Privacy Policy

Data protection declaration

We take the protection of your personal data very seriously and process the data collected when you visit our websites in accordance with the latest provisions of data protection law. We neither publish your data nor pass it on to unentitled third parties. In the following declaration we set out what data we collect during your visit to our websites, exactly how it is used and whom you can contact if you have any further questions.

Contact details of the person responsible for processing your data:

Director of Digital Services Dr. Ruth Rosenberger,
Willy-Brandt-Allee 14, D-53113 Bonn
Email: online-redaktion(at)hdg.de
Phone: +49 (0)228 9165-500
Fax: +49 (0)228 9165-301
Contact details of the foundation's data protection officer:
Torsten Kniest,
Willy-Brandt-Allee 14, D-53113 Bonn
Email: datenschutz(at)hdg.de
Phone: +49 (0)228 9165-285
Fax: +49 (0)228 9165-302

Data collection and analysis

The website provider automatically stores information in so-called server log files which your browser automatically sends us. These are:
- accessed page or name of the retrieved file
- quantity of data transferred and notification whether access was successful
- browser type and version
- operating system used
- referrer URL (the website from which you visit us)
- anonymised IP address
- date and time of server request

This data cannot be attributed to specific persons and is not merged with other data sources. The data is not used for commercial purposes.

It merely serves to
- guarantee a smooth connection to the website
- enable comfortable use of the website
- guarantee system security and stability.

For the statistical evaluation of our website, we use the free web analysis softwares AWStats and Matomo. The programmes do not employ cookie files for the evaluation but merely evaluate the server log files. All data is stored on servers which are subject to German data protection law. The data is used exclusively by us. No data is transferred to third parties. 

The data processing described above is based on Article 6 (1), sentence 1f of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our legitimate interest arises from the above purposes for data collection.

Personal data

As a rule, the use of our website is possible without providing personal information (e.g. name, address or email address). Where this is collected, it is done exclusively on a voluntary basis and with your consent under Article 6 (1), sentence 1a GDPR. This data will not be transferred to third parties without your express permission and then only for the purposes for which you have notified us. Data is only transferred to authorised state institutions and authorities within the framework of legal information requirements or if we are obliged to do so by a court order. The data is deleted as soon as it is no longer needed for processing and where there is no legal requirement to store it.

Cookies

Some Internet websites use so-called cookies. These are small text files which are downloaded onto your computer and stored by your browser. They cause no damage to your computer and contain no viruses. They are designed to make our services more user-friendly, efficient and secure. Most of the cookies we use are so-called "session cookies" which are deleted automatically once you leave our website. Other cookies remain stored on your computer until you delete them. They enable us to recognise your browser on your next visit.

We use cookies for the following purposes:
- "Session Cookie" saves the user status throughout the website, by saving session related information.
- necessary cookies to save the chosen privacy settings ("wddcookieareaccept", "wddanalyticsareaccept", "hdgmapsaccept").
- Analysis cookie by Google Analytics ("_ga", "_gid", "_gat") to differentiate users. Used to capture data concerning the number of visits and the user journey.

Under the menu item "privacy" in the settings menu of common browsers cookies can be deleted or the browser can be configured to delete cookies when closed. Furthermore, information on cookie settings can be found in the manual of the browser of your choice.

You can adjust the cookie settings of this website.

Fonts

We use web fonts hosted on our server whose use we are obliged to prove by calling up a tracking pixel.
The anonymous IP 0.0.0.0 is used for this call, no personal data are passed on and no cookie is set.
You can read about it in the privacy policy of the provider.

Social plugins

We employ so-called "social plugins" on our pages. These are the plugins of the services Facebook and X. Under certain circumstances, information - which may include personal data - is sent to the service providers and may be used by them. We prevent the unconscious and undesired collection and transfer of data to the service providers through a "two-click solution". To activate a desired plugin, you must click on the corresponding button. Only this activation will trigger the collection of information and its transfer to the service provider.

We ourselves do not collect any personal data through the social plugins or via their use but we have no influence on what data an activated plugin collects and how this is used by the provider. It must currently be assumed that at least the IP address and computer-related information are collected and used. It is also possible that the service providers attempt to store cookies on the computers used.

Facebook's share function builds a direct connection to the services of Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. Through this process, Facebook is informed precisely which page of our website is being visited. If you are logged on to Facebook at the same time, Facebook can identify you as the visitor of a particular page. For information on what data is collected and how it is used, please refer to Facebook's data protection policies. Facebook also offers information on the options for protecting your privacy.

X's social plugin builds a direct connection to the services of X Corp., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900 San Francisco, CA 94103, USA . Through this process, X is informed precisely which page of our website is being visited. For information on what data is collected and how it is used, please refer to X's data protection policies. X also offers information on the options for protecting your privacy.

If you are logged into your Facebook or X account, you enable the service providers to attribute your surfing behaviour directly to your personal profile by employing the respective social plugins. You can prevent this by logging out of your account.

On mobile devices there is the additional option of sharing website contents via the messenger WhatsApp. This merely generates an HTML link so that no user data is transferred to third parties.

Google Maps

We use Google Maps to display the map material. Thereby a connection to a server in the USA is established and information is passed on. The USA is rated by the European Court of Justice as a country with an insufficient level of data protection according to EU standards. In particular, there is a risk that your data may be processed by US authorities for control and monitoring purposes, possibly without the possibility of legal remedies. If the third-party cookie for Google Maps is not activated in the privacy settings a placeholder image is always shown on web pages with map material, with a button offering the option of releasing temporary access to Google Maps only valid for the current page for the display of the maps.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google LLC ("Google"). Google Analytics employs so-called "cookies", text files that are stored on your computer in order to facilitate an analysis of your usage of the site. The information generated by these cookies is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your usage of our site, to compile reports on website activity and to provide other services related to website and Internet usage to the website operator.

We only use Google Analytics with an activated IP anonymization feature. This means that Google shorten the IP address of users within Member States of the European Union or other signatories to the agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transferred to a Google server in the USA and shortened there. The IP address transferred from the user's browser will not be merged with any other Google data.

You can prevent the storage of cookies by making the appropriate settings in your browser software. You can also prevent the transfer to and processing of the usage data collected by Google through the cookie by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link and thus deactivating Google Analytics: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

Your rights

You can

- pursuant to Article 15 GDPR demand information from us about your personal data processed by us. In particular about the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned, the categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, the envisaged duration of storage, the source of your data if not collected by us as well as the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and if necessary meaningful information about specific details;
- pursuant to Article 16 GDPR demand the immediate rectification of inaccurate personal data and the completion of incomplete personal data stored by us;
- pursuant to Article 17 GDPR demand the erasure of personal data stored by us where processing of this data is not required for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for reasons of public interest or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
- pursuant to Article 18 GDPR demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data in so far as you contest the accuracy of the data, the processing is unlawful but you oppose the erasure and we no longer need the data but you require them for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or you have lodged an objection to processing pursuant to Article 21 GDRP;
- pursuant to Article 20 GDPR demand the right to receive your personal data which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly-used and machine-readable format or the right to transmit the data to another controller;
- pursuant to Article 7(3) GDPR withdraw your consent. This will result in us no longer being able to process the data based on this consent in future, and
- pursuant to Article 77 GDPR lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. As a rule, you can apply to the supervisory authority in your habitual place or residence, place or work or our headquarters.

Right to object

If your personal data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Article 6(1), sentence 1f, you have the right pursuant to Article 21 GDPR to object to the processing of your personal data if there are reasons arising from your particular situation or the objection is against direct marketing. In the latter case you have a general right to object which we shall implement without the statement of a particular situation.

If you would like to avail yourself of your right of cancellation or objection, it is sufficient to send an email to online-redaktion(at)hdg.de.

Data security

When you visit our website, we employ the widely used Secure Socket Layer (SSL) procedure in conjunction with the highest level of encryption which your browser supports. This is usually a 256 Bit encryption. If your browser does not support 256 Bit encryption, we revert instead to 128 Bit v3 technology. You can see from the closed symbol in the lower status bar of your browser whether an individual page of our website is being downloaded in encrypted form.

We use appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your data against accidental or deliberate manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or unauthorised access by third parties. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological developments.

Amendments to this data protection declaration

Amendments or adjustments to our data protection declaration will be necessary from time to time for legal and/or organisational reasons. Please note the latest version of our data protection declaration.