Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

At SAUFEX, we are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is protected. This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal data when you interact with our website and services. It also explains your rights regarding your personal data and how you can exercise them.

2. Data Collection

We collect various types of personal data to provide and improve our services, including:

Personal Data Collected:

• Names: Collected when you subscribe to our newsletters, register for events, or participate in our surveys.
• Email Addresses: Collected to send you updates, event registrations, and other communications related to our activities.
• IP Addresses: Automatically collected when you visit our website to help us understand usage patterns and ensure the security of our services.
• Survey Responses: Collected through voluntary participation in our research surveys to gather insights and data relevant to our projects.
• Cookies: We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website, including remembering your preferences and providing tailored content.

How Data is Collected:

• Forms: When you fill out forms on our website, such as subscribing to newsletters, registering for events, or contacting us, we collect the personal information you provide.
• Cookies: When you visit our website, we may automatically collect information through cookies, which are small data files stored on your device.
• Surveys: When you participate in our online surveys, we collect your responses to help us gather valuable insights for our research and development projects.

3. Purpose of Data Use

The personal data we collect is used for the following purposes:

• Communication: Your email address and name are used to send you updates about our latest news, events, research findings, and other information related to SAUFEX. We also use this information to respond to your enquiries and provide customer support.
• Event Registration: When you register for our events, we use your personal information to process your registration, send confirmation emails, and provide you with event-related information.
• Research and Development: Data collected through surveys and other forms of interaction on our website is used to advance our research projects, develop new tools, and improve our understanding of foreign information manipulation and interference.
• Website Functionality: Information collected via cookies is used to enhance the functionality of our website, such as remembering your preferences, understanding how you use our site, and improving your overall experience.
• Security: IP addresses and other data are collected to monitor for security breaches, ensure the integrity of our website, and protect against fraudulent activities.
• Partnership Communication: Your data may also be used to facilitate communication with our partners and collaborators to further the objectives of SAUFEX.

4. Data Sharing

We only share your data with third parties when it is necessary to further our mission of protecting democratic processes or to provide you with the services you have requested.

Third-Party Data Sharing:

• Partners and Collaborators: We may share your data with trusted partners and collaborators, such as research institutions, academic organisations, and government bodies, to advance our joint projects and research on foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). This data sharing is crucial for collaborative efforts and for ensuring a coordinated response to FIMI threats.
• Service Providers: We work with third-party service providers to assist with our operations, such as hosting our website, managing email communications, or processing event registrations. These providers have access to your data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated to protect your information and use it only for the intended purposes.
• Legal Obligations: In certain circumstances, we may be required to share your data to comply with legal obligations, such as responding to lawful requests from public authorities or government agencies.

Purpose of Data Sharing:

• Collaboration and Research: Data shared with partners is used to enhance our collective ability to detect, analyse, and respond to FIMI threats, as well as to develop new tools and frameworks that benefit the broader community.
• Service Delivery: Data shared with service providers is used to ensure the smooth operation of our website, communications, and events, helping us deliver a seamless experience to our users.
• Compliance: In cases where data sharing is required by law, we do so to remain in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

5. User Rights

We respect your rights to control your personal data and are committed to ensuring that you can exercise these rights easily and effectively.

Your Rights:

• Access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you. This allows you to receive a copy of the information and to check that we are processing it lawfully.
• Correction: If any of the data we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to request that it be corrected or updated.
• Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or if you withdraw your consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
• Restriction of Processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as if you contest the accuracy of the data or if you object to our processing.
• Data Portability: You have the right to request that your personal data be provided to you or to a third party in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Objection: You can object to the processing of your personal data in certain cases, such as for direct marketing purposes.

How to Exercise Your Rights:

• Contact Us: If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [Contact Email Address]. We may ask you to provide certain information to verify your identity before processing your request.
• Response Time: We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. If your request is particularly complex or you have made multiple requests, it may take us longer, but we will keep you informed of our progress.
• Complaints: If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.

6. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our website, provide essential functionality, and ensure compliance with GDPR requirements. We have integrated Cookiebot, a GDPR-compliant solution, to manage your cookie preferences.

Use of Cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Necessary for the website to function properly, enabling basic features like page navigation and access to secure areas of the site.
• Performance Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously, allowing us to improve the site’s performance.
• Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings, enabling enhanced, more personalised features on the site.
• Targeting/Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements, limit the number of times you see an ad, and measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns.

Cookiebot Consent Management:We use Cookiebot to manage and control the use of cookies on our website. Upon your first visit, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner managed by Cookiebot, where you can choose your cookie preferences. Cookiebot allows you to:

• Review and Consent: View detailed information about the cookies we use and provide consent for specific types of cookies.
• Change Preferences: Update your cookie preferences at any time by clicking on the "Cookie Settings" link, available at the bottom of every page on our website.
• Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw your consent for cookies at any time, except for those that are strictly necessary for the operation of the website.

Cookie Declaration:
Cookiebot also provides a transparent cookie declaration that lists all the cookies in use on our site, including their purpose, duration, and whether they are first-party or third-party cookies.

Managing Cookies:
You can manage your cookie preferences directly through the Cookiebot interface or by adjusting the settings in your web browser. However, please note that disabling certain types of cookies may affect the functionality and performance of our website.

Cookie Consent Renewal:
Your cookie preferences will be remembered for a set period, after which Cookiebot will prompt you to renew your consent, ensuring ongoing compliance with GDPR requirements.

7. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and have implemented a range of measures to protect it from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Security Measures:

• Encryption: We use encryption to protect sensitive data transmitted between your device and our servers, ensuring that your information is secure.
• Secure Servers: Our data is stored on secure servers that are protected by firewalls, access controls, and other advanced security technologies.
• Access Controls: We restrict access to personal data to authorised personnel only. All employees and partners who handle your data are required to follow strict confidentiality and security protocols.
• Regular Security Audits: We regularly review and update our security practices to ensure that your data remains safe.

8. Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

Email: admin@saufex.eu
Postal Address:
Wrocław Office: Stabłowicka 147 Street, 54-066 Wrocław, Poland
The Hague Office: Alexanderveld 5, 2516 BE The Hague, Netherlands
We are here to help and will respond to your enquiries as promptly as possible.

9. Legal Basis

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are required to identify the legal basis on which we process your personal data. The primary legal bases we rely on include:

• Consent: We process your personal data based on your consent, which you provide when you agree to receive communications from us, participate in surveys, or use our website with non-essential cookies enabled.
• Contractual Necessity: We process personal data to fulfil our contractual obligations to you, such as processing event registrations or providing access to our research materials.
• Legitimate Interests: We process personal data where it is in our legitimate interests to do so, such as to improve our website, conduct research, and communicate with our partners and stakeholders.
• Legal Obligations: We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

10. Policy Updates

Our privacy policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the policy on our website and, where appropriate, contacting you directly via email or other communication channels.

Effective Date: The privacy policy was last updated on 01/09/2024.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. Please note that SAUFEX is not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit to understand how they handle your personal data.

12. Use of DORIK

We use DORIK as a no-code web environment to build and manage our website. DORIK is a third-party platform that may collect and process your data as part of its services. While we have chosen DORIK to enhance the functionality and user experience of our website, we ensure that all data processed through DORIK is handled in accordance with our privacy policy and applicable data protection laws. For more information, please refer to DORIK's privacy policy.