Legal notice

Disclaimer

The European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology maintains this website on behalf of the European Commission to enhance public access to information about its initiatives and European Union policies in general. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However, the Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on this site.

This information is:

• of a general nature only and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity
• not necessarily comprehensive, complete, accurate or up to date
• sometimes linked to external sites over which the Commission services have no control and for which the Commission assumes no responsibility
• not professional or legal advice (if you need specific advice, you should always consult a suitably qualified professional).

Please note that it cannot be guaranteed that a document available online exactly reproduces an officially adopted text. Only the Official Journal of the European Union (the printed edition or, since 1 July 2013, the electronic edition on the EUR-Lex website) is authentic and produces legal effects.

It is our goal to minimise disruption caused by technical errors. However some data or information on our site may have been created or structured in files or formats that are not error-free, and we cannot guarantee that our service will not be interrupted or otherwise affected by such problems. The Commission accepts no responsibility with regard to such problems incurred as a result of using this site or any linked external sites.

This disclaimer is not intended to limit the liability of the Commission in contravention of any requirements laid down in applicable national law nor to exclude its liability for matters which may not be excluded under that law.

Copyright notice

© European Union, 1995-2023

The Commission's reuse policy is implemented by the Commission Decision of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents.

Unless otherwise indicated (e.g. in individual copyright notices), content owned by the EU on this website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This means that reuse is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and changes are indicated.

You may be required to clear additional rights if a specific content depicts identifiable private individuals or includes third-party works. To use or reproduce content that is not owned by the EU, you may need to seek permission directly from the rightholders. Software or documents covered by industrial property rights, such as patents, trade marks, registered designs, logos and names, are excluded from the Commission's reuse policy and are not licensed to you.

Guidance on crediting

For digital media, the credit should be given as follows:

• provide Title of work,
• attribute work to the European Union,
• quote for the source work URL the url of the webpage of the Digital Strategy website where work has been published.

 For printed publications, the credit should be given as follows:

• provide Title of work,
• provide the name of the author(s),
• attribute work to the European Union,
• provide the publication references,
• quote the source as European Commission, Digital Strategy digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu.

Please note that regarding printed publications, it would be enough to add the mention directly (and only) on the publication.

Privacy Statement for Biographies

Processing operation: Biographies on the Digital Strategy website

Data Controller: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology; Communication Unit (CNECT.D.4)

Record reference: DPR-EC-04786

Why and how we process your personal data

Purpose of the processing operation: European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology; Communication Unit (CNECT.D.4) enables persons selected by the communication team to publish their biography on the Digital Strategy website.

The most common uses for the biography are: publication of information of an author of a blog post, of a speaker in a conference or of a member of an expert group advising the Commission, etc.

On what legal ground(s) we process the personal data

We process personal data because you provided your explicit consent by an e-mail sent to the data controller (Article 5(1)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725).

Which personal data we collect and further process

The Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology; Communication Unit (CNECT.D.4) publishes personal information as provided by data subject:

• Name (personal and family)
• Portrait photography (optional)
• Persons biography

The data subject sends the above mentioned information to editors of the website, who publish it on the website.

How long do we keep your personal data

The biographies are part of the publicly available content of the website and they remain there for the entire life span of this website.

The editor deletes the biography within 1 week upon request of the data subject.

How do we protect and safeguard your personal data

All personal data are stored on the servers of the European Commission. All processing operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.

Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed

The biography is accessible to any Internet user from the moment is it published on the Digital Strategy website.

What are your rights and how can you exercise them

As a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, you have the right to access, rectify or erase your personal data and the right to restrict the processing of your personal data, the right to withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the Data Controller.

The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.

You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor.

Contact information

The Data Controller (CNECT-D4@ec.europa.eu) to exercise rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, or in case of comments, questions or concerns, or to complain regarding the collection and use of your personal data.

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission (DATA-PROTECTION-OFFICER@ec.europa.eu) with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS edps@edps.europa.eu), to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the Data Controller.

Privacy Statement for Newsroom notifications

Record reference: DPR-EC-03928

This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing of your personal data, the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is used and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. It also specifies the contact details of the responsible Data Controller with whom you may exercise your rights, the Data Protection Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.

The information in relation to the processing operation “Management of subscriptions to receive information via Newsroom”, undertaken by the services of the European Commission, is presented below. 

Why and how do we process your personal data?

Purpose of the processing operation: the Data Controller collects and further processes your personal data so that you can receive information that you have requested on different topics in the area of (a) service(s) of the European Commission through our newsletter or notifications.

Your personal data will not be used for an automated decision-making including profiling.

On what legal ground(s) do we process your personal data?

You have subscribed to receive the information on different topics in the area of (a) service(s) of the European Commission.

We process your personal data, because you have given your consent to the processing of your personal data for the purpose of receiving the requested information through our newsletter or notifications.

Which personal data do we collect and further process?

In order to carry out this processing operation, the Data Controller collects the following categories of personal data:

• your e-mail address; 
• frequency of notifications, and 
• topics of interest. 

These personal data are needed to ensure the delivery of the service to you as a subscriber.

How long do we keep your personal data?

The Data Controller only keeps your personal data for a period of five years after your last interaction with the Commission Services or until you request the deletion of your personal data.

If you have created a profile to benefit from the services  of the Connect Newsroom, you may edit the personal data associated at any time. You can also delete your profile and the personal data associated to your profile. 

You can also write to the dedicated mailbox CNECT-NEWSROOM@ec.europa.eu and ask to be unsubscribed from the mailing list or follow the unsubscribe link in the information email you have received. 

How do we protect and safeguard your personal data?

All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of data, etc.) are stored on the servers of the European Commission. All processing operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.

In order to protect your personal data, the Commission has put in place a number of technical and organisational measures. Technical measures include appropriate actions to address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing operation.

Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?

Access to your personal data is provided to the Commission staff responsible for carrying out this processing operation and to other authorised Commission staff according to the “need to know” principle. Such staff abide by statutory, and when required, additional confidentiality agreements.

Please note that pursuant to Article 3(13) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 public authorities (e.g. Court of Auditors, EU Court of Justice) which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients. The further processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing.

The information we collect will not be given to any third party, except to the extent and for the purpose we may be required to do so by law.

What are your rights and how can you exercise them? 

You have specific rights as a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in particular the right to access your personal data and to rectify them in case your personal data are inaccurate or incomplete. Where applicable, you have the right to erase your personal data, to restrict the processing of your personal data, to object to the processing, and the right to data portability.

You have consented to provide your personal data to the Data Controller for the present processing operation. You can withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the Data Controller at CNECT-D4@ec.europa.eu. The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.

You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor. Their contact information is given under Heading "Contact information" below.

Where you wish to exercise your rights in the context of one or several specific processing operations, please provide their description (i.e. their Record reference(s) as specified under Heading "Where to find more detailed information?" in your request.

Contact information

• The Data Controller

If you would like to exercise your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, if you have comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please feel free to contact the Data Controller at CNECT-D4@ec.europa.eu.

• The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission

You may contact the Data Protection Officer data-protection-officer@ec.europa.eu with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

• The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

You have the right to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) to the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the Data Controller.

Where to find more detailed information?

The Commission Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all processing operations on personal data by the European Commission, which have been documented and notified to him. You may access the register via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register.

This specific processing operation has been included in the DPO’s public register with the following Record reference: DPR-EC-03928.

Multilingualism

Web pages are available in all EU official languages.

Linguists in the Commission have translated landing pages for each policy area. Other pages use eTranslation (see the specific notice), the Commission’s machine translation service.