Privacy Policy
Revision: v1.0, 6 April 2020
The (DATACONTROLLER =) Academia Sinica Grid Computing Centre (“ASGC”), is committed to protecting the online privacy of the users of this website (“Website”).
As such, this Privacy Policy has been written in order to allow you to understand ASGC’s policy regarding your privacy, as well as how your personal information will be handled when using the Website. This Privacy Policy will also provide you with information so that you are able to consent to the processing of your personal data in an explicit and informed manner, where appropriate.
In general, any information and data which you provide to ASGC over the Website, or which is otherwise gathered via the Website by ASGC, in the context of the use of Website’s services (“Services”) as better defined in Section 3 below, will be processed by ASGC in a lawful, fair and transparent manner. To this end, and as further described below, ASGC takes into consideration internationally recognised principles governing the processing of personal data, such as purpose limitation, storage limitation, data minimisation, data quality and confidentiality.
1. Data controller
ASGC, as identified at the top of this Privacy Policy, is the data controller regarding all personal data processing carried out through the Website. You can contact ASGC with any questions related to this Privacy Policy or the ASGC’s personal data processing practices by sending a written communication to info@twgrid.org.
2. Personal Data processed
When you use the Website, ASGC will collect and process information regarding you (as an individual) which allows you to be identified either by itself, or together with other information which has been collected. ASGC may also be able to collect and process information regarding other persons in this same manner, if you choose to provide it to ASGC, also via the Website.
This information may be classified as “Personal Data” and can be collected by ASGC both when you choose to provide it (e.g., when you request an account over the Website) or simply by analysing your behaviour on the Website.
Personal Data which can be processed by ASGC through the Website are as follows:
Name, contact details and other Personal Data
In various areas of the Website – including, in particular, if you decide to create an account on the Website – you will be asked to submit information about yourself, such as your name, professional title, organisation name/type, primary (and secondary) domain of work/expertise, e-mail address, and address. Mandatory fields will be marked as such in the online registration forms – it is not possible to process your registration if any of the mandatory fields are left incomplete.
In addition, whenever you communicate with ASGC by submitting a general enquiry via email, as well as whenever you participate in surveys which may be available on the Website, ASGC may collect additional information which you choose to provide.
Regarding any applications received, ASGC may assess the professional social media accounts or professional websites of candidates, where publicly available or disclosed by the candidate, as necessary to gain insight as to a candidate’s suitability for the function to which the candidate applied.
Special categories of personal data
ASGC asks that you do not disclose any sensitive Personal Data on the Website, unless you consider this to be strictly necessary. As it is totally optional to provide this information, if you nonetheless choose to do so, please mind that ASGC requires your explicit consent to process this sort of Personal Data (which can be provided, e.g., by declaring that you “explicitly consent to the processing of my special categories of personal data for the purpose of assessing my candidacy”).
Other persons’s personal data
As mentioned in the previous section, certain areas of the Website include free text fields where you can write messages to ASGC, or otherwise allow you to post various types of content on the Website. These messages and content may (inadvertently or not) include Personal Data related to other persons.
In any situation where you decide to share Personal Data related to other persons, you will be considered as an independent data controller regarding that Personal Data and must assume all inherent legal obligations and responsibilities. This means, among other things, that you must fully indemnify ASGC against any complaints, claims or demands for compensation for damages which may arise from the processing of this Personal Data, brought by the third parties whose information you provide through the Website.
As ASGC does not collect this information directly from these third parties (but rather collects them, indirectly, from you), you must make sure that you have these third parties’ consent before providing any information regarding them to ASGC; if not, then you must make sure there is some other appropriate grounds on which you can rely to lawfully give ASGC this information.
Browsing data
The Website’s operation, as is standard with any websites on the Internet, involves the use of computer systems and software procedures, which collect information about the Website’s users as part of their routine operation. While ASGC does not collect this information in order to link it to specific users, it is still possible to identify those users either directly via that information, or by using other information collected – as such, this information must also be considered Personal Data.
This information includes several parameters related to your operating system and IT environment, including your IP address, location (country), the domain names of your device, the type of device, the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) addresses of resources you request on the Website, the time of requests made, the method used to submit requests to the server, the dimensions of the file obtained in response to a request, the numerical code indicating the status of the response sent by the server (successful, error, etc.), and so on.
These data are used to compile statistical information on the use of the Website, to ensure its correct operation, as well as restore backup from possible failures of the Website and identify any faults and/or abuse of the Website. Save for this last purpose, these data are not kept for more than 60 business days.
Cookies
– Definitions, characteristics, and application of standards
Cookies are small text files that may be sent to and registered on your computer by the websites you visit, to then be re-sent to those same sites when you visit them again. It is thanks to these cookies that those websites can “remember” your actions and preferences (e.g., login data, language, font size, other display settings, etc.), so that you do not need to configure them again when you next visit the website, or when you change pages within a website.
Cookies are used for electronic authentication, monitoring of sessions and storage of information regarding your activities when accessing a website. They may also contain a unique ID code which allows tracking of your browsing activities within a website, for statistical or advertising purposes. Some operations within a website may not be able to be performed without the use of cookies which, in certain cases, are technically necessary for operation of the website.
When browsing a website, you may also receive cookies from websites or web servers other than the website being visited (i.e., “ third-party cookies”).
There are various types of cookies, depending on their characteristics and functions, which may be stored on your computer for different periods of time: “session cookies”, which are automatically deleted when you close your browser, and “persistent cookies”, which will remain on your device until their pre-set expiration period passes.
According to the law which may be applicable to you, your consent may not always be necessary for cookies to be used on a website. In particular, “technical cookies” – i.e. cookies which are only used to send messages through an electronic communications network, or which are needed to provide services you request – typically do not require this consent. This includes browsing or session cookies (used to allow users to login) and function cookies (used to remember choices made by a user when accessing the website, such as language or products selected for purchase).
On the other hand, “profiling cookies” – i.e., cookies used to create profiles on users and to send advertising messages in line with the preferences revealed by users while browsing websites – typically require specific consent from users, although this may vary according to the applicable law.
– Types of cookies used by the Website
The Website uses the following types of cookies:- Browsing or session cookies, which are strictly necessary for the Website’s operation, and/or to allow you to use the Website’s content and Services.
- Analytics cookies , which allow ASGC to understand how users make use of the Website, and to track traffic to and from the Website.
– Cookie settings
You can block or delete cookies used on the Website via your browser options. Your cookie preferences will be reset if different browsers are used to access the Website. For more information on how to set the preferences for cookies via your browser, please refer to the following instructions:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Internet Explorer
- Safari
CAUTION If you block or delete technical and/or function cookies used by the Website, the Website may become impossible to browse, certain services or functions of the Website may become unavailable or other malfunctions may occur. In this case, you may have to modify or manually enter some information or preferences every time you visit the Website.
3. Purposes of processing
ASGC intends to use your Personal Data, collected through the Website, for the following purposes:
To allow you to create and maintain a registered user profile on the Website, to allow you to participate in different areas over the Website and exchange information/documents with other participants, to verify your identity and assist you, in case you lose or forget your login / password details for any of the Website’s registration services, to send you informative newsletters and other communications (linked to the collaborative areas which you participate in), to respond to your enquiries and requests for support, and to provide any other Services which you may request (“Service Provision”);
To process your sign-up/registration forms for events and webinars hosted or supported by the Website, track event attendance and publish attendee lists online (“Events/Webinar”);
To assess applications submitted via the Website, such as collaborating opportunities or for participating to events organised or sponsored by the Website, among others “Applications”);
For marketing, promotional and publicity purposes, including to carry out direct marketing, market research and surveys, via e-mail, through push notifications / pop-up banners, through the Website’s official social media pages, regarding upcoming events organised by the Website, as well as events hosted by selected third parties (“Marketing”);
To include information on you as a registered Member within the Website database (“Database Publication”);
For future marketing, promotional and publicity purposes, by sending you direct e-mail marketing communication regarding events hosted and Services provided by the Website and which are of an identical or similar scope to those which you have previously signed up for or acquired via the Website (“Soft Opt-in”);
To create a profile of you as a Website user, through the use of profiling cookies and by collecting and analysing information on the preferences you select and choices you make in the Website, as well as your general activities on the Website. This profile will be used to give you information about other websites / services you may be interested in, and to show you information and advertisements which may be relevant to you and your interests. All algorithms involved in this processing are regularly tested, to ensure the processing’s fairness and control for bias (“Profiling”);
For compliance with laws which impose upon ASGC the collection and/or further processing of certain kinds of Personal Data (“Compliance”);
For development and administration of the Website, in particular by use of data analytics regarding how you and other users make use of the Website, as well as the information and feedback you provide, to improve our offerings (“Analytics”);
To prevent and detect any misuse of the Website, or any fraudulent activities carried out through the Website, including by carrying out internal audits (“Misuse/Fraud”).
4. Retention of Personal Data
Personal Data processed for Service Provision and Events/Webinars will be kept by ASGC for the period deemed strictly necessary to fulfil such purposes – in any case, as these Personal Data are processed for the provision of the Services, ASGC may continue to store this Personal Data for a longer period, as may be necessary to protect ASGC’s interests related to potential liability related to the provision of the Services.
Personal Data processed for Applications will be kept by ASGC for up to 5 years. ASGC may contact applicants before the expiration of this period, in order to request an extension of the retention period.
Personal Data processed for Database Publication, Marketing and Profiling will be kept by ASGC from the moment you give consent until it is withdrawn. Where it is not withdrawn, consent will be renewed at fixed intervals. Once consent is withdrawn (or not given, following a renewal), Personal Data will no longer be used for these purposes, although it may still be kept by ASGC in particular as may be necessary to protect ASGC’s interests related to potential liability related to this processing.
Personal Data processed for Soft Opt-In will be kept by ASGC from the moment where it is provided by you to ASGC (in the context of registrations for events or Services requested via the Website) until you object to this processing. Once you have objected, Personal Data will no longer be used for these purposes, although it may still be kept by ASGC, in particular as may be necessary to protect ASGC’s interests related to potential liability related to this processing.
Personal Data processed for Compliance will be kept by ASGC for the period required by the specific legal obligation or by the applicable law.
Personal Data processed for preventing Misuse/Fraud will be kept by ASGC for as long as deemed strictly necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.
More information on applicable retention periods is available upon written request to the Website Managing Team at the following address: info@twgrid.org.
5. Data subjects’ rights
As a data subject, you are entitled to exercise the following rights before ASGC, at any time:
Access your Personal Data being processed by ASGC (and/or a copy of that Personal Data), as well as information on the processing of your Personal Data;
Correct or update your Personal Data processed by ASGC, where it may be inaccurate or incomplete;
Request erasure of your Personal Data being processed by ASGC, where you feel that the processing is unnecessary or otherwise unlawful;
Request the restriction of the processing of your Personal Data, where you feel that the Personal Data processed is inaccurate, unnecessary or unlawfully processed, or where you have objected to the processing;
Exercise your right to portability: the right to obtain a copy of your Personal Data provided to ASGC, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, as well as the transmission of that Personal Data to another data controller;
Object to the processing of your Personal Data, based on relevant grounds related to your particular situation, which you believe must prevent ASGC from processing your Personal Data; or
Withdraw your consent to processing (forMarketing, Database Publication, Soft Opt-in, and Profiling).
Please note that most of the Personal Data you provide to ASGC can be changed at any time, including your e-mail preferences, by accessing, where applicable, your user profile created on the Website.
You can also withdraw consent for Marketing (for communications received via e-mail) or object to Soft Opt-In by selecting the appropriate link included at the bottom of every marketing e-mail message received. The same applies to the Website’s newsletter which you may have subscribed to and receive as a Service.
Consent for Profiling carried out by cookies may be withdrawn as described in Section 2(e). Where consent for Profiling was given via a specific tick box, you may withdraw this consent by changing your preferences, at any time, within your user profile created on the Website, where applicable.
Aside from the above means, you can always exercise your rights described above by sending a written request to the Website Managing Team at the following address: info@twgrid.org.
In any case, please note that, as a data subject, you are entitled to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authorities for the protection of Personal Data, if you believe that the processing of your Personal Data carried out through the Website is unlawful.
6. Amendments
This Privacy Policy entered into force on 10/04/20.
ASGC reserves the right to partly or fully amend this Privacy Policy, or simply to update its content, e.g., as a result of changes in applicable law. The Website Managing Team will inform you of such changes as soon as they are introduced, and they will be binding as soon as they are published on the Website. The Website Managing Team therefore invites you to regularly visit this Privacy Policy in order to acquaint yourself with the latest, updated version of the Privacy Policy, so that you may remain constantly informed on how ASGC collects and uses Personal Data.