Privacy Policy

Section 1 General data protection provisions
In this document, we will inform you about our Privacy Policy. Here, you will find information about how and why we collect and use your personal data when you visit our website. In doing this, we comply with the data protection laws which apply in Germany and the EU. You can access this Privacy Policy on our website at any time.  We would like to expressly point out that data transfers on the internet (e.g. for communication via email) are subject to security flaws and cannot be flawlessly protected against third party access. We expressly do not wish for the contact details of our legal notice to be used for commercial advertising, unless we have given prior written permission for this, or there is already a business relationship. The provider and every person named on this website hereby object to any commercial use or forwarding of their data.

Data collection on our website
Who is responsible for collecting data on this website?
Data is processed on this website by the website operator. You can find their contact details in this website's legal notice.

How do we collect your data?
Some of your data is collected when you communicate it to us. For example, this may be data which you enter in a contact form.
Other data is automatically collected by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is primarily technical data (e.g. web browser, operating system or time of website access). Your data is collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

For what purposes do we use your data?
Some of your data is collected in order to ensure that you do not encounter any faults when you use our website. Other data can be used to analyse your user behaviour.

What rights do you have with regard to your data?
You have the right to receive information, at any time and free of charge, concerning the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request for this data to be corrected, blocked or deleted. To do this, or if you have any other queries concerning data protection, you can contact us at any time at the address stated in the legal notice. Furthermore, you have the right to complain to the competent supervisory authority. You will find more information in Section 5.

Analysis tools and tools of third party providers
When you visit our website, your browsing behaviour may be subjected to statistical analysis. This is done primarily by using cookies and so-called analysis programs. As a rule, your browsing behaviour is analysed on an anonymous basis; your browsing behaviour cannot be traced back to you. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. You will find detailed information on this subject in the following Privacy Policy. You can object to this analysis. We will inform you of your options as regards making objections in this Privacy Policy.

Section 2 Data controller

Prof. Dr. Frank P. Maier-Rigaud
Boyenstr. 40
10115 Berlin
Germany


The data controller is the natural person or legal entity who decides, either solely or jointly with other parties, on the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g. names, email addresses or similar).

Section 3 Personal data, use and processing
General provisions:
You can visit our website without providing personal data. If personal data (such as name, postal address or email address) is collected on our website, this is done on a voluntary basis as far as possible. This data is not forwarded to third parties without your express consent. If a contractual relationship between you and us is to be established, substantively developed or changed, or if you submit a request to us, we collect and use your personal data if this is necessary for these purposes (inventory data). We collect, process and use personal data if this is necessary in order to enable you to make use of our online offering (usage data). All personal data is stored only for as long as this is necessary for the stated purpose (to handle your request or to process a contract). When storing your data, we take into consideration the retention periods prescribed by tax law and commercial law. In individual cases, by order of the competent authorities, we may disclose information about this data (inventory data) if this is necessary for purposes of criminal prosecution, in order to prevent hazards, in order to fulfil the statutory tasks of the intelligence services or those of the military counter-intelligence service, or in order to enforce intellectual property rights.

The processing of personal data takes place after consent has been granted in writing. Consent may be revoked at any time with future effect.

We process your personal data in order to perform our contracts with you, particularly as part of our order handling and service use. Moreover, your personal data is processed in order to implement measures and activities within the framework of pre-contractual relations. We process your personal data if this is necessary in order to fulfil legal obligations (e.g. commercial laws and tax laws). Furthermore, we may possibly process your data for identity and age checking purposes, in order to prevent fraud and money laundering, in order to prevent, combat and investigate the funding of terrorism and criminal acts which endanger assets, in order to check your data against European and international anti-terror lists, in order to fulfil monitoring and reporting obligations under tax law, and in order to archive data for purposes of data protection and data security, as well as for checks by tax authorities and other authorities. In addition, it may become necessary to disclose personal data in the context of official/judicial measures for purposes of evidence collection, criminal prosecution or the enforcement of claims under civil law (Art. 6 Para. 1 c GDPR).

Furthermore, we may use your personal data on the basis of a balancing of interests in order to protect our legitimate interests or those of third parties.

This is done for the following purposes:
• In order to obtain information and to exchange data with credit agencies, if this goes beyond our commercial risk.
• For the limited storage of your data if, because of the specific type of storage, deletion is either impossible or is possible only with disproportionately great expense.
• In order to check your data against European and international anti-terror lists, if this goes beyond the statutory obligations.
• In order to enrich our data by using or searching for publicly accessible data.
• In order to assert legal claims and for defence purposes in legal disputes which cannot be attributed directly to the contractual relationship.
• In order to safeguard or exercise our domiciliary rights by using appropriate measures (e.g. video surveillance).

Furthermore, we process personal data from public sources (e.g. internet, media, press, commercial registers and registers of associations, registers of residents, registers of debtors, and land registers). If necessary for the provision of our service, we process personal data which we have legitimately obtained from third parties (e.g. address publishers and credit agencies).

Forwarding of personal data:
We forward your personal data within our company to the departments which require this data in order to fulfil contractual and statutory obligations or to exercise our legitimate interests.

In addition, the following offices and authorities may receive your data:
• Processors (Art. 28 GDPR) employed by us, service providers for supporting activities, and other data controllers within the meaning of the GDPR, particularly in the areas of IT services, logistics, courier services, printing services, external data processing centres, support/maintenance of IT applications, archiving, document processing, accounting and controlling, data destruction, purchasing and procurement, customer management, letter shops, marketing, telephony, website management, tax consulting, audit services or credit institutions
• Public authorities and institutions, if we are subject to a statutory or official obligation which requires us to disclose, report or forward data, or if the forwarding of data is in the public interest
• Authorities and institutions, on grounds of our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of third parties (e. g. to authorities, credit agencies, collection agencies, lawyers, courts, experts, group-affiliated companies and boards and supervisory bodies)
• Other offices and authorities for which you have granted us your consent for the purpose of transferring data

Job applicants:
We process your personal data for the purpose of processing your application. Processing may also be carried out electronically. In particular, this is the case if you submit your application documents to us electronically, e.g. by email or via the web form on our website (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b GDPR).
The following data is processed:
• Contact details (surname, first name, postal address, telephone number, email address)
• Complete application documents (such as, for example, photograph, CV, certificates and references)

Suppliers and service providers:
The following data is processed:
• Personal details (name, occupation/sector and comparable details)
• Contact details (postal address, email address, telephone number and comparable details)
• Information about your financial situation (credit data, i.e. data for the assessment of commercial risk)
• Supplier history
Furthermore, we process personal data from public sources (e.g. internet, media, press, commercial registers and registers of associations, registers of residents, registers of debtors, and land registers). If necessary for the provision of our service, we process personal data which we have legitimately obtained from third parties (e.g. address publishers and credit agencies).

Storage period for personal data:
If necessary, we process your personal data for the duration of our business relationship, which also includes the initiation and processing of a contract.
In addition, we are subject to various retention and documentation obligations arising from the Commercial Code (HGB), the Tax Code (AO) and the Medical Devices Act (MPG), among other things. The periods prescribed there for retention or documentation last up to fifteen years after the end of the business relationship or the pre-contractual legal relationship.
Ultimately, the storage period is also determined by the legal statutes of limitations which, for example, according to Sections 195 et seq. of the Civil Code (BGB), are three years as a rule, but may also be up to thirty years in certain cases.

Section 4 Right to information, right to object, right to complain
You have the right to receive information at any time, free of charge and without delay, about collected data concerning your person. You have the right, at any time and with future effect, to revoke your consent to the use of your stated personal data. For information disclosure purposes, please contact us using the contact details provided in section 2. You have the right to information pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, the right to correction pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR, the right to deletion pursuant to Art. 17 GDPR, the right to restriction of processing pursuant to Art. 18 GDPR, and the right to data portability pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR. Regarding the data which we process automatically on the basis of your consent or to perform a contract, you have the right to have this data delivered to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request for data to be transferred directly to another data controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible. In addition, you have a right to complain to a supervisory data protection authority (Art. 77 GDPR). As a general rule, pursuant to Article 21 GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of personal data by us. However, this right to object applies only if there are very specific circumstances in your personal situation, whereby our company's rights may possibly conflict with your right to object.

The competent supervisory authority in data protection matters is the State Data Protection Officer of the Federal State in which our company has its registered office. You can find a list of Data Protection Officers and their contact details via the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html

In principle, according to Article 21 of the GDPR, the right to object to data collection in special cases and direct mail advertising exists. However, this right to objection only applies in the case of very special circumstances of your personal situation, whereby rights of our company may conflict with your right of objection. You have the right at any time to submit an objection to the processing of your data which takes place on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 f GDPR (data processing on the basis of a balancing of interests) or Art. 6 Para. 1 e GDPR (data processing in the public interest), if there are reasons for this arising from your specific situation. This also applies to profiling based on this provision within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 4 GDPR. If you submit an objection, we will no longer process your personal data, unless we can prove that there are compelling reasons for the processing which are worthy of protection, and which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless the processing serves the assertion, exercise or defence of legal claims. You may at any time revoke consent which you have already given. For this purpose, it is sufficient to send us an informal message via email. The legitimacy of the data processing carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation. We may possibly also process your personal data in order to run direct advertising. If you do not wish to receive any advertising, you have the right to submit an objection to this at any time. This also applies to profiling if it is connected with direct advertising of this kind. We will take note of this objection for the future. We will no longer process your data for the purposes of direct advertising if you object to processing for these purposes.

If you wish to assert one of these rights, please write to the address listed in section 2.

Notice pursuant to Section 36 of the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG)
ABC economics will not participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of the VSBG and is not obliged to do so.

Section 5 Comment functions
In the context of the comment function, and in the context of your comment on a post, we collect personal details (e.g. name and email address) only insofar as you have communicated them to us. When a comment is published, the email address stated by you will be saved but not published. Your name will be published unless you have written under a pseudonym.

Section 6 Cookies
Our website uses so-called cookies in some cases. Cookies do not harm your computer, nor do they contain any viruses. Cookies help to make our offering more user-friendly, effective and secure. Cookies are small text files which are stored on your computer and saved by your browser. Most of the cookies which we use are so-called "session cookies". They are deleted automatically after the end of your visit. Other cookies will be stored on your terminal until you delete them. These cookies enable us to recognise your browser again when you next visit our website. You can adjust your browser settings in such a way that you are informed about the setting of cookies and allow them only in individual cases, refuse to accept them in specific cases or as a general rule, or activate the automatic deletion of cookies when you close your browser. If you deactivate cookies, this may limit the functionality of this website. Cookies which are necessary for the implementation of the electronic communication process or to provide specific functions which you desire (e.g. shopping basket function) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure the technically fault-free and optimised provision of its services. If other cookies (e.g. cookies for the analysis of your browsing behaviour) are stored, these are dealt with separately in this Privacy Policy.


Section 7 Privacy Policy for the Facebook plugin ("like")
This website is not using Facebook plugin ("like").

Section 8 Privacy Policy for the web analysis service Google Analytics
This website is not using Google Analytics.

Section 9 Data protection for the web advertising service Google AdSense
This website is not using Google AdSense.

Section 10 Privacy Policy for the "Google Remarketing" and "Similar Target Groups" function of Google Inc.
This Website is not using the Remarketing or "Similar Target Groups" function of Google Inc.

Section 11 Privacy Policy for "Google AdWords Conversion Tracking" from Google Inc.
This Website is not using the "Google AdWords Conversion Tracking" function from Google Inc

Section 12 Use of Google Maps
This website uses the map service "Google Maps API" from Google Inc. to present locations on an interactive map. Through this service, information on the use of the website, including your IP address, is transferred to Google servers in the USA and stored there.  As part of its Privacy Policy, Google undertakes not to forward any information to third parties, but it does make exceptions to this rule. This means that data collected in this way may possibly be transferred to third parties if this is prescribed by law in the USA, of if third parties process the data on Google's behalf. You can find the Google Inc. Privacy Policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy/. You have the option of switching off the map service and preventing the transfer of data to Google. To do this, deactivate JavaScript in your browser. In this case, you can no longer use Google Maps. We use Google Maps in order to present our online offerings in an appealing way, and to make it easy to find the locations mentioned by us on our website. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR. For more information on how user data is handled, see Google's Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Section 13 Use of web fonts:
External fonts, called "Google Fonts", are used on this website. Google Fonts is a service from Google Inc. ("Google"). These web fonts are incorporated by calling up a server which, as a rule, will be a Google server in the USA. Thus, information revealing which of our web pages you have visited is transferred to the server. Google also stores the IP address of the browser on the terminal used by the person visiting these web pages. You can find more information in Google's Privacy Policy, which is available here:
www.google.com/fonts#AboutPlace:about
https://policies.google.com/privacy/

Section 14 Facebook
This website is not using Facebook.

Section 15 Other social networks such as Twitter and Google+, among others
There are currently no other links to other social Networks.

Section 16 Privacy Policy for the use of YouTube
This website is not using YouTube.

Section 17 Other links to external providers
If, in addition to those listed above, links are established with websites of other providers, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the contents thereof. We do not know which data the operators of these sites may possibly collect, nor do we have any influence on this. You can find information in the respective website's Privacy Policy.

Section 18 Encryption of personal data
All information which you entrust to us by filling in forms is securely transmitted using modern internet technology and is used exclusively for its intended purpose. We use a transfer process based on the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol. The latter makes it possible to encrypt all data traffic between your browser and the website's server. This protects your data from unauthorised access by third parties while it is being transferred. You can tell that your connection is encrypted if the characters change from "http://" to "https://" and a padlock symbol appears in your browser's address line.
If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data which you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Section 19 Server log files
Our server uses server log files to collect data about every time the website is accessed. This includes data with the name and file of the web page, the date and time of access, the quantity of data transferred, an error report, the browser type and version, the user's operating system, the web page previously visited, the IP address and the requesting provider. We use this protocol data solely for statistical analysis. This kind of analysis does not involve any personal data. Individual visitors are not tracked. This data is not merged with other data sources. The basis for data processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR, which permits the processing of data in order to perform a contract or to implement pre-contractual measures.

Section 20 Newsletter and advertising emails
If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter offered on the website, we need an email address from you, as well as information which allows us to check that you are the owner of the stated email address and give your consent to receive the newsletter. Other data will not be collected, or will be collected only on a voluntary basis. We use this data exclusively to send the requested information, and we do not forward this data to third parties. The data entered in the newsletter subscription form is processed exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You may at any time revoke the consent which you have given to the storage of data and of the email address, and to the use thereof for sending the newsletter, for example via the cancellation link in the newsletter. The legitimacy of the data processing procedures already carried out remains unaffected by the revocation. The data which you have submitted to us for the purpose of subscribing to the newsletter will be stored by us until you cancel your newsletter subscription, and this data will be deleted after you have unsubscribed from the newsletter. Data stored by us for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members' area) remains unaffected by this.

Contact details published for the purposes of the legal notice obligation may not be used to send advertising and information material which has not been expressly requested; we hereby object to this use. The website operators expressly reserve the right to take legal steps in the event that they are sent unsolicited advertising information, e.g. via spam emails.

Section 21 Contact form
If you send us queries via the contact form, your information from the contact form - including the contact details which you have stated there - will be stored by us for the purpose of handling the query, and in case there are any follow-up questions. We do not forward this data without your consent. Therefore, the data entered in the contact form is processed exclusively on the basis of your consent (Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). You may revoke this consent at any time. For this purpose, it is sufficient to send us an informal message via email. The legitimacy of the data processing procedures carried out until the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation. The data which you have entered in the contact form will remain with us until you ask us to delete it, until you revoke your consent to its storage, or until the purpose of data storage no longer applies (e.g. after the handling of your query has been completed). Mandatory statutory provisions – particularly retention periods – remain unaffected.