Privacy Policy of the German Research Ombudsman

One of the basic principles of the German Research Ombudsman (Ombudsman für die Wissenschaft) is confidentiality in dealing with the enquiries which it receives. In particular, the protec-tion of personal data is an important concern of the Ombudsman. We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit our website.

The Ombudsman’s website can be used without providing any personal data. We use the service of the third-party provider Youtube (see item 3) in our video gallery. You can use the service by clicking on the Youtube icon (“Watch video”). Our website does not collect any personal data by automatic means. Personal data will only be collected or transmitted to us if you actively provide it to us by using the contact form (item 1) or the registration form for the ombuds symposium (item 2).

We will not publish or pass on your data to third parties without your consent or without legal authorisation. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to information, rectification, restriction of processing, erasure and portability of personal data concerning you when you use our website. You furthermore have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to personal data concerning you which are being processed on the basis of Article 6§1 (f). These personal data will then no longer be processed for these purposes unless compelling legitimate grounds can be demonstrated for the processing which over-ride your interests, rights and freedoms, or processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Please contact the office of the German Research Ombudsman if you have any concerns related to your personal data (geschaeftsstelle@ombuds-wissenschaft.de).

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection 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 relating to you is unlawful.

We explain below what data we may collect when you use our website, in particular the service that we embed, and precisely how those data are used:

1. The contact form

A contact form is provided on the Ombudsman’s website which can be used for electronic communication. The personal data that you have entered in the input fields (generally your surname, first name and e-mail address) are transmitted to us when you click on the “Send” button. The data are stored in the administrative office of the Ombudsman. Be-fore you send your message, we ask you to confirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and our guidelines. As an alternative, you can contact us via the e-mail address provided. If you decide to contact us by these means, the personal data of the user transmitted with the e-mail will be stored. Please attach the Ombudsman’s enquiry form (completed by you) if you contact us by e-mail.

The data will be used exclusively for processing the conversation and dealing with the enquiry that you have made to us. The data will not be passed on to third parties. The legal basis for the processing of the data is Article 6§1 or (b) and (f) GDPR. Files of enquiries to the Ombudsman are stored at the administrative offive for 30 years. There is no obligation to provide your data. We may not however be able to process your request if you do not provide specific data.

2. The registration form for the ombuds symposium

We provide a form on the Ombudsman’s website for registration to attend the ombuds symposium that we organise. The form will only be activated during the specific registra-tion times. The personal data that you have entered in the input fields (generally your surname, first name, e-mail address and any dietary wishes) are transmitted to us when you click on the “Send” button. We store these data so that you can attend the event, as well as to enable us to send you further information on the schedule by e-mail in the run-up to the event. We will also send you information material after the event (slides ap-proved by the speakers, etc.).

The data will not be passed on to third parties. The legal basis for processing the data is Article 6§1 (b) GDPR. Your data will be erased insofar as they are no longer necessary for the aforementioned purposes and once no statutory retention periods require such stor-age. There is no obligation to provide your data. We may not however be able to process your enquiry if you do not provide specific data.

3. YouTube

We use the services of the provider YouTube in order to integrate videos. YouTube is op-erated by YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA. YouTube is repre-sented by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

An iframe with the provider’s content is not embedded in the page until you click on the Youtube symbol (“Watch video”). No contents of the services are integrated or data transferred before the user clicks on this field. If you activate the content, the operator of the Youtube platform will be informed that the respective page has been accessed, and additionally personal data (e.g. the user’s IP address) will be transmitted to the platform operator. You will find further information on data processing and information on privacy by YouTube (Google) at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=de.

Google also processes your personal data in the USA, a so-called third country, and is cer-tified according to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. You can access more information about the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield at: (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).