasks or providers of services and content that are integrated into a website. In such cases, we comply with the legal requirements and, in particular, conclude appropriate contracts or agreements that serve to protect your data with the recipients of your data.

Data transfer within the organization: We may transfer personal data to other entities within our organization or grant them access to this data. Where this transfer is for administrative purposes, the transfer of data is based on our legitimate business and operational interests or is made where it is necessary to fulfil our contract-related obligations or where we have the consent of the data subjects or legal permission.

Erasure of data

The data processed by us will be deleted in accordance with legal requirements as soon as their consent permitted for processing is revoked or other permissions cease to apply (e.g. if the purpose of processing this data has ceased to apply or it is not required for the purpose). If the data are not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing will be limited to these purposes. That is, 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 or whose storage is necessary for the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person.

Our data protection notices may also contain further details on the retention and deletion of data, which take priority for the respective processing operations.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small text files, or other memory notes, which store information on end devices and read information from the end devices. For example, to store the login status in a user account, a shopping cart content in an e-shop, the content accessed or functions used of an online offer. Cookies can further be used for various purposes, e.g. for purposes of functionality, security and comfort of online offers as well as the creation of analyses of visitor flows.

Consent notices: We use cookies in accordance with the law. Therefore, we obtain prior consent from users, except when it is not required by law. In particular, consent is not required if the storage and reading of information, including cookies, are absolutely necessary to provide the telemedia service (i.e., our online offering) expressly requested by users. The strictly necessary cookies usually include cookies with functions related to the display and operability of the online offer, load balancing, security, storage of users’ preferences and choices or similar purposes related to the provision of the main and secondary functions of the online offer requested by the users. The revocable consent is clearly communicated to the users and contains information about the respective cookie use.

Notes on legal bases under data protection law: the legal basis under data protection law on which we process users’ personal data using cookies depends on whether we ask users for consent. If users consent, the legal basis for processing their data is their declared consent. Otherwise, the data processed with the help of cookies is processed on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. in the business operation of our online offer and improvement of its usability) or, if this is done in the context of the performance of our contractual obligations if the use of cookies is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations. For what purposes the cookies are processed by us, we clarify in the course of this privacy policy or in the context of our consent and processing procedures.

Storage duration: With regard to the storage duration, the following types of cookies are distinguished:

General information on revocation and objection (opt-out): Users can revoke the consents they have given at any time and also file an objection to processing in accordance with the legal requirements in Art. 21 DSGVO. Users can also declare their objection via their browser settings, e.g. by deactivating the use of cookies (whereby this may also limit the functionality of our online services). An objection to the use of cookies for online marketing purposes can also be declared via the websites https://optout.aboutads.info and https://www.youronlinechoices.com/.

Further notes on processing operations, procedures and services:

Complianz: cookie consent management; service provider: Hosted locally on our server, no data transfer to third parties; Website: https://complianz.io/; Privacy policy: https://complianz.io/legal/; Further information: An individual user ID, language as well as types of consents and the time of their submission are stored on the server side and in the cookie on the users’ device.

Provision of the online offer and web hosting

We process users’ data in order to provide them with our online services. For this purpose, we process the user’s IP address, which is necessary to transmit the content and functions of our online services to the user’s browser or device.

Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. web pages visited, interest in content, access times); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g., website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: provision of our online offer and user-friendliness; information technology infrastructure (operation and provision of information systems and technical devices (computers, servers, etc.).); security measures.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further notes on processing processes, procedures and services: Collection of access data and log files: access to our online offer is logged in the form of so-called “server log files”. The server log files may include the address and name of the web pages and files accessed, the date and time of access, the volume of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page) and, as a rule, IP addresses and the requesting provider. The server log files may be used for security purposes, e.g. to prevent server overload (especially in the event of abusive attacks, so-called DDoS attacks) and to ensure the utilization of the servers and their stability; legal reasons may also be given: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); deletion of data: Log file information is stored for a maximum of 30 days and then deleted or anonymized. Data whose further retention is required for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until final clarification of the respective incident.

Blogs and Publication Media

We use blogs or comparable means of online communication and publication (hereinafter “publication medium”). Readers’ data will only be processed for the purposes of the publication medium to the extent necessary for its presentation and communication between authors and readers or for security reasons. For the rest, we refer to the information on the processing of visitors to our publication medium within the scope of this privacy policy.

By default, the comment function is disabled on the blog (called “News” on the website).

Akismet Anti-Spam Checking: We use the “Akismet” service on the basis of our legitimate interests. With the help of Akismet, comments from real people are distinguished from spam comments. All comments 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 will be stored beyond that time. This information includes the name entered, the e-mail address, the IP address, the comment content, the referrer, information about the browser used, the computer system and the time of the entry.

Users are welcome to use pseudonyms, or to refrain from entering their name or email address. You can completely prevent the transmission of data by not using our comment system. That is a pity, but unfortunately we do not see any alternatives that work just as effectively.

• Processed data types: Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses), Contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers), Content data (e.g. text input, photographs, videos), Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times), Meta/communication data (e.g. device information, IP addresses).
• Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
• Purposes of Processing: Provision of contractual services and customer support, Feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form), Security measures.
• Legal Basis: Performance of a contract and prior requests (Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR), Legitimate Interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Services and service providers being used:

• Akismet Anti-Spam Checking: Akismet Anti-Spam Checking; Service provider: Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; Website: https://automattic.com; Privacy Policy: https://automattic.com/privacy.
• Wordfence: Firewall and security as well as error detection functions ; Service provider: Defiant, Inc., 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; Website: https://www.wordfence.com; Privacy Policy: https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/; Standard Contractual Clauses (Safeguarding the level of data protection when processing data in third countries): https://www.wordfence.com/gdpr/dpa.pdf.

Contact and inquiry management

When contacting us (e.g. by mail, contact form, e-mail, telephone or via social media) as well as in the context of existing user and business relationships, the information of the inquiring persons is processed to the extent necessary to respond to the contact requests and any requested measures. Types of data processed:

• contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms); usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status).
• data subjects: Communication partners.
• Purposes of processing: contact inquiries and communication; managing and responding to inquiries; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); providing our online offer and user experience.
• Legal grounds: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); contract performance and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO).

Further notes on processing operations, procedures and services:

Contact form: If users contact us via our contact form, e-mail or other communication channels, we process the data communicated to us in this context to process the communicated request; Legal basis: Contract performance and pre-contractual inquiries (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. b) DSGVO), Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Newsletter and electronic notifications

We send newsletters, e-mails and other electronic notifications (hereinafter “newsletter”) only with the consent of the recipients or a legal permission. If, in the context of a registration for the newsletter, its contents are specifically circumscribed, they are decisive for the consent of the users. Otherwise, our newsletters contain information about our services and us.

In order to subscribe to our newsletters, it is generally sufficient to provide your e-mail address. However, we may ask you to provide a name, for the purpose of personal address in the newsletter, or further information, if this is necessary for the purposes of the newsletter.

Double opt-in procedure: The registration for our newsletter is always carried out in a so-called double opt-in process. This means that after registration you will receive an e-mail in which you are asked to confirm your registration. This confirmation is necessary so that no one can register with other people’s e-mail addresses.

The registrations for the newsletter are logged in order to be able to prove the registration process according to the legal requirements. This includes the storage of the registration and confirmation time as well as the IP address. Likewise, changes to your data stored with the dispatch service provider are logged.

Deletion and restriction of processing: We may store unsubscribed e-mail addresses for up to three years on the basis of our legitimate interests before deleting them in order to be able to prove consent previously given. The processing of this data will be limited to the purpose of a possible defense against claims. An individual request for deletion is possible at any time, provided that the former existence of consent is confirmed at the same time. In the case of obligations to permanently observe objections, we reserve the right to store the e-mail address in a block list (so-called “block list”) for this purpose alone.

The logging of the registration process takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests for the purpose of proving its proper course. Insofar as we commission a service provider to send e-mails, this is done on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure sending system.

Contents:
Information about the project, project development, events

Types of data processed:

• Inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status).
• Data subjects: Communication partners.
• Purposes of processing: direct marketing (e.g., by e-mail or postal mail).
• Legal basis: consent (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a) DSGVO).
• Option to object (opt-out): You can cancel our newsletter at any time, i.e. revoke your consent or object to further receive it. You will find a link to cancel the newsletter either at the end of each newsletter or you can otherwise use one of the contact options given above, preferably e-mail, for this purpose.

Web analysis, monitoring and optimization

Web analysis (also referred to as “reach measurement”) is used to evaluate the flow of visitors to our online offering and may include behaviour, interests or demographic information about visitors, such as age or gender, as pseudonymous values. With the help of reach analysis, we can recognize, for example, at what time our online offer or its functions or content are most frequently used or invite re-use. Likewise, we can understand which areas need optimization.

In addition to web analytics, we may also use testing procedures, for example, to test and optimize different versions of our online offering or its components.

Unless otherwise stated below, profiles, i.e. data summarized for a usage process can be created for these purposes and information can be stored in a browser or in a terminal device and read from it. The information collected includes, in particular, websites visited and elements used there, as well as technical information such as the browser used, the computer system used, and information on usage times. If users have agreed to the collection of their location data from us or from the providers of the services we use, location data may also be processed.

The IP addresses of the users are also stored. However, we use an IP masking procedure (i.e., pseudonymization by shortening the IP address) to protect users. Generally, in the context of web analysis, A/B testing and optimization, no clear data of the users (such as e-mail addresses or names) are stored, but pseudonyms. That is, we as well as the providers of the software used do not know the actual identity of the users, but only the information stored in their profiles for the purposes of the respective procedures.

Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status).
Data subjects: Users (e.g., website visitors, users of online services).
Purposes of processing: reach measurement (e.g. access statistics, recognition of returning visitors); profiles with user-related information (creation of user profiles).
Security measures: IP masking (pseudonymization of the IP address).
Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
Further information on processing processes, procedures and services:

Matomo (without cookies): Matomo is a privacy-friendly web analytics software that is used without cookies and in which the recognition of returning users takes place with the help of a so-called “digital fingerprint”, which is stored anonymously and changed every 24 hours; With the “digital fingerprint”, user movements within our online offering are recorded with the help of pseudonymized IP addresses in combination with user-side browser settings in such a way that conclusions about the identity of individual users are not possible. The user data collected as part of the use of Matomo is only processed by us and is not shared with third parties; legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); website: https://matomo.org/.

Presence in social networks (social media)

We maintain online presences within social networks and process user data in this context in order to communicate with users active there or to offer information about us.

We maintain online presences within social networks and process user data in this context in order to communicate with users active there or to offer information about us.

We would like to point out that user data may be processed outside the European Union. This may result in risks for the users because, for example, it could make it more difficult to enforce the rights of the users.

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

For a detailed presentation of the respective forms of processing and the options to object (opt-out), we refer to the privacy statements and information provided by the operators of the respective networks.

In the case of requests for information and the assertion of data subject rights, we also 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 assistance, you can contact us.

• Types of data processed: contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms); usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status).
• Data subjects: Users (e.g., website visitors, users of online services).
• Purposes of processing: contact requests and communication; feedback (e.g. collecting feedback via online form); marketing.
• Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
• Further notes on processing processes, procedures and services:

Twitter: social network; service provider: Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2 D02 AX07, Ireland, parent company: Twitter Inc, 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Privacy policy: https://twitter.com/privacy, (Settings: https://twitter.com/personalization).

Plugins and embedded functions as well as content

We incorporate into our online offering functional and content elements that are obtained from the servers of their respective providers (hereinafter referred to as “third-party providers”). These can be, for example, graphics, videos or city maps (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

The integration always requires that the third-party providers of this content process 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 presentation of these contents or functions. We strive 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 analyze information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may further 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 the visit and other information about the use of our online offer as well as be linked to such information from other sources.

• Types of data processed: Usage data (e.g. websites visited, interest in content, access times); meta, communication and procedural data (e.g. IP addresses, time data, identification numbers, consent status); inventory data (e.g. names, addresses); contact data (e.g. e-mail, telephone numbers); content data (e.g. entries in online forms).
• Data subjects: Users (e.g. website visitors, users of online services).
• Purposes of processing: provision of our online offer and user-friendliness; marketing; profiles with user-related information (creation of user profiles).
• Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).

Further notes on processing processes, procedures and services:

• Google Fonts (provision on own server): Provision of font files for the purpose of a user-friendly presentation of our online offer; service provider: Google Fonts are hosted on our server, and no data is transmitted to Google; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. f) DSGVO).
• Twitter plugins and content: Twitter plugins and buttons – This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can share the content of this online offer within Twitter; Service provider: Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2 D02 AX07, Ireland, Parent Company: Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 S. 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://twitter.com/de; Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/privacy, (Settings: https://twitter.com/personalization).
• YouTube videos: Video content; Service provider: Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; Legal basis: Legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) DSGVO); Website: https://www.youtube.com; Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy; Opt-out: Opt-Out Plugin: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de; Ad Display Settings: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Changes and updates to the privacy policy

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our privacy policy. We adapt the privacy policy as soon as the changes in the data processing carried out by us make it necessary. We will inform you as soon as the changes require an act of cooperation on your part (e.g. consent) or other individual notification.

Insofar as we provide addresses and contact information of companies and organizations in this data protection declaration, we ask you to note that the addresses may change over time and ask you to check the information before contacting us.

Rights of the data subjects
As a data subject, you are entitled to various rights under the GDPR, which arise in particular from Articles 15 to 21 of the GDPR:

• Right to object: you have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of personal data relating to you which is carried out on the basis of Art. 6(1)(e) or (f) DSGVO; this also applies to profiling based on these provisions. If the personal data concerning you is processed for the purpose of direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you for the purpose of such marketing; this also applies to profiling insofar as it is related to such direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to revoke any consent given at any time.
• Right to information: 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 the legal requirements.
• Right to rectification: you have the right, in accordance with the law, to request that data concerning you be completed or that inaccurate data concerning you be rectified.
• Right to erasure and restriction of processing: In accordance with the legal requirements, you have the right to demand that data relating to you be deleted without delay or, alternatively, in accordance with the legal requirements, that processing be restricted.

Right to data portability: You have the right to receive data relating to you that you have provided to us in a structured, common and machine-readable format, or to request that it be transferred to another controller, in accordance with the law.
Complaint to a supervisory authority: without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement, if you consider that the processing of personal data concerning you infringes the requirements of the GDPR.

Terminology & Definitions

This section provides you with an overview of the terms used in this Privacy Policy. Many of the terms are taken from the law and defined primarily in Article 4 of the GDPR. The legal definitions are binding. The following explanations, on the other hand, are primarily intended to aid understanding. The terms are sorted alphabetically.

• Personal data: “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.
• Profiles with user-related information: The processing of “profiles with user-related information”, or “profiles” for short, includes any type of automated processing of personal data that consists in using such personal data to analyze, evaluate or predict certain personal aspects relating to a natural person (depending on the type of profiling, this may include different information concerning demographics, behaviour and interests, such as interaction with websites and their content, etc.) (e.g., interests in certain content or products, click behaviour on a website or location). Cookies and web beacons are often used for profiling purposes.
• Web Analytics: Web Analytics serves the evaluation of visitor traffic of online services and can determine their behavior or interests in certain information, such as content of websites. With the help of web analytics, website owners, for example, can recognize at what time visitors visit their website and what content they are interested in. This allows them, for example, to optimize the content of the website to better meet the needs of their visitors. For purposes of web analytics, pseudonymous cookies and web beacons are frequently used in order to recognise returning visitors and thus obtain more precise analyses of the use of an online service.
• Controller: “Controller” is 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.
• Processing: “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, be it collection, analysis, storage, transmission or deletion.