Privacy policy
The World Business Union and its offices worldwide (the “WBU”, “we”, “us” and “our”) are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring that you continue to trust the WBU with your personal data. When you interact with us, you may share personal information with us that allows identification of you as an individual (e.g. name, email address, address, and telephone number). This is known as “personal data”.
This Privacy Policy applies where the WBU is acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of you as a visitor to our websites and as a user of the WBU platforms and/or services, in other words, where the WBU determines the purposes and means of the processing of your personal data.
- Scope and acceptance of this Privacy Policy
The WBU has developed this Privacy Policy to describe how and what type of personal data will be collected from users of the WBU websites and/or platforms and the purposes, for which the WBU may collect, share or disclose the personal data.
By using WBU websites, platforms, mobile apps, text messaging programs or through the WBU branded pages or applications on third-party social networks (e.g. Facebook) (“WBU Sites”) or by giving us your personal data when registering for events or other services, you accept the collecting and processing of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use WBU Sites or give us any personal data.
This Privacy Policy applies to any information obtained by the WBU through your use of the WBU Sites. It is not applicable to any websites controlled by third parties not affiliated with the WBU that the WBU Site may link to (“Third Party Sites”). Please review the privacy statements of each of these Third Party Sites as the WBU is not responsible for and has no influence on the content or the privacy practices of Third Party Sites.
The WBU reserves the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. We encourage you to regularly review this Privacy Policy to make sure you are aware of any changes and how your personal data may be used.
- What information do we collect and for what purposes?
When you visit the WBU Sites, our web server automatically records details about your visit: for example, your IP address, the website from which you visit us, the type of browser software used the WBU Site pages that you actually visit including the date and the duration of your visit. Please see our Cookie Notice for information on these technologies and your rights in relation to them (See section 5).
In addition, we process personal data that you provide through the WBU Sites, for example, when you enter personal details (e.g. name, gender, address, email address, phone/fax number) on a registration page or if you sign up for an email newsletter.
The WBU may use the personal data that you provide to us with your consent for a specified purpose or when you interact with WBU Sites or we process your data if we have legal basis, namely, with regards to your registration to WBU events or your request of WBU services.
Furthermore, we operate (I) custom platforms, which are fully built and maintained by the WBU (“Custom Platforms”); and (II) cooperate with platforms which provide individual WBU products or services, which are maintained and provided for by third-party providers (“Cooperation Platforms”), and (III) third party applications and services, which can be embedded or integrated into one of the platforms described under (I) or (II) (“Embedded Services”).
Embedded Services (services that can be embedded or integrated into Custom or Cooperation Platforms)
Stripe payments
On our donation platform, you have the option to fund a WBU project. With regards to such a donation, we will collect information regarding the amount you donated and we will need to identify you to allocate the donation. We will share transaction data with our payment processor, Stripe, only to the extent necessary for the purposes of allocating your payments. When you initially provide or update your payment information, we transmit it via an encrypted connection to Stripe. Stripe uses and processes your payment information in accordance with Stripe’s Privacy Policy.
- Children’s personal data
The WBU does not knowingly solicit or collect personal data from children below the age of 18. If the WBU discovers that it has accidentally collected personal data from a child below the age of 18, it will remove that child’s personal data from its records as soon as reasonably possible. However, the WBU may collect personal data about children below the age of 18 years if authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over the child.
- How do we share personal data?
We do not share your personal data with any third party that intends to use it for direct marketing purposes, unless you have provided specific consent in relation to this.
The WBU may share your personal data with third parties for other purposes, but only in the following circumstances:
- With your consent
We will share personal data with third parties outside of the WBU when we have your consent to do so. We require explicit opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.
- For legitimate interests
We will share personal data based on legitimate interests as, for example, when you register for one of our events, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights, in which case we will request your explicit consent.
III. For processing of WBU’s offices in other regions
We provide your personal data to the WBU’s offices in other regions for legitimate business purposes, on a “need-to-know” basis, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
- For external processing (service providers)
We may engage service providers, agents or contractors to provide services on our behalf, including to administer WBU Sites and services available to you. These third parties may come to access or otherwise process your personal data in the course of providing these services.
The WBU requires such third parties, who may be based outside the country from which you have accessed the WBU Site or service, to comply with all relevant data protection laws and security requirements in relation to your personal data, usually by way of a written agreement.
- Compliance with laws
We will share personal data with third parties outside of the WBU if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the personal data is reasonably necessary to:
- Meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request
- Enforce applicable Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations
- Detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues
- Protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of the WBU, our users or the public as required or permitted by law
- “Cookie Notice”
5.1 About cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information that a web server asks the user’s browser to store on the user’s local computer, and then later their browser presents this information to the web server. In its simplest form, a cookie is an identifying number.
5.2 How do we use cookies?
The WBU does not know the identity of a person based on the ID. The cookies used by the WBU do not contain any personal data about you nor are they used to look up your personal data. Even if you have entered personal data about yourself in one of the WBU’s registration forms, the WBU does not relate that information to the cookie data.
The WBU Sites may use cookies for analytics and to improve your user experience. WBU Sites will usually not natively use cookies but our analytics providers do use these cookies to improve user experience.
You are free to decline the cookies if your browser or browser add-on allows, except if the cookies are required to prevent fraud or ensure the security of WBU Sites that the WBU controls. However, disabling the use of cookies will result in a less user-friendly experience of the WBU Sites or can fully prevent you from using the WBU Sites.
- How do we store or transfer your data?
The WBU has offices and facilities in France. When transferring personal data internationally, we make sure that we comply with applicable laws and regulations, for example, by entering into agreements that will ensure that the recipients of your information maintain an adequate level of data protection.
Information collected within the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may, for example, be transferred to countries outside of the EEA for the purposes as described in this Policy. We utilize standard contract clauses approved by the European Commission, adopt other means under Swiss and European Union law and/or obtain your consent to legitimize data transfers from the EEA to the United States and other countries.
- Security of personal data
The WBU is committed to protecting the security of your personal data. Any information provided to the WBU by you is handled with due care and security, and will not be used in ways other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy, or in any site/area-specific policies, or in ways to which users have not explicitly consented. The WBU employs a range of technologies and security measures to protect the information maintained on WBU systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration or destruction.
However, since the internet is not a 100% secure environment, the WBU cannot ensure nor guarantee the security of any information that the user may transmit to WBU Sites. There is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by breach of any of the WBU’s physical, technical or managerial safeguards.
All WBU employees who have access to and are associated with the processing of personal data are obliged to respect the confidentiality of all such personal data.
- How long do we retain personal data?
The WBU will retain your personal data for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy and/or as long we require the personal data to provide you with the WBU services or products you requested, unless a longer retention period is required to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
- How can you access your data or contact us?
You have a right to request access to your personal data. You may send us a request for access, provision of such information will be subject to the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity. You also have the right to request that the WBU corrects any inaccuracies in your personal data.
You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications or any other information from the WBU or about WBU events and can do so by (a) following the instructions for opt-out in the relevant marketing communication or (b) by contacting us.