Introduction

We thank you for visiting our website at https://www.arb-silva.de/. To ensure that you feel safe and comfortable when browsing our website, we would like to inform you about how we handle your personal data. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process, and disclose your information, including personal information, in conjunction with your access to and use of our website. Furthermore, you are informed, by means of this data protection declaration, of the rights to which you are entitled.

The processing of your personal data, such as the name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number shall always be in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and in accordance with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to the operator of this website whose identity and contact details you find in the imprint of this website (https://www.arb-silva.de/footer/imprint/). In case you have any questions related to this Privacy Policy or if you want to exercise your corresponding rights as outlined below, please also use the contacts provided there. 

The use of this website is possible without any indication of personal data; however, if you want to use special services provided by this website, processing of personal data could become necessary. If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no statutory basis for such processing, we generally obtain consent from you.

The operator of this website has implemented numerous technical and organizational measures to ensure the most complete protection of personal data processed through this website. However, Internet-based data transmissions may in principle have security gaps, so absolute protection may not be guaranteed.

Without your permission, the operator of this website does not share your personal data with any third party unless we are legally obliged to share information, for example under a court order. This also means, your data are not transferred to a third country or to an international organisation. As a responsible operator, we also do not use automatic decision-making or profiling.

The website collects a series of general data and information when a data subject or automated system calls up the website. This general data and information are stored in the server log files. Collected may be (1) the browser types and versions used, (2) the operating system used by the accessing system, (3) the website from which an accessing system reaches our website (so-called referrers), (4) the sub-websites, (5) the date and time of access to the Internet site, (6) an Internet protocol address (IP address), (7) the Internet service provider of the accessing system, and (8) any other similar data and information that may be used in the event of attacks on our information technology systems.

When using these general data and information, we do not draw any conclusions about the data subject. Rather, this information is needed to (1) deliver the content of our website correctly, (2) optimize the content of our website as well as its advertisement, (3) ensure the long-term viability of our information technology systems and website technology, and (4) provide law enforcement authorities with the information necessary for criminal prosecution in case of a cyber-attack. Therefore, we analyse anonymously collected data and information statistically, with the aim of increasing the data protection and data security of our institution, and to ensure an optimal level of protection for the personal data we process. The anonymous data of the server log files are stored separately from all personal data provided by a data subject.

This website contains information that enables a quick electronic contact to us, as well as direct communication with us, which also includes a general address of the so-called electronic mail (e-mail address). If you contact us by e-mail or via one of the contact forms provided, the personal data you transmitted are automatically stored. Such personal data transmitted on a voluntary basis by a data subject to us are stored for the purpose of processing your request or contacting you back.

The information required to register with the SILVAngs service and all uploaded data is solely used to offer the services provided by SILVAngs. Mandatory information for the registration with this service is your title, name, affiliation, city, country, and email address. This information is required to guarantee the legitimate use of this service and to prevent users from registering multiple times to circumvent the credit system implemented by this service. For the SILVAngs service, you can check online all information we have stored related to your person and you have the right to correct this information if you consider it to be outdated or incorrect. You also have the right to retract your consent to use personal identifiable information at any time with effect for the future.

This website uses cookies. Cookies are text files that are stored in a computer system via an Internet browser.

Many Internet sites and servers use cookies. Many cookies contain a so-called cookie ID. A cookie ID is a unique identifier of the cookie. It consists of a character string through which Internet pages and servers can be assigned to the specific Internet browser in which the cookie was stored. This allows visited Internet sites and servers to differentiate the individual browser of the data subject from other Internet browsers that contain other cookies. A specific Internet browser can be recognized and identified using the unique cookie ID.

Through the use of cookies, we can provide the users of this website with more user-friendly services that would not be possible without the cookie setting.

By means of a cookie, the information and offers on our website can be optimized with the user in mind. Cookies allow us, as previously mentioned, to recognize our website users. The purpose of this recognition is to make it easier for users to utilize our website. The website user that uses cookies, e.g. does not have to enter access data each time the website is accessed, because this is taken over by the website, and the cookie is thus stored on the user's computer system. Another example is the cookie of a shopping cart in an online shop. The online store remembers the articles that a customer has placed in the virtual shopping cart via a cookie.

You may, at any time, prevent the setting of cookies through our website by means of a corresponding setting of the Internet browser used, and may thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. Furthermore, already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all popular Internet browsers. If you deactivate the setting of cookies in the Internet browser used, not all functions of our website may be entirely usable.

The data are processed confidentially by trained employees of DSMZ GmbH; no data are passed on to third-party companies or third countries. The institute attaches great importance to compliance with security standards regarding IT and access control to the premises of DSMZ GmbH. In particular, we and our contractors also use technical and organizational security measures to protect the data from manipulation. These measures are constantly updated and improved. Our contractors for network services are:

• Helmholtz Center for Infection Research GmbH (Inhoffenstraße 7, D-38124 Braunschweig)
• Gärtner Datensysteme GmbH & Co. KG (Hamburger Strasse 273 a, D-38114 Braunschweig)
• Association for the Promotion of a German Research Network e.V. (Alexanderplatz 1, D-10178 Berlin)

Within the scope of the operation of the website of DSMZ GmbH, only the IP addresses are available to these contractors. The deletion period is one year; the data are stored until then for the purpose of averting attacks on the website that could lead to overloading the server and for the subsequent investigation of possible security breaches.
By using our website you therefore agree to the storage by our contractors. The respective privacy statements can be viewed at: https://www.gaertner.de/datenschutz.html ; https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/de/service/datenschutz/ ; https://www.dfn.de/datenschutz/

On this website, the controller has integrated the Matomo component. Matomo is an open-source software tool for web analysis. Web analysis is the collection, gathering and evaluation of data on the behavior of visitors from Internet sites. A web analysis tool collects, inter alia, data on the website from which a data subject came to a website (so-called referrer), which pages of the website were accessed or how often and for which period of time a sub-page was viewed. A web analysis is mainly used for the optimization of a website and the cost-benefit analysis of Internet advertising.

The software is operated on the server of the controller, the data protection-sensitive log files are stored exclusively on this server.

The purpose of the Matomo component is the analysis of the visitor flows on our website. The controller uses the obtained data and information, inter alia, to evaluate the use of this website in order to compile online reports, which show the activities on our Internet pages.

Matomo sets a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. The definition of cookies is explained above. With the setting of the cookie, an analysis of the use of our website is enabled. With each call-up to one of the individual pages of this website, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically through the Matomo component prompted to submit data for the purpose of online analysis to our server. During the course of this technical procedure, we obtain knowledge about personal information, such as the IP address of the data subject, which serves to understand the origin of visitors and clicks. You remain anonymous as an individual user because the last octet of your IP address gets removed.

The cookie is used to store personal information, such as the access time, the location from which access was made, and the frequency of visits to our website. With each visit of our Internet pages, these personal data, including the IP address of the Internet access used by the data subject, are transferred to our server. These personal data will be stored by us. We do not forward this personal data to third parties.

The data subject may, as stated above, prevent the setting of cookies through our website at any time by means of a corresponding adjustment of the web browser used and thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. Such an adjustment to the used Internet browser would also prevent Matomo from setting a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. In addition, cookies already in use by Matomo may be deleted at any time via a web browser or other software programs.

In addition, the data subject has the possibility of objecting to a collection of data relating to a use of this Internet site that are generated by Matomo as well as the processing of these data by Matomo and the chance to preclude any such. For this, the data subject must set a "Do Not Track" option in the browser.

With each setting of the opt-out cookie, however, there is the possibility that the websites of the controller are no longer fully usable for the data subject.

Further information and the applicable data protection provisions of Matomo may be retrieved under https://matomo.org/privacy/.

This Privacy Statement only covers the website at https://www.arb-silva.de. Links within this website to other websites are not covered by this statement. Please be aware that linked websites could store information in a way which does not comply with this statement, as soon as these websites are accessed. We cannot accept any responsibility for the collection, processing, use and passing on of information in such cases.

The criteria used to determine the period of storage of personal data is the respective statutory retention period. After expiration of that period, the corresponding data is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary for the fulfilment of the contract or the initiation of a contract.

Art. 6(1) lit. a GDPR serves as the legal basis for processing operations for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. If the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party, as is the case, for example, when processing operations are necessary for the supply of goods or to provide any other service, the processing is based on Article 6(1) lit. b GDPR. The same applies to such processing operations which are necessary for carrying out pre-contractual measures, for example in the case of inquiries concerning our products or services. Is our company subject to a legal obligation by which processing of personal data is required, such as for the fulfilment of tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6(1) lit. c GDPR. In rare cases, the processing of personal data may be necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor were injured in our company and his name, age, health insurance data or other vital information would have to be passed on to a doctor, hospital or other third party. Then the processing would be based on Art. 6(1) lit. d GDPR. Finally, processing operations could be based on Article 6(1) lit. f GDPR. This legal basis is used for processing operations which are not covered by any of the abovementioned legal grounds, if processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our company or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data. Such processing operations are particularly permissible because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. He considered that a legitimate interest could be assumed if the data subject is a client of the controller (Recital 47 Sentence 2 GDPR).

1. Right of access (Art. 15 GDPR):
You have the right to obtain confirmation to whether or not personal data concerning you is being processed, and, where that is the case access to the personal data and the information specified in Art. 15 GDPR.

2. Right to rectification and erasure (Art. 16 and 17 GDPR):
You have the right to obtain without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning you and, if necessary, the right to have incomplete person-al data completed.

You also have the right to obtain an erasure of the personal data concerning you without undue delay, if one of the reasons listed in Art. 17 GDPR applies, e.g. if the data is no longer necessary for the intended purpose. 

3. Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR):
If one of the conditions set forth in Art. 18 GDPR applies, you shall have the right to restrict the processing of your data to mere storage, e.g. if you revoke consent, to the processing, for the duration of a possible examination.

4. Right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR):
In certain situations, listed in Art. 20 GDPR, you have the right to receive the personal data concerning you in a structured, common and machine-readable format or demand a transmission of the data to another third party. 

5. Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR):
If the data is processed pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 s. 1 lit. f GDPR (data processing for the purposes of the legitimate interests), you have the right to object to the processing at any time for reasons arising out of your particular situation. We will then no longer process personal data, unless there are demonstrably compelling legitimate grounds for processing, which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the person concerned, or the processing serves the purpose of asserting, exercising or defending legal claims. 

6. Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority:

Pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you consider the processing of the data concerning you infringes data protection regulations. The right to lodge a complaint may be invoked in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

We reserve the right to amend or correct this Privacy Statement at any time. The revised statement will be posted on the website and will only apply to data collected after the effective date of the revised statement.

Braunschweig, 01.12.2022

Parts of this Privacy Policy are based on a template provided by the German Association for Data Protection that was developed in cooperation with Privacy Lawyers from WILDE BEUGER SOLMECKE, Cologne.