Data Protection

Thank you for your interest in our Swiss company. Data protection has a particularly high priority for the management of GEOTEST Ltd. It is entirely possible to use the GEOTEST Ltd website without providing any personal data. However, if an individual (data subject) wishes to use certain services of our company via our website, it may be necessary to process their personal data. If it is necessary to process personal data but there is no legal requirement for that processing, we will generally request consent from the data subject.
 

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

Our processing of personal data, such as the name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number of a data subject shall always be in line with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to GEOTEST Ltd. By means of this data protection statement, our company would like to inform the general public about the nature, scope and purpose of the personal data that we collect, use and process. This data protection statement also serves to inform data subjects about their rights.
 

As the data controller, GEOTEST Ltd has implemented numerous technical and organisational measures to ensure that personal data processed via this website is protected as comprehensively as possible. Nevertheless, any Internet-based transmission of data may suffer from security issues, so absolute protection cannot be guaranteed. For that reason, any data subject is free to give us their personal data by other means, for example by telephone.

The GEOTEST Ltd data protection statement is based on the terms that were used by the European legislative and regulatory bodies in producing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We intend our data protection statement to be easy for members of the public, and our customers and business partners, to read and understand. With this in mind, we would like to start by explaining some of the terms used.

In this data protection statement we use the following terms, among others:

a) Personal data

Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (referred to below as the “data subject”). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
 

b) Data subject

The data subject is that identified or identifiable person whose personal data is being processed by the data controller.
 

c) Processing

Processing means any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, deletion and destruction.
 

d) Restriction of processing

Restriction of processing means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting its processing in the future.
 

e) Profiling

Profiling means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements.
 

f) Pseudonymisation

Pseudonymisation means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data is not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
 

g) Data controller or body responsible for data processing

A data controller or body responsible for data processing is the natural or legal entity, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of processing of personal data. Where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the data controller or the specific criteria for their nomination may be provided for under Union or Member State law.
 

h) Data processor

A data processor is a natural or legal entity, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the data controller.
 

i) Recipient

A recipient is a natural or legal entity, public authority, agency or other body to whom personal data is disclosed, regardless of whether they are a third party. Public authorities which may receive personal data in the context of a particular enquiry under Union or Member State law are not regarded as recipients.
 

j) Third party

A third party is a natural or legal entity, public authority, agency or other body, other than the data subject, data controller, processor or persons who, under the direct authority of the data controller or processor, is authorised to process personal data.
 

k) Consent

Consent means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, in the form of a statement or some other clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

The responsible party within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation, other data protection laws applicable in the Member States of the European Union, and other legal provisions of a data protection nature, is:
GEOTEST Ltd
Bernstrasse 165
3052 Zollikofen
Switzerland
T +41 31 910 01 01
E-Mail: info@geotest.ch

The Internet pages of GEOTEST Ltd use cookies. Cookies are text files that are placed and saved on a computer system via a web browser.
 

Numerous websites and servers use cookies. Many cookies contain what is called a cookie ID. A cookie ID is a unique identifier for the cookie. It consists of a series of characters through which websites and servers recognise the specific web browser on which the cookie was stored. This enables visited websites and servers to distinguish the specific browser of the data subject from other web browsers storing different cookies. A specific web browser can be recognised and identified by its unique cookie ID.
 

By using cookies, GEOTEST Ltd can offer users of its website more user-friendly services, which would not be possible without using cookies.
 

Cookies can be used to optimise the information and services shown on the GEOTEST Ltd website in the interests of the user. Cookies enable GEOTEST Ltd, as mentioned above, to recognise the users of its website. The purpose of this recognition is to make using the website easier for users. For example, someone visiting a website that uses cookies does not have to enter their access details every time they visit the website, because that task is performed by the website and by the cookie that was placed on the user’s computer system. Another example is the cookie for the shopping basket in an online shop. The online shop uses a cookie to remember the articles that the customer has placed in their virtual shopping basket.
 

A data subject visiting the GEOTEST Ltd website has their attention drawn to the use of cookies at the start and is asked to agree to cookies being placed. Furthermore, data subjects can prevent cookies being placed by our website at any time by making the necessary setting on the web browser they use, and so permanently refusing the placing of cookies. In addition, cookies which have already been placed on a computer can be deleted at any time via a web browser or other software program. This can be done in all standard web browsers. If a data subject deactivates the placing of cookies in the web browser that they use, then in some circumstances not all functions of the GEOTEST Ltd website will be fully usable.

Every time a data subject or an automated system accesses the GEOTEST Ltd website, the website records a series of general pieces of data and information. This general data and information is stored in log files on the server. Information that may be recorded includes: (1) the browser type and version that is being used, (2) the operating system used by the computer system accessing the website, (3) the website from which an accessing system reaches our website (the so-called referrer), (4) the secondary websites to which an accessing system navigates on our website, (5) the date and time of access to the website, (6) an Internet protocol address (IP address), (7) the Internet service provider of the accessing system, and (8) other similar data and information that serve to defend our system in the event of attacks on our IT systems.
 

GEOTEST Ltd is unable to identify the data subject by using this general data and information. Instead, this information is required in order to: (1) display the content on our website correctly, (2) optimise the content on our website and how it is displayed, (3) keep its IT systems and website technology functioning at all times, and (4) be able to provide the law enforcement authorities with the necessary information to prosecute in the event of a cyber-attack. The anonymously collected data and information are therefore analysed by GEOTEST Ltd, first statistically and second with the aim of improving data protection and data security at our company, in order to ultimately guarantee the best possible level of protection for the personal data that we process. The anonymous data in the server log files is stored separately from all personal data provided by a data subject.
 

A data subject has the option of registering on the GEOTEST Ltd website by providing certain personal data. Which personal data is sent to GEOTEST Ltd depends on the entry template that is used for registration. The personal data that is provided by the data subject is collected and stored exclusively for internal use by GEOTEST Ltd and for its own purposes. GEOTEST Ltd may instruct it to be passed on to one or more data processors, for example a courier service provider, who also uses the personal data exclusively for an internal purpose attributable to GEOTEST Ltd.
 

During registration on the GEOTEST Ltd website, the IP address issued by the data subject’s Internet service provider (ISP), the date and the time of registration are also stored. The context for storing this data is that this is the only way to prevent misuse of our services and the data may, if necessary, help with the investigation of offences or breaches of copyright that have been committed. For that reason, storing this data is essential to safeguard GEOTEST Ltd. This data is never passed on to third parties unless there is a legal obligation to pass it on, or if doing so assists in a prosecution or legal investigation.
 

If data subjects register and voluntarily provide their personal data, this helps GEOTEST Ltd to offer the data subject content or services which, by their nature, can only be offered to registered users. Furthermore, registration by a data subject enables us to monitor how copyrighted written text that we produce is being used, to check the placing of links and the attribution of copyright, and to use the data for our own documentation purposes. Registered data subjects have the option of having the personal data which they provided upon registration entirely deleted from the GEOTEST Ltd database.
 

On request, GEOTEST Ltd will inform any data subject, at any time, about which personal data it is storing about that data subject. Furthermore, GEOTEST Ltd will rectify or delete any personal data at the request, or on the instruction, of the data subject, unless there is a legal obligation to retain it. In this context, the entire staff of the data controller shall be available to the data subject as contact persons.
 

On the GEOTEST Ltd website, users are given the opportunity to subscribe to our company newsletter. The input mask used for this purpose determines what personal data is transferred to the person responsible for processing when subscribing to the newsletter.
 

GEOTEST Ltd informs its customers and business partners of the company’s offers at regular intervals by means of a newsletter. The company newsletter can only be received by the data subject if: (1) the data subject has a valid e-mail address and (2) the data subject registers to receive the newsletter. For legal reasons, in the double opt-in procedure, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address entered for the first time by a data subject for the purpose of sending the newsletter. This confirmation e-mail is used to check whether the owner of the e-mail address, i.e. the data subject, has authorised receipt of the newsletter.
 

When registering for the newsletter, we also store the IP address assigned by the Internet service provider (ISP) to the computer system used by the data subject at the time of registration, as well as the date and time of registration. The collection of the data is necessary in order to be able to trace any (possible) misuse of the e-mail address of a data subject at a later date, and this therefore serves to legally safeguard the data controller.
 

The personal data collected as part of a newsletter registration will only be used to send our newsletter. Furthermore, subscribers to the newsletter may be notified by e-mail if this is necessary for the operation of the newsletter service or registration, as might be the case in the event of changes to the newsletter offer or changes to the technical conditions. The personal data collected as part of the newsletter service will not be passed on to third parties. The subscription to our newsletter can be cancelled by the data subject at any time. The consent to the storage of personal data, which the data subject has given us for the newsletter dispatch, can be revoked at any time. For the purpose of revoking consent, there is a corresponding link in every newsletter. It is also possible to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time directly on the GEOTEST Ltd website or to notify the data controller of this decision in another way.
 

Our newsletters contain so-called tracking pixels. A tracking pixel is a thumbnail image embedded in e-mails sent in HTML format to enable log file recording and analysis. This allows a statistical evaluation of the success or failure of online marketing campaigns to be carried out. The embedded pixel-code tells us if and when an e-mail was opened by a data subject and which links in the e-mail were accessed by that data subject.
 

Such personal data collected via the tracking pixels contained in the newsletters are stored and evaluated by the data controller in order to optimise the newsletter dispatch and to adapt the content of future newsletters even better to the interests of the data subject. This personal data will not be passed on to third parties. Data subjects are entitled to revoke at any time, the relevant separate declaration of consent submitted via the double opt-in procedure. After revocation, the personal data is deleted by the data controller. Unsubscribing from the newsletter will automatically be interpreted as a revocation.

a) Right to confirmation

Every data subject has the right to request from the data controller confirmation of whether their own personal data has been processed. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right to confirmation, they can do so at any time by contacting any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.
 

b) Right to access

Every data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European legislative and regulatory bodies, to obtain – free of charge from the data controller – information about the personal data that is being held about them, and a copy of that information. Furthermore, the European legislative and regulatory bodies have given data subjects access to the following information:

Furthermore, the data subject shall have a right to obtain information as to whether personal data is transferred to a third country or to an international organisation. Where this is the case, the data subject shall have the right to be informed of the appropriate safeguards relating to the transfer.
 

If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of access, he or she can do so at any time by contacting any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.
 

c) Right to rectification

Each data subject shall have the right granted by the European legislator, to obtain from the data controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, the data subject shall have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.
 

If a data subject wishes to exercise this right to rectification, he or she can do so at any time by contacting any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.
 

d) Right to deletion (right to be forgotten)

Each data subject shall have the right, granted by the European legislator, to obtain from the data controller the deletion of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay, and the controller shall have the obligation to delete personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies, as long as processing is not necessary:

If one of the aforementioned reasons applies, and a data subject wishes to request the deletion of personal data stored by GEOTEST Ltd, he or she may, at any time, contact any employee of the data controller. A GEOTEST Ltd employee shall promptly ensure that the deletion request is complied with immediately.
 

Where the personal data has been disclosed by GEOTEST Ltd. and where our company, as the data controller in accordance with Art. 17 (1) of the GDPR, is obliged to delete the personal data, then GEOTEST Ltd, taking account of the available technology and the cost of implementation, will take appropriate measures, including those of a technical nature, to notify other bodies processing the disclosed personal data that the data subject has requested deletion by such data controllers of all links to, and any copies or duplicates of, that personal data, as far as processing is not required. A GEOTEST Ltd employee will arrange the necessary measures in individual cases.
 

e) Right to restriction of processing

Any data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right, granted by the European legislator, to ask the data controller to restrict processing where one of the following conditions applies:

If one of the above conditions applies and a data subject would like to request the restriction of personal data stored by GEOTEST Ltd, he or she can do so at any time by contacting any employee of GEOTEST Ltd. The GEOTEST Ltd employee will arrange the restriction of the processing.
 

f) Right to data portability

Any data subject affected by the processing of personal data has the right to be given the personal data relating to them which was provided by the data subject to a data controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. They also have the right to transmit that data to another data controller without hindrance from the controller to whom that personal data was provided, where the processing is based on consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point (a) of the GDPR or Art. 9 (2) point (a) of the GDPR or on a contract in accordance with Art. 6 (1) point (b) of the GDPR, and the processing is carried out by automated means, where the processing is not required in order to fulfil a task in the public interest, or is being carried out while exercising public authority vested in that data controller.
 

Furthermore, in exercising their right to data portability in accordance with Art. 20 (1) of the GDPR, the data subject has the right to have the personal data transferred directly from one data controller to another data controller, where this is technically possible and does not adversely affect the rights or freedoms of third parties.

In order to assert the right to data portability, the data subject may, at any time, contact any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.
 

g) Right to object

Each data subject shall have the right, granted by the European legislator, to object at any time, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning him or her, which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1) of the GDPR. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions.
 

GEOTEST Ltd shall no longer process the personal data in the event of the objection, unless we 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 defence of legal claims.
 

If GEOTEST Ltd processes personal data for direct marketing purposes, the data subject shall have the right to object, at any time, to processing of personal data concerning him or her for such marketing. This applies to profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing. If the data subject objects to GEOTEST Ltd about the processing of the data for direct marketing purposes, GEOTEST Ltd will no longer process the personal data for these purposes.
 

In addition, the data subject has the right, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, to object to processing of personal data concerning him or her by GEOTEST Ltd for scientific or historical research purposes, or for statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89(1) of the GDPR, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
 

In order to exercise the right to object, the data subject may contact any employee of GEOTEST Ltd. In addition, the data subject is free in the context of the use of information society services, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, to use his or her right to object by automated means using technical specifications.
 

h) Automated decision-making in individual cases, including profiling

Each data subject shall have the right, granted by the European legislator, not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her, or similarly significantly affects him or her, as long as the decision: (1) is not is necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller, or (2) is not authorised by Union or Member State law to which the data controller is subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, or (3) is not based on the data subject’s explicit consent.
 

If the decision (1) is necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller, or (2) it is based on the data subject’s explicit consent, GEOTEST Ltd shall implement suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, at least the right to obtain human intervention on the part of the controller, to express his or her point of view and contest the decision.
 

If the data subject wishes to exercise the rights concerning automated individual decision-making, he or she may, at any time, contact any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.
 

i) Right to withdraw consent relating to data protection

Each data subject shall have the right, granted by the European legislator, to withdraw his or her consent to processing of his or her personal data at any time.
 

If the data subject wishes to exercise the right to withdraw the consent, he or she may, at any time, contact any employee of GEOTEST Ltd.

GEOTEST Ltd collects and processes the personal data of job applicants for the purposes of the application procedure. This processing may take place via electronic channels. This applies particularly where an applicant sends the required application documentation electronically, for example by e-mail, to the data controller. If GEOTEST Ltd concludes a contract of employment with an applicant, the data that was sent will be stored for the purposes of the employment relationship, in compliance with legal regulations. If GEOTEST Ltd does not enter into a contract of employment with the applicant, the application documents will be deleted no later than three months after the applicant has been notified of the rejection, provided such deletion does not adversely affect any other legitimate interests of the data controller. Statutory legal obligations relating to the burden of proof or retention requirements that go beyond the Data Protection Act may constitute legitimate interests in this sense.
 

On the GEOTEST Ltd website, the data controller has integrated components of the enterprise Adobe. Adobe Analytics (Omniture) and Adobe Marketing Cloud (hereinafter referred to as “Omniture”) is an instrument that allows for more efficient online marketing, as well as web analysis. Omniture is part of Adobe Marketing Cloud. Adobe Marketing Cloud enables real-time analysis of visitor flows on websites. The real-time analysis includes project reports and allows an ad-hoc analysis of site visitors. Customer interactions are presented in a manner that gives the data controller a better overview of users’ online activities on this website, by displaying the data in simple and interactive dashboards and converting them into reports. This enables the data controller to obtain information in real time and to identify problems that occur more quickly.
 

The operating company for these services is Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited, 4-6 Riverwalk, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Ireland.

Omniture places a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject (cookies are explained above). The data controller ensures, by means of a server setting, that the tracking data transferred to the Adobe data centre is anonymised prior to geolocation. The anonymisation is carried out by replacing the last part of the IP address. The data controller has applied server-based settings, which are used to anonymise the IP address of the data subject prior to processing for geolocation and range measurement. Adobe will use the data and information obtained via our website to analyse the user behaviour of the data subject on behalf of the data controller. Adobe will also use the data to create reports on user activity on our behalf, as well as provide other services to our enterprise relating to the use of our website. Adobe does not merge the IP address of the data subject with other personal data.
 

As stated above, the data subject may, at any time, prevent the placement of cookies by our website by means of a corresponding setting in the Internet browser used, and may thus permanently deny the placement of cookies. Any such Internet browser setting would also prevent Omniture from placing a cookie on the information technology system of the data subject. Cookies that have already been placed by Omniture may also be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs.
 

The data subject also has the possibility of objecting to and preventing the collection of data generated by the Adobe cookie for the use of this website and the processing of this data by Adobe. For this purpose, the data subject must click the opt-out button under the link www.adobe.com/de/privacy/opt-out.html, which places an opt-out cookie. The opt-out cookie used for this purpose is placed on the information technology system used by the data subject. If the data subject deletes the cookies from his or her system following the opt-out process, then the data subject must call up the link again and set a new opt-out cookie.
 

However, by setting the opt-out cookie, the data subject may find that he or she is no longer able to use the full extent of the data controller’s website.

Adobe’s applicable data protection provisions may be accessed at www.adobe.com/de/privacy.html.
 

On the GEOTEST Ltd website, the data controller has integrated components of the enterprise Facebook. Facebook is a social network.
 

A social network is a place for social meetings on the Internet, an online community, which usually allows users to communicate with each other and interact in a virtual space. A social network may serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences, or enable the Internet community to provide personal or business-related information. Facebook allows social network users to, e.g. create private profiles, upload photos, and network through friend requests.
 

The operating company of Facebook is Facebook, Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States. If a data subject lives outside of the United States or Canada, the data controller is Facebook Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.
 

With each call-up to one of the individual pages of this website, which is operated by the data controller and into which a Facebook component (Facebook plug-in) has been integrated, the web browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective Facebook component to download a display of the corresponding Facebook component from Facebook. An overview of all the Facebook plug-ins may be accessed at developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/. During the course of this technical procedure, Facebook is made aware of which specific sub-page of our website is visited by the data subject.
 

If the data subject is logged in at the same time on Facebook, Facebook detects with every call-up to our website by the data subject – and for the entire duration of their stay on our website – which specific sub-page of our website was visited by the data subject. This information is collected through the Facebook component and associated with the respective Facebook account of the data subject by Facebook. If the data subject clicks on one of the Facebook buttons integrated into our website, e.g. the “Like” button, or if the data subject submits a comment, then Facebook matches this information with the personal Facebook user account of the data subject and stores this personal data.
 

Facebook always receives, through the Facebook component, information about a visit to our website by the data subject, whenever the data subject is logged in at the same time on Facebook during the time of the call-up to our website. This occurs regardless of whether the data subject clicks on the Facebook component or not. If such a transmission of information to Facebook is not desirable for the data subject, then he or she may prevent this by logging off from their Facebook account before a call-up to our website is made.
 

The data policy published by Facebook, which is available at de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy/, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Facebook. It also explains what setting options Facebook offers to protect the privacy of the data subject. Furthermore, different applications are available to prevent the transmission of data to Facebook. These applications may be used by the data subject to prevent the transmission of data to Facebook.
 

The data controller has integrated components of the LinkedIn Corporation on the GEOTEST Ltd website. LinkedIn is a web-based social network that enables users with existing business contacts to connect and to make new business contacts. Over 400 million registered people in more than 200 countries use LinkedIn. Thus, LinkedIn is currently the largest platform for business contacts and one of the most visited websites in the world.
 

The operating company of LinkedIn is LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The company responsible for privacy matters outside of the USA is LinkedIn Ireland, Privacy Policy Issues, Wilton Plaza, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.
 

With each call-up to our website, into which a LinkedIn component (LinkedIn plug-in) has been integrated, the Internet browser of the data subject is automatically prompted by this component to download a display of the corresponding component from LinkedIn. Further information about the LinkedIn plug-ins may be accessed at developer.linkedin.com/plugins. During the course of this technical procedure, LinkedIn is made aware of which specific sub-page of our website is visited by the data subject.

If the data subject is logged in at the same time on LinkedIn, LinkedIn detects with every call-up to our website by the data subject – and for the entire duration of their stay on our website – which specific sub-page of our website was visited by the data subject. This information is collected through the LinkedIn component and associated with the respective LinkedIn account of the data subject by LinkedIn. If the data subject clicks on one of the LinkedIn buttons integrated into our website, LinkedIn matches this information with the personal LinkedIn user account of the data subject and then stores and this personal data.
 

LinkedIn always receives, through the LinkedIn component, information about a visit to our website by the data subject, whenever the data subject is logged in at the same time on LinkedIn during the time of the call-up to our website. This occurs regardless of whether the data subject clicks on the LinkedIn component or not. If such a transmission of information to LinkedIn is not desirable for the data subject, then he or she may prevent this by logging off from their LinkedIn account before a call-up to our website is made.
 

LinkedIn provides the possibility at www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls to unsubscribe from e-mail messages, SMS messages and targeted ads, as well as the ability to manage ad settings. LinkedIn also uses affiliates such as Quantcast, Google Analytics, BlueKai, DoubleClick, Nielsen, Comscore, Eloqua and Lotame, which may place cookies. The placement of such cookies may be denied at www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy. The applicable LinkedIn data protection provisions may be accessed at www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy. The LinkedIn Cookie Policy is available at www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy.
 

The data controller has integrated Twitter plugins in the GEOTEST Ltd website. Twitter is a multilingual publicly accessible micro-blogging service that enables users to publish and disseminate so-called tweets, i.e. short messages restricted to 280 characters. Messages of this kind can be accessed by anyone, including persons not registered on Twitter. The tweets are displayed to the so-called followers of the user in question. Followers are other Twitter users who follow the tweets of a particular user. Furthermore, Twitter allows users to address a wide audience via hashtags, links or retweets.
 

Twitter is operated by Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, U.S.A.
 

Each time a user accesses one of the individual pages of this website that is operated by the data controller and includes an integrated Twitter plugin (Twitter button), the latter automatically prompts the web browser on the data subject’s information technology system to download an image of the corresponding Twitter plugin from Twitter. Further information about the Twitter buttons is available at about.twitter.com/de/resources/buttons. In the course of this technical process, Twitter learns which specific sub-page of our website the data subject is visiting. The purpose of integrating the Twitter plugin is to enable our users to disseminate the content of this website, publicise it in the digital world and increase our visitor numbers.
 

If the data subject is simultaneously logged into Twitter, the specific sub-page of our website visited by the data subject is recognised by Twitter each time the data subject accesses our website and for the entire duration of his/her visit to our website. This information is collected by the Twitter plugin and assigned by Twitter to the corresponding Twitter account of the data subject. If the data subject activates one of the Twitter buttons integrated in our website, the data and information transferred is assigned to the data subject’s personal Twitter user account and stored and processed by Twitter.
 

Twitter is always informed via the Twitter plugin that the data subject has visited our website if, at the time of accessing our website, the data subject is simultaneously logged into Twitter; this happens irrespective of whether or not the data subject clicks on the Twitter plugin. If the data subject does not wish such information to be transmitted to Twitter, he/she can prevent transmission by logging out of his/her Twitter account before accessing our website.
 

The currently valid version of Twitter’s data protection provisions is available at twitter.com/en/privacy.
 

The data controller has integrated YouTube components on the GEOTEST Ltd website. YouTube is an Internet video portal that enables video publishers to upload video clips free of charge, and also allows other users to view, review and comment on these video clips free of charge. YouTube allows the publishing of any type of video, so you can access both full-length films and TV broadcasts, as well as music videos, trailers, and user-generated video content via the Internet portal.
 

The operating company of YouTube is Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland.
 

With each call-up to one of the individual pages of this website, which is operated by the data controller and into which a YouTube component (YouTube video) has been integrated, the web browser on the information technology system of the data subject is automatically prompted by the respective YouTube component to download a display of the corresponding YouTube component from YouTube. Further information about YouTube is available under www.youtube.com/yt/about/de/. During the course of this technical procedure, YouTube and Google are made aware of which specific sub-page of our website is visited by the data subject.
 

If the data subject is logged in on YouTube, YouTube recognises with each call-up to a sub-page that contains a YouTube video, which specific sub-page of our website was visited by the data subject. This information is collected by YouTube and Google and associated with the respective YouTube account of the data subject.
 

YouTube and Google always receive, through the YouTube component, information about a visit to our website by the data subject, whenever the data subject is logged in at the same time on YouTube during the time of the call-up to our website. This occurs regardless of whether the data subject clicks on a YouTube video or not. If such a transmission of information to YouTube and Google is not desirable for the data subject, then he or she may prevent this by logging off from their YouTube account before a call-up to our website is made.
 

The data protection provisions published by YouTube, available at www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/, provide information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by YouTube and Google.
 

Point (a) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR serves as the legal basis for processing operations for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. If the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party, as is the case, for example, when processing operations that are necessary for the supply of goods or for the provision of any other service, the processing is based on point (b) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR. The same applies to such processing operations which are necessary for carrying out pre-contractual measures, for example in the case of inquiries concerning our products or services. If our company is subject to a legal obligation by which processing of personal data is required, such as for compliance with tax obligations, the processing is based on point (c) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR. In rare cases, the processing of personal data may be necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor were injured in our company and his or her name, age, health insurance data or other vital information had to be passed on to a doctor, hospital or other third party. Then the processing would be based on point (d) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR. Finally, processing operations could be based on point (f) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR. This legal basis is used for processing operations which are not covered by any of the above-mentioned legal grounds, if processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our company or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data. Such processing operations are particularly permissible because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. It considered that a legitimate interest could be assumed if the data subject is a client of the data controller (Recital 47 Sentence 2 of the GDPR).
 

Where the processing of personal data is based on point (f) of Art. 6(1) of the GDPR, our legitimate interest is to carry out our business in favour of the well-being of all our employees and our shareholders.
 

The criteria used to determine the period of storage of personal data is the respective statutory retention period. After expiration of that period, the corresponding data is routinely deleted, as long as it is no longer necessary for the fulfilment of the contract or the initiation of a contract.
 

We would like to clarify that the provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g. tax regulations) and can also result from contractual provisions (e.g. information on the contractual partner). Sometimes it may be necessary for the data subject to provide us with personal data for the conclusion of a contract, which subsequently has to be processed by us. The data subject is, for example, obliged to provide us with personal data when our company concludes a contract with him or her. The non-provision of the personal data would have the consequence that the contract with the data subject could not be concluded. Before any personal data is provided by the data subject, the data subject must contact one of our employees. In each case, our employee will clarify to the data subject whether the provision of the personal data is required by law or contract, or is necessary for the conclusion of the contract, whether there is an obligation to provide the personal data, and what the consequences would be in the event of non-provision of the personal data.
 

As a responsible company, we do not use automatic decision-making or profiling.
 

This data protection statement is a translation of the original statement in German.  The German original was created by the data protection statement generator of Cancellarius Ltd Switzerland (http://www.cancellarius.ch ) in close cooperation with DGD Deutsche Gesellschaft für Datenschutz GmbH. The German original may be used by the company specified in the generator and published on its website without any modification. The copyright notice © Cancellarius AG, Winterthur and the links www.cancellarius.ch, www.datenschutzgenerator.ch and catbiz.ch must be included with every publication. Cancellarius is a registered Swiss trademark.