General / Introduction

Based on Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution and the federal data protection provisions (Data Protection Act, DSG), every person has the right to privacy and protection against the misuse of their personal data. The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

In cooperation with our hosting providers, we make every effort to protect the databases as best as possible against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or falsification.

We would like to point out that data transmission over the Internet (e.g., when communicating by email) may have security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

By using this website, you agree to the collection, processing, and use of data as described below. This website can generally be visited without registration. Data such as pages accessed or the names of files accessed, date, and time are stored on the server for statistical purposes without this data being directly related to your person. Where possible, personal data (e.g., name, address, or email addresses) is collected on a voluntary basis. This data will not be disclosed to third parties without your explicit consent.

With SSL/TLS Encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as inquiries you send to us as the website operator, this website uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of the browser changes from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser line.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Services of Third Parties

This website may use Google Maps for embedding maps, Google Invisible reCAPTCHA for protection against bots and spam, and YouTube for embedding videos.

These services from American Google LLC may use cookies, which results in data being transmitted to Google in the USA. We assume that no personal tracking takes place solely through the use of our website.

Google has committed to ensuring adequate data protection in accordance with the US-European and US-Swiss Privacy Shield frameworks.

For more information, please refer to Google’s privacy policy.

 

Newsletter

If you would like to receive the newsletter offered on the website, we need an email address from you, as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified email address and that you agree to receive the newsletter. No further data is collected. We use this data exclusively for sending the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

After you have given your consent to store your data, email address, and their use for sending the newsletter, you can revoke this consent at any time, for example, via the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter.

Rights of the Data Subject

Right to Confirmation

Every data subject has the right to request confirmation from the website operator as to whether personal data concerning them is being processed. If you wish to exercise this right of confirmation, you can contact the data protection officer at any time.

 

Right to Information

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to obtain, at any time, free of charge, information from the operator of this website about the personal data stored about them and a copy of this information. In addition, information can be provided on the following:

 

Purposes of processing

Categories of personal data processed

Recipients to whom the personal data has been or will be disclosed

If possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if this is not possible, the criteria for determining this duration

The existence of a right to rectify or erase the personal data concerning them or to restrict processing by the data controller, or a right to object to such processing

The existence of a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

If the personal data was not collected from the data subject: All available information about the origin of the data

Furthermore, the data subject has the right to be informed whether personal data has been transferred to a third country or to an international organization. If this is the case, the data subject also has the right to obtain information about the appropriate safeguards in connection with the transfer.

 

If you wish to exercise this right to information, you can contact our data protection officer at any time.

 

Right to Rectification

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to request the immediate rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning them. Furthermore, the data subject has the right, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to request the completion of incomplete personal data – including by means of a supplementary declaration.

 

If you wish to exercise this right to rectification, you can contact our data protection officer at any time.

 

Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten)

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to request the website operator to erase without delay personal data concerning them, provided one of the following reasons applies and the processing is not necessary:

 

The personal data was collected or otherwise processed for purposes for which it is no longer necessary.

The data subject withdraws the consent on which the processing was based, and there is no other legal basis for the processing.

The data subject objects to the processing for reasons arising from their particular situation, and there are no overriding legitimate reasons for the processing.

The personal data has been processed unlawfully.

The erasure of personal data is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the website operator is subject.

The personal data was collected in relation to services offered by the information society that were directed at a child.

If one of the above reasons applies and you wish to have personal data stored by the operator of this website deleted, you can contact our data protection officer at any time. The data protection officer of this website will arrange for the deletion request to be complied with immediately.

 

Right to Restriction of Processing

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to request the website operator to restrict the processing if one of the following conditions is met:

 

The accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, for a period enabling the website operator to verify the accuracy of the personal data.

The processing is unlawful, and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal data and requests the restriction of their use instead.

The website operator no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

The data subject has objected to processing, pending the verification of whether the legitimate grounds of the website operator override those of the data subject.

If one of the above conditions is met and you wish to request the restriction of personal data stored by the operator of this website, you can contact our data protection officer at any time. The data protection officer will arrange for the processing to be restricted.

 

Right to Data Portability

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to receive personal data concerning them, which they have provided to the data controller, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. They also have the right to transmit this data to another data controller without hindrance, provided that the processing is based on consent or on a contract, and the processing is carried out by automated means, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller.

 

Furthermore, when exercising their right to data portability, the data subject has the right to have personal data transmitted directly from one data controller to another, where technically feasible and when this does not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

 

To exercise the right to data portability, you can contact the data protection officer of this website at any time.

 

Right to Object

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to object, on grounds relating to their particular situation, at any time, to processing of personal data concerning them which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1) of the GDPR.

 

The website operator will no longer process the personal data in the event of the objection, unless the website operator can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights, and freedoms of the data subject, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

 

If the website operator processes personal data for direct marketing purposes, the data subject has the right to object at any time to processing of personal data concerning them for such marketing. This applies to profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing. If the data subject objects to the operator processing for direct marketing purposes, the operator will no longer process the personal data for these purposes.

 

In addition, the data subject has the right, on grounds relating to their particular situation, to object to processing of personal data concerning them which is carried out by the website operator for scientific or historical research purposes, or for statistical purposes, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

 

To exercise the right to object, you can directly contact the data protection officer of this website.

 

Right to Withdraw Consent for Data Protection

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to withdraw consent for the processing of personal data at any time.

 

If you wish to exercise your right to withdraw consent, you can contact our data protection officer at any time.

 

Objection to Email Marketing

The use of contact data published in the context of the imprint obligation for the transmission of not expressly requested advertising and information materials is hereby objected to. The operators of the pages expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of unsolicited sending of advertising information, such as spam emails.

 

Copyright

The copyright and all other rights to content, images, photos, or other files on the website belong exclusively to the operator of this website or the specifically named rights holders. For the reproduction of all files, the written consent of the copyright holder must be obtained in advance. Anyone who commits a copyright infringement without the consent of the respective copyright holder may be liable to prosecution and may be liable for damages under certain circumstances.

 

Disclaimer

All information on our website has been carefully checked. We make every effort to ensure that the information provided by us is up-to-date, correct, and complete. However, the occurrence of errors cannot be completely ruled out, so we cannot guarantee the completeness, correctness, and timeliness of information, including journalistic-editorial information. Liability claims arising from material or immaterial damage caused by the use or non-use of the information provided or by the use of incorrect and incomplete information are generally excluded.

 

The publisher may change texts at its own discretion and without prior notice and is not obligated to update the contents of this website. The use of the website or access to it is at the visitor’s own risk. The publisher, its clients, or partners are not responsible for damages, such as direct, indirect, accidental, or consequential damages, allegedly caused by visiting this website and therefore assume no liability for such damages.

 

The publisher also assumes no responsibility or liability for the content and availability of third-party websites that can be accessed via external links on this website. The operators of the linked pages are solely responsible for their content. The publisher hereby expressly distances itself from all third-party content that may be relevant under criminal or liability law or that violates the principles of good morals.

Google Maps

This website uses the services of Google Maps. This allows us to display interactive maps directly on the website and provide you with the convenient use of map functions. By visiting the website, Google receives information that you have accessed the respective subpage of our website. This happens regardless of whether Google provides a user account through which you are logged in or whether no user account exists. If you are logged in to Google, your data will be directly associated with your account. If you do not wish this association with your profile on Google, you must log out before activating the button. Google stores your data as user profiles and uses them for the purposes of advertising, market research, and/or the design of its website to meet users’ needs. Such evaluation is carried out, in particular (even for users who are not logged in), to provide tailored advertising and to inform other users of the social network about your activities on our website. You have the right to object to the creation of these user profiles, but you must contact Google to exercise this right. For more information on the purpose and scope of data collection and processing by Google, as well as further information on your related rights and privacy settings, please visit: www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited. If the data controller responsible for data processing on this website is located outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland, then data processing for Google Analytics is carried out by Google LLC. Google LLC and Google Ireland Limited are collectively referred to as “Google” below.

 

The statistics obtained enable us to improve our offering and make it more interesting for you as a user. This website also uses Google Analytics for cross-device analysis of visitor flows, which is done via a user ID. If you have a Google user account, you can disable cross-device analysis of your usage in the settings there under “My Data,” “Personal Data.”

 

The legal basis for the use of Google Analytics is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data. We would like to point out that on this website Google Analytics has been extended to include the code “_anonymizeIp();” in order to ensure anonymous collection of IP addresses. This means that IP addresses are processed in a shortened form, so that they cannot be linked to a specific individual. If data collected about you can be linked to a specific person, this link is immediately excluded, and the personal data is promptly deleted.

 

Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address transmitted to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity and to provide other services related to website activity and internet usage to the website operator. For the exceptional cases in which personal data is transferred to the USA, Google has subjected itself to the EU-US Privacy Shield, https://www.privacyshield.gov/EU-US-Framework.

 

Google Analytics uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. You can prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly; however, we would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all the functions of this website to their full extent. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) and from processing this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: Google Analytics opt-out.

 

You can also prevent the use of Google Analytics by clicking on this link: Google Analytics opt-out. This will set an opt-out cookie on your data carrier, which will prevent the processing of personal data by Google Analytics. Please note that if you delete all cookies on your end device, these opt-out cookies will also be deleted, i.e., you will have to set the opt-out cookies again if you want to continue to prevent this form of data collection. The opt-out cookies are set per browser and computer/device and must therefore be activated separately for each browser, computer, or other end device.

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense on this website. This is an advertising program from Google Inc. In Europe, Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street Dublin 4, Ireland) is responsible for all Google services. Google AdSense allows us to display ads on this website that are relevant to our topic.

 

Google AdSense uses cookies to display ads that are relevant to users, to improve campaign performance reports, or to prevent users from seeing the same ads multiple times. Google records which ads are displayed in which browser via a cookie ID and can thus prevent them from being displayed multiple times. In addition, Google AdSense can use cookie IDs to record conversions related to ad impressions. This is the case, for example, when a user sees a Google Ads ad and later visits the advertiser’s website and makes a purchase there. According to Google, Google Ads cookies do not contain personal information.

 

The marketing tools used automatically establish a direct connection to Google’s server through your browser. By integrating Google Ads, Google receives information that you have accessed the corresponding part of our website or clicked on an ad from us. If you are registered with a Google service, Google can assign the visit to your account. Even if you are not registered with Google or have not logged in, there is a possibility that Google will obtain and store your IP address.

 

You can prevent participation in this tracking process in various ways:

By adjusting your browser software accordingly; in particular, suppressing third-party cookies will prevent you from receiving ads from third-party providers.

By deactivating conversion tracking cookies by setting your browser to block cookies from the domain “www.googleadservices.com,” https://adssettings.google.com, with this setting being deleted when you delete your cookies.

By deactivating interest-based advertising from providers that are part of the “About Ads” self-regulatory campaign through the link https://www.aboutads.info/choices, with this setting being deleted when you delete your cookies.

By permanently deactivating them in your browsers Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Google Chrome via the link https://www.google.com/settings/ads/plugin. Please note that in this case, you may not be able to use all the functions of this offer to their full extent.

The legal basis for processing your data is a balancing of interests, according to which the processing of your personal data described above does not conflict with any overriding interests on your part (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f DSGVO). Further information on Google Ads from Google can be found at https://ads.google.com/intl/en/home/, as well as on data protection at Google in general: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy. Alternatively, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) website at https://www.networkadvertising.org.

Google WebFonts

This website uses web fonts provided by Google for the uniform display of fonts. When you access a page, your browser loads the required web fonts into its browser cache to display texts and fonts correctly. If your browser does not support web fonts, a standard font will be used from your computer.

 

For more information on Google Web Fonts, please visit https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and Google’s privacy policy: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Google TagManager

Google Tag Manager is a solution that allows us to manage website tags, such as Google Analytics and other Google marketing services, through an interface. The Tag Manager itself, which implements the tags, does not process personal data of users. Regarding the processing of personal data of users, we refer to the following information on Google services. Usage policies: https://www.google.com/intl/en/tagmanager/use-policy.html.

 

Twitter

This website uses features of Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market St, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. When you access our pages with Twitter plug-ins, a connection is established between your browser and Twitter’s servers, and data is already being transferred to Twitter. If you have a Twitter account, this data can be linked to it. If you do not want this data to be associated with your Twitter account, please log out of Twitter before visiting our site. Interactions, especially clicking on a “Re-Tweet” button, are also transmitted to Twitter. Learn more at https://twitter.com/privacy.

Instagram

Our website includes features of the Instagram service offered by Instagram Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA. If you are logged into your Instagram account, you can link the content of our pages to your Instagram profile by clicking the Instagram button. This allows Instagram to associate your visit to our pages with your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of the pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the transmitted data or its use by Instagram. For more information, please see Instagram’s privacy policy: http://instagram.com/about/legal/privacy/.

LinkedIn

Within our online offering, we use the marketing services of the social network LinkedIn, operated by LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland (“LinkedIn”). These use cookies, which are text files that are stored on your computer. This allows us to analyze your use of the website. For example, we can measure the success of our advertising and display products that users have previously shown interest in.

Information such as operating system, browser, previously visited website (referrer URL), visited websites, offers clicked on, and the date and time of your visit to our website are collected. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is transmitted to a server of LinkedIn in the USA and stored there in pseudonymous form. LinkedIn does not store the name or email address of the respective user. Rather, the above data is only assigned to the person for whom the cookie was generated. This does not apply if the user has allowed LinkedIn to process the data without pseudonymization or has an LinkedIn account.

You can refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser; however, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. You can also object to the use of your data directly at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls/retargeting-opt-out.

We use LinkedIn Analytics to analyze and regularly improve the use of our website. The statistics obtained allow us to improve our offer and make it more interesting for you as a user. All LinkedIn companies have adopted standard contractual clauses to ensure that data traffic to the USA and Singapore, which is necessary for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the services, is carried out lawfully. If we ask users for their consent, the legal basis for processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. a DSGVO. Otherwise, the legal basis for the use of LinkedIn Analytics is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f DSGVO.

Information from the third-party provider: LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland; Terms of use and privacy policy.

Adobe Fonts

This website uses the services of Active Campaign for the distribution of newsletters. The provider is the US-based company ActiveCampaign, LLC, located at 150 N. Michigan Ave Suite 1230, Chicago, IL, USA.

Active Campaign is a service that facilitates the organization and analysis of newsletter distribution, among other things. When you provide data for the purpose of receiving newsletters (e.g., your email address), this data is stored on Active Campaign’s servers in the USA.

Active Campaign is certified under the “EU-US Privacy Shield.” The “Privacy Shield” is an agreement between the European Union (EU) and the USA designed to ensure compliance with European data protection standards in the USA.

Active Campaign allows us to analyze our newsletter campaigns. When you open an email sent through Active Campaign, a file contained in the email (known as a web beacon) connects to Active Campaign’s servers in the USA. This allows us to determine whether a newsletter message has been opened and which links, if any, have been clicked. In addition, technical information is collected (e.g., the time of access, IP address, browser type, and operating system). This information cannot be attributed to the respective newsletter recipient and is exclusively used for the statistical evaluation of newsletter campaigns. The results of these analyses can be used to better tailor future newsletters to the interests of the recipients.

If you do not wish to have your data analyzed by Active Campaign, you can unsubscribe from the newsletter. For this purpose, we provide a corresponding link in each newsletter message. Additionally, you can also unsubscribe directly on our website.

The processing of data is based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can revoke this consent at any time by unsubscribing from the newsletter. The legality of the data processing that has already occurred remains unaffected by the revocation.

The data that you provide us for the purpose of receiving newsletters will be stored by us until you unsubscribe from the newsletter, and after unsubscribing, will be deleted from our servers and Active Campaign’s servers. Data that has been stored by us for other purposes (e.g., email addresses for the members’ area) remains unaffected by this.

Further information can be found in Active Campaign’s privacy policy at: https://www.activecampaign.com/privacy-policy/.

Link to the Privacy Shield certification: https://www.privacyshield.gov.

 

Conclusion of a Data Processing Agreement

We have concluded a so-called “Data Processing Agreement” with Active Campaign, in which we obligate Active Campaign to protect our customers’ data and not disclose it to third parties.

Agency Services

We process our customers’ data in accordance with the data protection regulations of the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DSG) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the scope of our contractual services. This includes the processing of inventory data (e.g., customer master data such as names or addresses), contact data (e.g., email, telephone numbers), content data (e.g., text entries, etc.), contract data (e.g., subject matter of the contract, term), payment data (e.g., bank details, payment behavior), usage data, and metadata (e.g., as part of the evaluation and success measurement of marketing measures). Our customers, interested parties, their customers, users, website visitors, or employees, as well as third parties, are affected by this. The purpose of processing is the provision of contractual services, billing, and our customer service. The legal basis for processing arises from Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contractual services), Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (analysis, statistics, optimization, security measures). We process data that is necessary for the establishment and fulfillment of contractual services and point out the necessity of their disclosure. Disclosure to external individuals or companies only occurs if it is required within the scope of an order. When processing data that has been entrusted to us as part of an order, we act in accordance with the instructions of the client and the statutory requirements of order processing in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR and do not process the data for purposes other than those specified in the order.

We delete the data after the expiry of statutory warranty and similar obligations. The necessity of retaining the data is reviewed at irregular intervals. In the case of statutory archiving obligations, deletion takes place after their expiry. For data that our client has entrusted to us as part of an order, we delete the data in accordance with the specifications of the order, usually after the order has been completed.

Contractual Services

We process the data of our contractual partners, interested parties, and other clients or contracting parties (collectively referred to as “contractual partners”) in accordance with the data protection provisions of the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DSG) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in order to provide them with our contractual or pre-contractual services. The data processed in this context, the type, scope, and purpose, and the necessity of their processing, are determined by the underlying contractual relationship. This generally includes inventory and master data of persons (e.g., names and addresses), contact data (e.g., email addresses and telephone numbers), contract data (e.g., services used, content, and information provided, names of contact persons), and payment data (e.g., bank details, payment history). We generally do not process special categories of personal data unless they are part of a contractual or contractual processing.

We process data that is required to establish and fulfill contractual services and point out the necessity of their disclosure, unless it is evident that the contractual partners have already provided it. External individuals or companies are only disclosed to if it is required within the framework of a contract. When processing the data provided to us as part of an order, we act in accordance with the instructions of the client and the legal requirements of order processing in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR and do not process the data for purposes other than those specified in the order.

As part of the use of our online services, we may store the IP address and the time of the respective user action. Storage is based on our legitimate interests, as well as the interests of users in the protection against misuse and other unauthorized use. This data is not passed on to third parties, unless it is necessary to pursue our claims or there is a legal obligation to do so in accordance with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Data is deleted when it is no longer necessary for the fulfillment of contractual or legal duties of care and for dealing with any warranty or similar obligations, whereby the necessity of keeping the data is reviewed at irregular intervals. In all other respects, the statutory retention obligations apply.

Statutory Services

We process the data of our members, sponsors, interested parties, customers, or other persons in accordance with the data protection provisions of the Swiss Confederation (Federal Data Protection Act, DSG) to the extent that we offer them contractual services or act within the framework of existing business relationships, e.g., towards members, or are recipients of services and services ourselves. The data processed in this context, the type, scope, and purpose, and the necessity of their processing, are determined by the underlying contractual relationship. This generally includes inventory and master data of persons (e.g., name, address, etc.) as well as contact data (e.g., email address, telephone, etc.), contract data (e.g., services used, contents, and information provided, names of contact persons) and, if we offer paid services or products, payment data (e.g., bank account details, payment history, etc.).

Data Transfer to the USA

On our website, tools from companies based in the USA are integrated, among other things. If these tools are active, your personal data may be transferred to the US servers of the respective companies. We would like to point out that the USA is not a safe third country within the meaning of EU data protection law. US companies are obliged to hand over personal data to security authorities without you as the data subject being able to take legal action against this. It can therefore not be ruled out that US authorities (e.g., intelligence agencies) process, evaluate, and permanently store your data on US servers for monitoring purposes. We have no influence on these processing activities.

Changes

We may change this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website shall apply. Insofar as the privacy policy is part of an agreement with you, we will inform you about changes by email or other suitable means in the event of an update.

Disclaimer

The author assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, correctness, timeliness, reliability, and completeness of the information.

Claims for liability against the author for material or immaterial damage arising from access to or use or non-use of the published information, misuse of the connection, or technical faults are excluded.

All offers are non-binding. The author expressly reserves the right to change, supplement, or delete parts of the pages or the entire offer without prior notice or to temporarily or permanently cease publication.