Privacy Notice

1. ABOUT US

1.1 Azuleon sas specialises in organising scientific events and supporting scientific societies, offering also web-based services that collect the required data provided by event participants and/or society members. Azuleon conforms to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as delineated by the EU (Reg. EU 2016/679) and Italian law (DL 196/2003). Besides this text, you may contact us at ‘privacy.policy@azuleon.org’ for any additional information about our Privacy Policy and GDPR-related issues.

1.2 Azuleon sas is an Italian company registered with VAT no. 04455450280 and numero REA PD-0391060, whose registered office is at Via Gabelli 90, 35121 Padua, Italy.

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 This privacy policy (Privacy Policy) sets out the ways in which we, Azuleon sas (Azuleon, we, us, our), may collect and use your personal data (your personal information) in connection with our business. It also explains what rights you have to access or change your personal data.

2.2 In this Privacy Policy:

• Account means a registered account that enables you to manage your participation in a specific scientific event (organised by Azuleon or for which we provide web support services) or an account that enables you to manage your society membership data.
• Events means scientific events (symposia, meetings, congresses, conferences, workshops, schools, etc) that are organised directly by Azuleon or for which we have been commissioned to provide web support services.
• Registration means the process by which you provide, through a specific Platform, the necessary data to participate (or apply for participation) in a specific scientific event or be a member of a specific scientific society. None of the data collected includes “sensitive personal data” (see also item 3.3 below).
• Platform means websites owned or operated by Azuleon (generally, subdomains of our ‘azuleon.org’ domain name; e.g., https://EVENT.azuleon.org) or websites owned by the entity commissioning our web services.
• you and your means a person visiting the Platforms, registering for an Account with us or using any of the support services provided through the Platforms for the participation in a specific scientific event for which you are registered, for handling membership data of a specific scientific society, or otherwise interacting with us and using our services outside of the Platforms in any way.

2.3 Our Platforms are not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect or maintain personal information of people under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, please do not give us any personal information at any time or in any manner. We encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their children's Internet usage, instructing their children never to provide personal information without their guidance. We will take appropriate steps to delete the personal information of persons under the age of 18.

3. INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU

3.1 Information that you provide to us

3.1.1 We may collect any information that you provide to us when you:

• Register for or are provided with an Account;
• update your Account details (your profile and/or data related to a specific scientific event or scientific society membership);
• fill in a form, post content on the Platforms, respond to surveys, or use any other feature provided by the Platforms;
• complete any forms provided to you outside of the Platforms (e.g., at a specific event);
• communicate with us by phone, post, email, via our Platforms, or other means;
• ‘follow’, ‘like’, post to or interact with our social media accounts.

3.1.2 The information you provide to us may include (depending on the specific scientific event or scientific society) the items listed below.

• Identity and contact data: title, names, addresses, email address, phone number, age or date of birth, gender and nationality.
• Account profile data: depending on the Platform, affiliations, membership of specific scientific societies, password, job title or academic position, research interests, abstracts, photo, travel information, billing information or other meeting-specific information required for your participation.
• Data when applying for funding or specific scientific events: if you are applying to attend events that require the evaluation of your academic merits, or applying for or receiving funding or prizes, then we will also collect information to enable your application to be assessed or to determine and process payments. Such information may include (depending on the event or funding applied for): academic and work history/experience (or CV), references, letters of recommendation, bank and invoicing details, travel documents, and any other such similar details as may be required.
• Survey data: from time to time (for some events, always) we may ask you to participate in surveys (mainly to evaluate the quality of the event in question and improve our services). These surveys are anonymous and the data provided is not linked to you or your Account (except the fact that you participated or not in the survey). Should any survey be conducted in a non-anonymous manner, your consent concerning the data collected will be specifically requested beforehand.

3.2 Information we collect about you

3.2.1 All the information that you provide us (see paragraph 3.1 above), may be collected and stored by us.

3.2.2 Platform usage and technical data: we may also collect certain information about how you use our Platforms and the device that you use to access the Platforms, even if you have not created an account or logged in. This might include your geographical location, device information (such as your hardware model), the data transmitted by your browser (such as your IP address, date and time of the request, operating system, browser type and version) and similar data. This information may be collected by a third-party website analytics service provider, such as Google Analytics, on our behalf; it may also be collected using cookies (for more information on cookies please refer to the COOKIES section below).

3.2.3 Imagery: we may capture images of you when we take photographs of or film an overview of a specific scientific event. Your image may be included in generic images or videos of the audience at the event in which you participate or other events organised by us. Your image may be specifically captured such as images of a lecture or talk that you deliver at an event. If you do not wish for your image to be used by us, you can let us know by using the contact details in this privacy notice. We may also specifically record content of talks at certain scientific events for video presentation; in such cases, we will separately request your permission to make the recording, reproduce, distribute and otherwise use such films or recordings.

3.3 Sensitive Personal Information

“Special categories” of particularly sensitive personal information (Sensitive Personal Information) include details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. We do not collect any such information (and, consequently, do not have specific security measures to handle these data). You may, however, voluntarily provide us with any information that we can use for the purpose of making reasonable adjustments to improve your participation in a scientific event. For example, if you notify us about specific dietary needs, we will use this information exclusively to best address your requirements. We will handle this information as indicated in point 7 below.

3.4 Information that we receive from third parties

We may receive information about you from third parties. Examples are listed below.

• As an invited speaker at a scientific event, basic information about you (names, email addresses, etc) may be sent to us by the scientific organisers to enable us to create an Account for you; the same may happen also for other types of participants.
• We may use third-party providers to verify information included in your Account. For example, we may use a third-party database or website to confirm your membership of a specific scientific society.
• We currently use a variety of methods to find suitable participants for specific scientific events using publicly available sources. In addition to general information researched on the internet, we make use of information from publicly available and officially registered information providers (such as institutional websites and PubMed).
• Information specifically related to website security is actively collected by our website security service partners. This information covers any misuse of our Platforms, such as the introduction of viruses, Trojans, worms, logic bombs, website attacks or any other material or action that is malicious or harmful.
• We may also receive information about you from third parties if you have indicated to such third party that you would like them to share such information.

4. HOW WE USE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

4.1 We may use your information based on:

• performance of your contract with us and the provision of our services to you;
• your consent (where we request it);
• compliance with legal or regulatory obligations; or
• our legitimate interests or those of a third party (see paragraph 4.3 below).

4.2 We may use your information for the following purposes

4.2.1 To provide access to our Platforms in a convenient and optimal manner.

4.2.2 To register the Account that enables you to manage your participation in a specific scientific event or your membership of a specific scientific society.

4.2.3 To enable you to manage your Account details, uploading and deleting various items of information (e.g., abstracts) pertaining to your participation in a specific scientific event or membership of a specific scientific society.

4.2.4 To administer Events, enabling the processing of Event applications/registrations and Event submissions (such as abstracts) and the management of other services for attendance at an Event, sharing select information with relevant third parties (e.g., Scientific Organisers and event venue personnel), in compliance with our legitimate interests in the smooth running of our Events.

4.2.5 To contact you for various reasons, including: general customer services and support for an Event, reminders of Event deadlines, recommendations on the use of our Platforms, notifications of Events relevant to your field of research, compliance with policies, procedures and laws, and other issues that contribute to our legitimate interests in the smooth running of our Events.

4.2.6 To improve communication among event participants. In most events, a Programme and Abstracts book is generated and distributed to all event participants, in print and/or digital format. A limited set of your personal data (name, affiliation, email address) may also be included in common documents made available to event participants (e.g., a Programme and Abstracts book that includes a 'List of Participants’).

4.3 In certain circumstances we may use your personal information to pursue legitimate interests of our own or those of third parties (e.g., a Scientific Society that commissions us the organisation of an Event or the management of its membership base). We may use your information to:

• personalise or improve the services and/or communications that we provide to you;
• promoting our services and communicating with interested individuals;
• detect and prevent fraud, operating a safe and lawful business;
• improve security and optimisation of our platforms and services.

4.4 Our legitimate interests do not automatically override yours and we will not use your information if we believe that your interests should override ours (unless we have other grounds to do so, such as your consent or a legal obligation). If you have any concerns about the way we process information about you, please refer to details of “Your Rights” (item 10 below).

5. WHO WE MAY SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH

5.1 In connection with our legitimate interests in the smooth running of our business, we may share your information (when relevant) with third parties. We require third parties to maintain appropriate security to protect your information from unauthorised access or processing. Third parties may include:

5.1.1 Event organisers (e.g., Scientific Organisers or other local administrative personnel) or the legitimate administrative personnel of specific scientific societies.

5.1.2 Our service providers (e.g., legal, accountancy, auditing and insurance services, banking services, Platform developers and hosting services, IT, system administration and security services).

5.1.3 Affiliates: selected third parties that we work with during the life cycle of our Events or the management of a scientific society's membership base.

5.1.4 Marketing parties: any selected third party that you consent to our sharing your information with for marketing purposes.

5.1.5 Regulators and governmental bodies: any regulators, governmental bodies, law enforcement agencies, courts and other authorities with whom we may be required to share your information in certain circumstances.

6. COOKIES

Our websites use "cookies". Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. The general purpose of such cookies is to improve the way you intercat with our pages. To find out more about cookies, please visit allaboutcookies.org.

We do not use cookies to collect any personally identifiable information (without your express permission), pass data to advertising networks, or pass personally identifiable data to third parties.

Some of our webpages may includes functionality provided by third parties; e.g., embedded YouTube videos or a Twitter widget. Such third-party functionality may also use cookies, over which we have no control; please check the corresponding policy in each case.

7. HOW WE LOOK AFTER YOUR INFORMATION AND HOW LONG WE KEEP IT FOR

7.1 We take commercially reasonable steps to protect your information from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. When personal information is transferred over the Internet, we use HTTPS, encrypting data with TLS (Transfer Layer Security) or similar technology. You should note, however, that no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the security of our databases or the databases of the third parties with which we may share such information, nor can we guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted over the Internet. In particular, e-mails sent to us may not be secure and you should, therefore, take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail.

7.2 We use appropriate technological and operational security measures to protect your information against any unauthorised access to or unlawful use, such as:

• ensuring the physical security of our offices and other sites were we operate;
• ensuring physical and digital security when using our equipment and devices, including appropriate password protection and encryption; and
• limiting access to your personal information to our company or our Affiliates (as defined in 5.1.2) who need to use it in the course of their work.

7.3 We will retain your information for as long as deemed necessary to provide our services for a specific scientific event or scientic society. We will retain the same information also for as long as we are required by law for running our business, as well as for the purposes of exercising our legal rights.

8. HELP KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE

8.1 You can also play a part in keeping your information safe by:

• choosing a strong Account password and changing it regularly;
• using different passwords for different online accounts;
• keeping your login and password confidential and avoiding sharing these details with others;
• making sure you log out of our Platforms each time you have finished using them. This is particularly important when using a shared computer;
• letting us know if you know or suspect that your account has been compromised, or if someone has accessed your account without your permission;
• keeping your devices protected by using the latest version of your operating system and maintaining any necessary anti-virus and anti-malware software;
• being vigilant to any fraudulent emails that may appear to be from us.

8.2 You might end up providing personal information directly to third parties as a consequence of your interactions with our Platforms and other services offered by us. For example, you may attend an Event hosted by us where you communicate personal information directly with other attendees or exhibitors. We are not responsible for how such third parties use personal data provided by you.

8.3 Please be responsible with personal information of others when using our Platforms and the services available on it. We are not responsible for your misuse of personal information, or for the direct relationship between you and others when it takes place outside of the Platforms or our services.

8.4 The Platforms may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our Platforms, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

9. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS OF YOUR INFORMATION

Our services can be used for Events located in various countries. We therefore process and transfer personal information within the EU/EEA and across the world.

We will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to process and transfer your personal information securely. Adequate safeguards include:

• Countries either signing up to the requirements of GDPR or an EU recognised equivalent, such as the USA’s Privacy Shield;
• Standard Statutory Clauses (SSC) in service agreements and contracts with international suppliers and partners.

10. YOUR RIGHTS TO THE INFORMATION WE HOLD ABOUT YOU

10.1 You have certain rights in respect of the information that we hold about you, including those listed below:

• the right to be informed of the ways in which we use your information, as we seek to do in this Privacy Policy;
• the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes;
• the right to request access to the information that we hold about you;
• the right to request that we correct or rectify any information that we hold about you which is out of date or incorrect;
• the right to withdraw your consent for our use of your information in reliance of your consent (refer to section 4 above to see when we are relying on your consent), which you can do by contacting us using the details in this Privacy Policy;
• the right to object to our using your information on the basis of our legitimate interests (refer to section 4 above to see when we are relying on our legitimate interests) (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground;
• the right to receive a copy of any information we hold about you (or request that we transfer this to another service provider) in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, in certain circumstances; and
• in certain circumstances, the right to ask us to limit or cease processing or erase information we hold about you.

10.2 How to exercise your rights

10.2.1 You may exercise your rights above by contacting us using the details in this Privacy Policy, or in the case of preventing processing for marketing activities also by checking certain boxes on forms that we use to collect your data to tell us whether you do or do not want to be involved in marketing or by updating your marketing preferences via your Account with us.

10.2.2 Please note that we may need to retain certain information for our own record-keeping and research purposes. We may also need to send you service-related communications relating to your Account even when you have requested not to receive marketing communications.

10.3 What we need from you to process your requests

10.3.1 We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and to enable you to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

10.3.2 Accessing your personal data (or exercising any of the other rights) will bear no cost to you. However, a reasonable fee may be applied if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive (in such circumstances, we may also refuse to comply with your request). We will strive to address all legitimate requests within one month. If your request is particularly complex or you have several requests, our response time may increase; in this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

11. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

11.1 We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time with or without notice to you. The date of the latest version is always indicated in this Privacy Policy. We will post any changes to our site and may also notify you of any significant changes (see also point 11.2 below). Please refer back to this Privacy Policy on a regular basis.

11.2 It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us by updating your profile Account information or contacting us via the contact details in this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 24 Jun 2020.