INSTICC Terms of Service

We have updated our privacy policy and have it explained in simple terms, with transparency, avoiding complex legal language.

At INSTICC, we respect your privacy. We want to ensure that you get the information, content, and experiences that matter most to you. INSTICC is committed to protecting the privacy of its members, customers, reviewers, authors, speakers, and other contacts. We are working to earn your trust every day by focusing on four key privacy principles:

  • Control: We will put you in control of your privacy with easy-to-use tools and clear choices.
  • Transparency: We will be transparent about data collection and use so you can make informed decisions.
  • Security: We will protect the data you entrust to us through strong security and encryption.
  • Benefits to you: When we do collect data, we will use it to benefit you and to make your experiences better.

Our Privacy Policy is intended to describe to you how and what data we collect, and how and why we use your personal data. It also describes options we provide for you to access, update or otherwise take control of your personal data that we process.

What information do we collect?

We collect information so that we can provide the best possible experience when you utilize our Services. This information is collected for example when you create an account at PRIMORIS, myINSTICC, or other INSTICC websites, or when you submit a paper to a conference, meeting or other event organized, sponsored or supported by INSTICC. We may collect the following personal data in line with the use purposes explained in a subsequent section:

  • - Your name and contact details
  • - Date of birth
  • - Online profile data/usage
  • - Emergency contact information
  • - Social media profile information
  • - Copies of identification documents
  • - Education and professional information
  • - Communication information including INSTICC Online Support and Contact Center communications
  • - Purchasing and payment information
  • - Registration and participation in INSTICC events and activities
  • - Subscription preferences
  • - Information about the device(s) you use
  • - Information about service usage
  • - Cookies
  • - Authentication data
  • - Location information
  • - Author and peer review information
  • - Other information you upload or provide to us

How do we use your information?

INSTICC uses (and, where specified, shares) your personal information for the following purposes:

To provide information based on your needs and respond to your requests. INSTICC may use your personal information to provide you with notices of new product releases and service developments which we believe are in line with your interests.

To provide support or other services. INSTICC may use your personal information to provide support or other services that you have ordered or requested. INSTICC may also use your personal information to respond directly to your requests for information, including registrations for newsletters, booklets, flyers, posters, or other specific requests, or pass your contact information to the appropriate INSTICC distributor or reseller for further follow-up related to your interests.

To provide online forums and social networks. Some services available on the websites permit you to participate in interactive discussions, post comments, or otherwise engage in networking activities. INSTICC does not control the content that users post to these forums or social networks. You should carefully consider whether you wish to submit personal information to these forums or social networks.

To process transactions. INSTICC may use personal information such as name, physical address, telephone number, email address, and company/institution to interact with you, including contacting you about orders, subscriptions, event participation, or membership. We use financial and payment information to process your orders and may need to share some of this information with delivery services, financial corporations, and other parties to complete transactions.

To administer orders, membership, other services or products. INSTICC may contact you if you purchase products or services, to help solving problems or confirm information about your orders. We may also use this information to confirm compliance with licensing and other terms of use and may share it with your company/institution.

To select content, improve quality, and facilitate use of the websites. INSTICC may use your personal information, including the information gathered as a result of site navigation and electronic protocols and cookies (including third-party cookies), improve website quality, evaluate page response rates, conduct usability testing, and facilitate your use of the websites (for example, to facilitate navigation and the login process, avoid duplicate data entry, enhance security, and preserve information between sessions).

To communicate with you about a meeting, conference, or event. We may communicate with you about a meeting, conference, or event hosted or co-sponsored by INSTICC or one of our business associates. This may include information about the event's content, event logistics, payment, updates, and additional information related to the event. Information you provide when registering for or participating in a conference managed or co-sponsored by parties, other than or in addition to INSTICC may be shared with those parties, and the treatment of such information is further subject to the privacy policies of those parties. INSTICC and its conference co-sponsors may contact you after the event about the event, subsequent iterations of the event and related events. Although INSTICC does not share your data with sponsors or event participants, you are well advised to control the data that you share with them directly at the venue.

To consider you for a higher member grade or an INSTICC award. INSTICC may use personal information such as your name, education, work history, and volunteer activities to consider you for a higher member grade or for an INSTICC award. INSTICC may need to share this information with your nominators, references, judges, and others parties involved in evaluating your eligibility.

To assist in your participation in INSTICC activities. INSTICC will communicate with you, if you are participating in certain INSTICC activities such as INSTICC conferences, authoring or reviewing an INSTICC periodical article, or other INSTICC technical or scientific activities. INSTICC may send you information such as newsletters related to those activities.

To update you on relevant INSTICC benefits, programs, and opportunities. INSTICC may communicate with you regarding relevant INSTICC benefits, programs, and opportunities available to you, through your membership(s) with INSTICC.

To protect INSTICC content and services. We may use your information to prevent potentially illegal activities and to enforce our terms and conditions. We also use a variety of technological systems to detect and address anomalous activity and to screen content to prevent abuse, such as spam. These efforts may, on occasion, result in a temporary or permanent suspension or termination of some functions for some users.

To get feedback or input from you. In order to deliver products and services of most interest to our customers, from time to time, we may ask members, customers, volunteers, and website visitors to provide us input and feedback (for example through surveys, usability studies, focus groups).

How can you control your information?

You can control the information we have about you and how we use it in several ways.

  • If you are a registered user, you can review, revise, correct and even delete the personal data that you have provided to INSTICC via one of our information systems, including the myINSTICC or PRIMORIS systems.
  • Use the unsubscribe method provided in our various communications.
  • Ask us to give you access to all your information in a portable format.

Logging practices

INSTICC may automatically record web analytics, using third party or internally developed software, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of visitors. As well as recording the IP addresses of users, INSTICC may also keep track of sites that users visited immediately prior to visiting INSTICC's website and the search terms they used to find it as well as the pages visited on INSTICC's website, the amount of time spent on those pages and the types of searches done on them. Your searches remain confidential and anonymous. INSTICC uses this information only for statistical purposes to find out which pages users find most useful and to improve the website. INSTICC also captures and stores information about the devices used to access INSTICC websites and related data, such as:

  • Browser/Device type/version
  • Operating system used
  • Media Access Control (MAC) address
  • Date and time of the server request
  • Volume of data transferred

External links behavior

Some of INSTICC's websites link to other sites created and maintained by other public- and/or private-sector organizations. INSTICC provides these links solely for your information and convenience. When you transfer to an outside website, you are leaving the INSTICC domain, and INSTICC's information management policies no longer apply. INSTICC encourages you to read the privacy statement of each external website that you visit before you provide any personal data.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are electronic placeholders that are placed on your device to track your behavior on that website over time. INSTICC uses both session-based cookies (which last only for the duration of the user's session) and persistent cookies (which remain on your device and provides information about the session you are in and waits for the next time you use that site again).

These cookies provide useful information to INSTICC, enabling us to recognize repeat users, facilitate the user's access to and use of our sites, allows us to track usage behavior, and to balance the usage of our websites on all INSTICC web servers. We may also collect your location (IP address) so that we can personalize our Services.

Tracking cookies, third-party cookies, and other technologies such as web beacons may be used to process additional information, enable non-core functionalities on the INSTICC website and enable third-party functions (such as a social media "share" link). We may also include similar technologies in promotional email messages to determine whether the messages have been opened.

Do Not Track (DNT)

The online advertising industry has self-regulatory initiatives designed to provide consumers a choice in the types of ads they may see online and to conveniently opt-out from online behavioral ads served by some or all of the companies participating in these programs. Our websites do not respond to DNT consumer browser settings.

Age restrictions

Our Services are available for purchase only for those over the age of 18. Our Services are not targeted to, intended to be consumed by or designed to entice individuals under the age of 18. If you know of or have reason to believe anyone under the age of 18 has provided us with any personal data, please contact us.

Changes in our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes to this Privacy Policy and any other places we deem appropriate, so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of a notice on our home page, at least thirty (30) days prior to the implementation of the changes.

Collaboration with authorities

INSTICC has appointed and mandated a data privacy officer who represents the regulatory authorities inside the INSTICC organization, and in return represents the INSTICC organization to regulatory authorities.

The INSTICC privacy officer will ensure proper communication with the relevant regulatory authority for privacy. The privacy officer will lead investigative action, complaint handling and data breach notification. The privacy officer will also monitor regulatory changes and consult the regulatory authority where implementation of a regulatory or technological change leads to doubt.

Your European Union privacy rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (also known as GDPR), if you are an individual protected by the GDPR you may have certain rights as a data subject. To request information about or avail yourself of those rights, please send an email to privacy@INSTICC.org with "GDPR Request" in the subject line. In the email please describe, with specificity, the GDPR right you are requesting assistance with. Please note additional information may be requested prior to initiation of a request and that INSTICC reserves the right to charge a fee with respect to certain requests. Upon INSTICC’s completion of its review you will be notified if your request has been granted, denied, or exemptions apply.

How we secure, store and retain your data?

We follow generally accepted standards to store and protect the personal data we collect, both during transmission and once received and stored, including utilization of encryption where appropriate.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide the Services you have requested and thereafter for a variety of legitimate legal or business purposes. These might include retention periods:

  • mandated by law, contract or similar obligations applicable to our business operations;
  • for preserving, resolving, defending or enforcing our legal/contractual rights; or
  • needed to maintain adequate and accurate business and financial records.

If you have any questions about the security or retention of your personal data, you can contact our data protection officer at privacy@insticc.org.

How do I contact you if there is an issue?

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about the use of your personal information, please feel free to contact us by email at privacy@insticc.org.

Attn: Office of the Data Protection Officer, Rua dos Lusiadas, n.118 - 3.Frente, 1300-376 Lisboa, Portugal.

Date: 23 May 2018
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