Data protection

This data protection declaration clarifies the type, scope and purpose of the processing of personal data (hereinafter referred to as “data”) as part of the provision of our services as well as within our online offer and the websites, functions and content connected to it, as well as external online presences, e.g. our social media profile (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “online offer”). With regard to the terminology used, e.g. “Processing” or “responsible person”, we refer to the definitions in Art. 4 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Responsible

4CS-Laser AG
Turmstrasse 18
CH 6312 Steinhausen/ Zug
+41 (0)41 747 18 66
[email protected]

Types of data processed

– Inventory data (e.g., person master data, names or addresses).
– Contact information (e.g., email, phone numbers).
– Content data (e.g., text input, photographs, videos).
– Usage data (e.g., web pages visited, interest in content, access times).
– Meta/communication data (e.g., device information, IP addresses).

Categories of persons concerned

Visitors and users of the online offer (hereinafter we also refer to the data subjects collectively as “users”).

Purpose of processing

– Provision of the online offer, its functions and contents.
– Respond to contact requests and communicate with users.
– Safety measures.
– Reach measurement/marketing

Terminology used

“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.

“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 encompasses virtually any handling of data.

“pseudonymization” means the processing of personal data in such a way that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

“profiling” means any automated processing of personal data which consists in using such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyze or predict aspects relating to that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or change of location.

Controller” means 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.

“Processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the Controller.

Relevant legal bases

In accordance with Art. 13 DSGVO, we inform you about the legal basis of our data processing. For users from the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e. the EU and the EEC, the following applies, unless the legal basis is stated in the privacy policy:

The legal basis for obtaining consent is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a and Art. 7 DSGVO;
The legal basis for the processing for the fulfillment of our services and implementation of contractual measures as well as answering inquiries is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR;

The legal basis for processing to fulfill our legal obligations is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. c GDPR;

In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person require the processing of personal data, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. d DSGVO as the legal basis.

The legal basis for the processing necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e GDPR.

The legal basis for processing to protect our legitimate interests is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR.

The processing of data for purposes other than those for which they were collected is determined by the provisions of Art. 6 para. 4 GDPR.

The processing of special categories of data (according to Art. 9 (1) of the GDPR) is determined according to the requirements of Art. 9 (1) of the GDPR. 2 GDPR.

Security measures

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

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

Cooperation with processors, joint controllers and third parties

If, in the course of our processing, we disclose data to other persons and companies (order processors, jointly responsible persons or third parties), transmit it to them or otherwise grant them access to the data, this will only be done on the basis of a legal permission (e.g. if a transmission of the data to third parties, such as to payment service providers, is necessary for the fulfillment of the contract), users have consented, a legal obligation provides for this or on the basis of our legitimate interests (e.g. when using agents, web hosts, etc.).

If we disclose or transfer data to other companies in our group of companies or otherwise grant them access, this is done in particular for administrative purposes as a legitimate interest and, in addition, on a basis that complies with the legal requirements.

Transfers to third countries

If we process data in a third country (i.e. outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or the Swiss Confederation) or if this is done in the context of using third-party services or disclosing, or transferring data to other persons or companies, this will only be done if it is done to fulfill our (pre)contractual obligations, on the basis of your consent, due to a legal obligation or on the basis of our legitimate interests. Subject to legal or contractual permissions, we process or leave the data in a third country only if the legal requirements are met. This means, for example, that processing takes place on the basis of special guarantees, such as the officially recognized determination of a level of data protection that corresponds to that of the EU (e.g., for the USA through the “Privacy Shield”) or compliance with officially recognized special contractual obligations.
Rights of the data subjects
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.

You have accordingly. the legal requirements, the right to request that the data concerning you be completed or that the inaccurate data concerning you be corrected.
In accordance with the statutory provisions, you have the right to demand that the data concerned be deleted without delay or, alternatively, to demand restriction of the processing of the data in accordance with the statutory provisions.

You have the right to request that the data concerning you that you have provided to us be received in accordance with the law and to request that it be transferred to other data controllers.
You also have the right to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with the law.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to revoke given consents with effect for the future.

Right of objection

You may object to the future processing of data relating to you at any time in accordance with the statutory provisions. The objection can be made in particular against the processing for purposes of direct advertising.

Cookies and right to object to direct advertising

Cookies” are small files that are stored on users’ computers. Different information can be stored within the cookies. The primary purpose of a cookie is to store information about a user (or the device on which the cookie is stored) during or after his visit within an online offer. Temporary cookies, or “session cookies” or “transient cookies”, are cookies that are deleted after a user leaves an online offer and closes his browser. In such a cookie, for example, the contents of a shopping cart in an online store or a login status can be stored. Permanent” or “persistent” cookies are those that remain stored even after the browser is closed. For example, the login status can be saved when users visit them after several days. Likewise, such a cookie may store the interests of users, which are used for reach measurement or marketing purposes. Third-party cookies” are cookies that are offered by providers other than the responsible party that operates the online offer (otherwise, if they are only its cookies, they are referred to as “first-party cookies”).

We may use temporary and permanent cookies, and we explain this in our privacy policy.

If users do not want cookies to be stored on their computer, they are asked to disable the corresponding option in the system settings of their browser. Stored cookies can be deleted in the system settings of the browser. The exclusion of cookies can lead to functional restrictions of this online offer.

A general objection to the use of cookies used for online marketing purposes can be declared for a large number of the services, especially in the case of tracking, via the U.S. site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. Furthermore, the storage of cookies can be achieved by means of their deactivation in the browser settings. Please note that then not all functions of this online offer can be used.

Data deletion

The data processed by us will be deleted or restricted in its processing in accordance with the legal requirements. Unless expressly stated in this privacy policy, the data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and the deletion does not conflict with any statutory retention obligations.

If the data are not deleted because they are required for other and legally permissible purposes, their processing will be restricted. I.e. 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.

Changes and updates to the privacy policy

We ask you to regularly inform yourself about the content of our privacy policy. We will adapt the privacy policy as soon as the changes in the data processing carried out by us make this 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.

Business processing

In addition we process
– Contract data (e.g., subject matter of the contract, term, customer category).
– Payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history)
of our customers, prospective customers and business partners for the purpose of providing contractual services, service and customer care, marketing, advertising and market research.

Hosting and emailing

The hosting services used by us serve to provide the following services: Infrastructure and platform services, computing capacity, storage space and database services, e-mail dispatch, security services and technical maintenance services, which we use for the purpose of operating this online offering.
In doing so, we, or our hosting provider, process inventory data, contact data, content data, contract data, usage data, meta data and communication data of customers, interested parties and visitors of this online offer on the basis of our legitimate interests in an efficient and secure provision of this online offer in accordance with the German Data Protection Act. Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO in conjunction with. Art. 28 DSGVO (conclusion of order processing contract).

Collection of access data and log files

We, or rather our hosting provider, collects data on the basis of our legitimate interests within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO data about each access to the server on which this service is located (so-called server log files). The access data includes the name of the website accessed, file, date and time of access, amount of data transferred, notification of successful access, browser type and version, the user’s operating system, referrer URL (the previously visited page), IP address and the requesting provider.
Log file information is stored for security reasons (e.g. for the clarification of abuse or fraud) for a maximum of 7 days and then deleted. Data whose further retention is required for evidentiary purposes is exempt from deletion until final clarification of the respective incident.

Content delivery network from Cloudflare

We use a so-called “Content Delivery Network” (CDN), offered by Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. Cloudflare is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnZKAA0&status=Active).
A CDN is a service with the help of which the content of our online offer, in particular large media files such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered more quickly with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet. The processing of users’ data is carried out solely for the aforementioned purposes and to maintain the security and functionality of the CDN.

The use is based on our legitimate interests, i.e. interest in a secure and efficient provision, analysis and optimization of our online offer in accordance with. Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f. GDPR.
For more information, please see Cloudflare’s privacy policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/security-policy.

Content Delivery Network from StackPath

We use a so-called “Content Delivery Network” (CDN), offered by StackPath, LLC, 2021 McKinney Avenue, Suite 1100 Dallas, Texas 75201, USA. StackPath is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement, thereby providing a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000CbahAAC&status=Active).

A CDN is a service with the help of which the content of our online offer, in particular large media files such as graphics or scripts, can be delivered more quickly with the help of regionally distributed servers connected via the Internet. The processing of users’ data is carried out solely for the aforementioned purposes and to maintain the security and functionality of the CDN.

The use is based on our legitimate interests, i.e. interest in a safe and efficient provision, analysis and optimization of our online offer.
For more information, please see StackPath’s privacy policy: https://www.stackpath.com/legal/privacy-statement.

New Relic – Server monitoring and error tracking

With the help of server monitoring & error tracking, we ensure the availability and integrity of our online offering and use the data processed in the process to technically optimize our online offering.
For these purposes, we use the service New Relic, Inc. Attn: Legal Department 188 Spear Street, Suite 1200 San Francisco, CA 94105, USA. New Relic is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement, thereby providing a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TNPiAAO&status=Active).

New Relic processes aggregated performance data, i.e. performance, utilization and comparable technical values, which provide information about the stability and any anomalies of our online offering. In case of errors and conspicuousness, individual inquiries of the users of our online offer are recorded pseudonymously in order to identify and eliminate sources of problems. In this case, pseudonym means in particular that the IP addresses of the users are stored shortened by the last two digits (so-called IP masking). The aggregated data is deleted after three months, the pseudonymized data after seven days.

We use New Relic on the basis of our legitimate interests in the security, accuracy and optimization of our online offering in accordance with. Art. 6 par. 1 lit. f DSGVO.

For more information about the processing of personal data by New Relic, please refer to the privacy policy of the service: https://newrelic.com/termsandconditions/privacy.

Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager is a solution that allows us to manage so-called website tags via an interface (and thus, for example, integrate Google Analytics and other Google marketing services into our online offering). The Tag Manager itself (which implements the tags) does not process any personal data of the users. With regard to the processing of users’ personal data, reference is made to the following information on Google services. Usage Guidelines: https://www.google.com/intl/de/tagmanager/use-policy.html.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”), on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offering within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) lit. f. DSGVO) Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”). Google uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about the use of the online offer by the user is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

Google will use this information on our behalf for the purpose of evaluating your use of our website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Thereby, pseudonymous usage profiles of the users can be created from the processed data.

We use Google Analytics only with IP anonymization enabled. This means that the IP address of the user is shortened by Google within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there.

The IP address transmitted by the user’s browser is not merged with other data from Google. Users can prevent the storage of cookies by setting their browser software accordingly; users can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie and related to their use of the online offer to Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.
For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy) and the settings for the display of advertising by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).
Users’ personal data is deleted or anonymized after 14 months.

Google Universal Analytics

We use Google Analytics in the form of “Universal Analytics”. “Universal Analytics” refers to a method of Google Analytics in which user analysis is performed on the basis of a pseudonymous user ID, thus creating a pseudonymous profile of the user with information from the use of different devices (so-called “cross-device tracking”).

Target group formation with Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to display the ads placed within advertising services of Google and its partners only to those users who have also shown an interest in our online offer or who have certain characteristics (e.g. interests in certain topics or products determined on the basis of the websites visited), which we transmit to Google (so-called “remarketing”, or “Google Analytics Audiences”). With the help of Remarketing Audiences, we also want to make sure that our ads match the potential interest of the users.
Google Adsense with personalized ads

We use the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Park Park Mountain View, CA 9.0.2008 (“Google”) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO). DSGVO) the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, (“Google”).
Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

We use the service AdSense, with the help of which ads are displayed on our website and we receive payment for their display or other use. For these purposes, usage data, such as the click on an advertisement and the IP address of the users are processed, whereby the IP address is shortened by the last two digits. Therefore, the processing of the users’ data is pseudonymized.

We use Adsense with personalized ads. In doing so, Google draws conclusions about users’ interests based on the websites they visit or apps they use and the user profiles created in this way. Advertisers use this information to tailor their campaigns to these interests, which benefits users and advertisers alike. For Google, ads are personalized when captured or known data drives or influences ad selection. This includes past searches, activities, website visits, app usage, demographic and location information, among others. Specifically, this includes: demographic targeting, targeting on interest categories, remarketing, and targeting on customer match lists and audience lists uploaded to DoubleClick Bid Manager or Campaign Manager.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads) and the settings for the display of advertisements by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).

Google Adsense with non-personalized ads

We use the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Park Park Mountain View, CA 9.0.2008 (“Google”) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO). DSGVO) the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, (“Google”).

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

We use the service AdSense, with the help of which ads are displayed on our website and we receive payment for their display or other use. For these purposes, usage data, such as the click on an advertisement and the IP address of the users are processed, whereby the IP address is shortened by the last two digits. Therefore, the processing of the users’ data is pseudonymized.

We use Adsense with non-personalized ads. The ads are not displayed on the basis of user profiles. Non-personalized ads are not based on previous user behavior. Targeting uses contextual information, including coarse (e.g., location-level) geographic targeting based on current location, content on the current website or app, and current search terms. Google prohibits any personalized targeting, including demographic targeting and targeting based on user lists.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads) and the settings for the display of advertisements by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).

Google AdWords and conversion measurement

We use the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Park Park Mountain View, CA 9.0.2008 (“Google”) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO). DSGVO) the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, (“Google”).

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).
We use the online marketing method Google “AdWords” to place ads in the Google advertising network (e.g., in search results, in videos, on web pages, etc.) so that they are displayed to users who have a presumed interest in the ads. This allows us to display ads for and within our online offering in a more targeted manner in order to present users only with ads that potentially match their interests. If, for example, a user is shown ads for products in which he or she was interested on other online offers, this is referred to as “remarketing”. For these purposes, when our website and other websites on which the Google advertising network is active are called up, a code is executed directly by Google and so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also referred to as “web beacons”) are integrated into the website. With their help, an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user’s device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies). This file records which web pages the user has visited, which content the user is interested in and which offers the user has clicked on, as well as technical information about the browser and operating system, referring web pages, time of visit and other information about the use of the online offer.
Furthermore, we receive an individual “conversion cookie”. The information obtained with the help of the cookie is used by Google to create conversion statistics for us. However, we only learn the anonymous total number of users who clicked on our ad and were redirected to a page tagged with a conversion tracking tag. However, we do not receive any information that personally identifies users.

User data is processed pseudonymously within the Google advertising network. I.e. Google does not store and process e.g. the name or email address of the users, but processes the relevant data cookie-related within pseudonymous user profiles. I.e. from Google’s point of view, the ads are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly allowed Google to process the data without this pseudonymization. The information collected about users is transmitted to Google and stored on Google’s servers in the USA.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads) and the settings for the display of advertisements by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).

Google Doubleclick

We use the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Park Park Mountain View, CA 9.0.2008 (“Google”) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO). DSGVO) the services of Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, (“Google”).

Google is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active).

We use the online marketing method Google “Doubleclick” to place ads in the Google advertising network (e.g., in search results, in videos, on web pages, etc.). Double Click is characterized by displaying ads in real time based on users’ presumed interests. This allows us to display ads for and within our online offering in a more targeted manner in order to present users only with ads that potentially match their interests. If, for example, a user is shown ads for products in which he or she was interested on other online offers, this is referred to as “remarketing”. For these purposes, when our website and other websites on which the Google advertising network is active are called up, a code is executed directly by Google and so-called (re)marketing tags (invisible graphics or code, also referred to as “web beacons”) are integrated into the website. With their help, an individual cookie, i.e. a small file, is stored on the user’s device (comparable technologies can also be used instead of cookies). This file records which web pages the user has visited, which content the user is interested in and which offers the user has clicked on, as well as technical information about the browser and operating system, referring web pages, time of visit and other information about the use of the online offer.

The IP address of the user is also recorded, whereby this is truncated within member states of the European Union or in other contracting states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and only in exceptional cases is transferred in full to a Google server in the USA and truncated there. The above information may also be combined by Google with such information from other sources. When the user subsequently visits other websites, he or she can be shown ads tailored to his or her presumed interests based on his or her user profile.

User data is processed pseudonymously within the Google advertising network. I.e. Google does not store and process e.g. the name or email address of the users, but processes the relevant data cookie-related within pseudonymous user profiles. I.e. from Google’s point of view, the ads are not managed and displayed for a specifically identified person, but for the cookie holder, regardless of who this cookie holder is. This does not apply if a user has expressly allowed Google to process the data without this pseudonymization. The information collected by Google marketing services about users is transmitted to Google and stored on Google’s servers in the USA.

For more information about Google’s use of data, settings and opt-out options, please refer to Google’s privacy policy (https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads) and the settings for the display of advertisements by Google (https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated).
Jetpack (WordPress Stats)
We use the plugin Jetpack (here the sub-function “WordPress Stats”) on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO). DSGVO) the plugin Jetpack (here the sub-function “WordPress Stats”), which embeds a tool for statistical analysis of visitor traffic and is provided by Automattic Inc., 60 29th Street #343, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA. Jetpack uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is stored on a server in the USA. In the process, user profiles can be created from the processed data, whereby these are only used for analysis purposes and not for advertising purposes. For more information, see Automattic’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/ and notes on Jetpack cookies: https://jetpack.com/support/cookies/.

Facebook Pixel, Custom Audiences and Facebook Conversion
Within our online offer, the so-called “Facebook pixel” of the social network Facebook, which is operated by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, or if you are a resident of the EU, Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Facebook”), is used due to our legitimate interests in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer and for these purposes.
Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).

With the help of the Facebook pixel, it is possible for Facebook to determine the visitors of our online offer as a target group for the display of advertisements (so-called “Facebook ads”). Accordingly, we use the Facebook pixel to display Facebook ads placed by us only to Facebook users who have also shown an interest in our online offering or who have certain characteristics (e.g. interests in certain topics or products determined on the basis of the websites visited) that we transmit to Facebook (so-called “Custom Audiences”). With the help of the Facebook pixel, we also want to ensure that our Facebook ads correspond to the potential interest of the users and do not have a harassing effect. With the help of the Facebook pixel, we can also track the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes by seeing whether users were redirected to our website after clicking on a Facebook ad (so-called “conversion”).
The processing of the data by Facebook takes place within the framework of Facebook’s data usage policy. Accordingly, general information on the display of Facebook ads, in Facebook’s data usage policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy. For specific information and details about the Facebook Pixel and how it works, see Facebook’s help section: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/651294705016616.

You can object to the collection by the Facebook pixel and use of your data to display Facebook ads. To set what types of ads are shown to you within Facebook, you can go to the page set up by Facebook and follow the instructions there for usage-based advertising settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads. The settings are made in a platform-independent manner, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.

You may further object to the use of cookies used for reach measurement and advertising purposes via the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page (http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) and additionally the U.S. website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or the European website (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices/).

Online presence in social media

We maintain online presences within social networks and platforms in order to be able to communicate with the customers, interested parties and users active there and to inform them about our services there.
We would like to point out that in the process, user data may be processed outside the area of the European Union. This may give rise to risks for users because, for example, it could make it more difficult to enforce users’ rights. With regard to U.S. providers certified under the Privacy Shield, we point out that they thereby undertake to comply with EU data protection standards.
Furthermore, user data is usually processed for market research and advertising purposes. For example, usage profiles can be created from the usage behavior and resulting interests of the users. The usage profiles can in turn be used, for example, to display advertisements within and outside the platforms that presumably correspond to the users’ interests. For these purposes, cookies are usually stored on the users’ computers, in which the usage behavior and interests of the users are stored. Furthermore, data may also be stored in the usage profiles irrespective of the devices used by the users (in particular if the users are members of the respective platforms and are logged in to them).

The processing of users’ personal data is based on our legitimate interests in effectively informing users and communicating with users pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO. If the users are asked by the respective providers of the platforms for consent to the aforementioned data processing, the legal basis of the processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a., Art. 7 DSGVO.

For a detailed description of the respective processing and the opt-out options, please refer to the information of the providers linked below.

Also in the case of requests for information and the assertion of user rights, we point out that these can be asserted most effectively with the providers. Only the providers have access to the users’ data in each case and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, then you can contact us.

– Facebook, -pages, -groups, (Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland) on the basis of an agreement on joint processing of personal data – Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/, specifically for pages: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/information_about_page_insights_data , Opt-Out: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads and http://www.youronlinechoices.com, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active.
– Google/ YouTube (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) – Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active.
– Instagram (Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: http://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.
– Twitter (Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA) – Privacy Policy: https://twitter.com/de/privacy, Opt-Out: https://twitter.com/personalization, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000TORzAAO&status=Active.
– Pinterest (Pinterest Inc., 635 High Street, Palo Alto, CA, 94301, USA) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://about.pinterest.com/de/privacy-policy.
– LinkedIn (LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland) – Privacy Policy https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy , Opt-Out: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out, Privacy Shield: https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000L0UZAA0&status=Active.
– Xing (XING AG, Dammtorstraße 29-32, 20354 Hamburg, Germany) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://privacy.xing.com/de/datenschutzerklaerung.
– Wakalet (Wakelet Limited, 76 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 4PR, United Kingdom) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://wakelet.com/privacy.html.
– Soundcloud (SoundCloud Limited, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77, 10115 Berlin, Germany) – Privacy Policy/ Opt-Out: https://soundcloud.com/pages/privacy.

Integration of third-party services and content

Within our online offer, we use content or service offers of third-party providers on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) content or service offers from third-party providers in order to integrate their content and services, such as videos or fonts (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “content”).

This always assumes that the third-party providers of this content are aware of the IP address of the user, since without the IP address they would not be able to send the content to their browser. The IP address is thus required for the display of this content. We endeavor 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 evaluate information such as visitor traffic on the pages of this website. The pseudonymous information may also 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 visit and other information about the use of our online offer, as well as be combined with such information from other sources.

Youtube

We integrate the videos of the platform “YouTube” of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Privacy Policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Google Maps

We integrate the maps of the service “Google Maps” of the provider Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The processed data may include, in particular, IP addresses and location data of the users, which, however, are not collected without their consent (usually executed within the settings of their mobile devices). The data may be processed in the USA. Privacy Policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, Opt-Out: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.

Use of Facebook social plugins

We use social plugins (“plugins”) of the social network facebook.com on the basis of our legitimate interests (i.e. interest in the analysis, optimization and economic operation of our online offer within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f. DSGVO) social plugins (“plugins”) of the social network facebook.com, which is operated by Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Facebook”).
This may include, for example, content such as images, videos or texts and buttons with which users can share content of this online offer within Facebook. The list and appearance of Facebook social plugins can be viewed here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.
Facebook is certified under the Privacy Shield agreement and thereby offers a guarantee of compliance with European data protection law (https://www.privacyshield.gov/participant?id=a2zt0000000GnywAAC&status=Active).

When a user calls up a function of this online offer that contains such a plugin, his or her device establishes a direct connection with the Facebook servers. The content of the plugin is transmitted by Facebook directly to the user’s device and integrated by the user into the online offer. In doing so, usage profiles of the users can be created from the processed data. We therefore have no influence on the scope of the data that Facebook collects with the help of this plugin and therefore inform users according to our level of knowledge.

By integrating the plugins, Facebook receives the information that a user has accessed the corresponding page of the online offer. If the user is logged into Facebook, Facebook can assign the visit to his Facebook account. When users interact with the plugins, for example by clicking the Like button or posting a comment, the corresponding information is transmitted from your device directly to Facebook and stored there. If a user is not a member of Facebook, it is still possible for Facebook to obtain and store his or her IP address. According to Facebook, only an anonymized IP address is stored in Germany.

The purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook, as well as the related rights and settings options for protecting the privacy of users, can be found in the privacy policy of Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.
If a user is a Facebook member and does not want Facebook to collect data about him or her via this online offering and link it to his or her membership data stored on Facebook, he or she must log out of Facebook and delete his or her cookies before using our online offering. Further settings and objections to the use of data for advertising purposes are possible within the Facebook profile settings: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=ads or via the US site http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the EU site http://www.youronlinechoices.com/. The settings are platform-independent, i.e. they are applied to all devices, such as desktop computers or mobile devices.