Privacy statement

Introduction

The European Commission (hereafter ‘the Commission’) is committed to protect your personal data and to respect your privacy. The Commission collects and further processes personal data pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data (repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001).

This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing of your personal data, the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is used and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. It also specifies the contact details of the responsible Data Controller with whom you may exercise your rights, the Data Protection Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.

In this respect:

• an operational controller ensures conformity with the specific privacy statement in place for each e-service
• the Data Protection Officer ensures in an independent manner the internal application of the Regulation in the Commission, and advises operational controllers on their data protection obligations
• the European Data Protection Supervisor acts as an independent supervisory authority

The information in relation to the processing operation “e-services on JRC websites” is undertaken by the Joint Research Centre, Communication Unit (JRC.01), which acts as the data controller.

Why and how do we process your personal data?

Most of JRC websites are accessible without giving any personal information. Personal data however are required in the following cases which this record aims to cover.

A. Personal data published on JRC websites

Personal data in relation to a specific activity or event or to communicate on achievements or contributions to JRC activities and scientific publications.

B. To provide specific e-services on JRC websites

An e-service on JRC websites is a service or resource made available on the Internet in order to improve the communication between citizens and businesses on the one hand and the JRC on the other hand.

Three types of e-services are, or will be, offered by JRC:

 Information services enabling a given research community (e.g. committee, working group, project group, etc.) spread worldwide to maintain a private space on the Internet where they can share information, documents, participate in discussion fora, download software, subscribe to JRC publications etc.

 Information services that provide people, media, businesses, administrations and others with secure access to information.

 Interactive communication services (communications to users, distribution of reports, information sharing within interest groups etc.) that allow better contact with people, businesses, civil society and public bodies, in order to facilitate policy consultations and feedback.

This e-service concerns the STECF and DCF web sites. Your personal data will not be used for an automated decision-making including profiling.

Purpose of the processing operation: The Joint Research Centre, Communication Unit JRC.01 collects and uses personal information for the management of the EU Science Hub (SH), the main website of European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The EU Science Hub offers various types of content aimed at informing the general public about the work of the JRC, ranging from general information, news, events, background information, official documents, policy information, links to specialised tools and applications. The SH also aims to engage with users. In particular, the SH publishes “people pages”, i.e. staff (people that are internal to the organisation) that wishes to create a person page publishing their name, image, CV etc. We also publish the list of people that are external to the organisation as members of the JRC Board of Governors to inform the public about the board and its composition. We might publish as well names of the representatives of organisations, self-employed individuals and their collaborators/employees present at meetings with the JRC Director General (transparency). As website visitor, you can provide anonymous feedback on the visited page(s), report bugs/technical issues, and send spontaneous comments on the content. A feedback form is accessible at the bottom of every webpage of the EU Science Hub. This feedback function does not collect personal data. Users can contact specific JRC staff through individual or functional mailboxes. Contacting JRC staff through a mailbox will activate web visitor’s email software to send requests and comments to a specific mailbox. When website visitors send such a message, the personal data is only collected by the receiver of the email in order to follow up on the message. Emails may be forwarded to another service if the team responsible for the mailbox is unable to reply. On the EU Science Hub, website visitors can reach online tools to opt-in to take part in surveys and registering for events. In both cases, specific privacy statements apply for each such opt-in. For further information on the processing of your personal data when you access a European Commission website, please see also DG COMM record DPR-EC-00083 on “Processing of personal data on European Commission web sites (within the europa.eu domain), including IP addresses, by visitors of the publicly available websites”.

On what legal ground(s) do we process your personal data

We process your personal data, because, according to Article 5(1)(d) you have given your consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes. Registration of data subjects to access the e-services is purely on a voluntary basis. The persons concerned have unambiguously given their consents (Art. 5 (d) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725). We do not process special categories of personal data, therefore Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 does not apply.

We process your personal data, because, according to article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725: - (a) 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 Union institution or body; - (d) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes. The Union law for the processing of your personal data under Article 5(1)(a) of said Regulation is the following:  Recital 22 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 ("Processing of personal data for the performance of tasks carried out in the public interest by the Union institutions and bodies includes the processing of personal data necessary for the management and functioning of those institutions and bodies");  Articles 11 of the Treaty of the European Union (TUE) (“The institutions shall, by appropriate means, give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action. The institutions shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society”)  Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (“In order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible”);  Horizon Europe Programme: Council Decision (EU) 2021/764 of 10 May 2021 establishing the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, and repealing Decision 2013/743/EU. Data subjects give their consent to having their personal data made publicly available in the EU Science Hub for the purpose of communicating on a specific activity, event, achievement and/or contribution to JRC activities in which they were involve. The consent is collected through a consent form.

Which personal data do we collect and further process?

The type of personal information we collect depends on how you are specifically interacting with us and which services you are using. Generally, we collect the following categories of personal information: A. Personal data published on JRC websites The following data fields may be published on the JRC websites:  Contact Information: Title, first name and last name, alias, personal and/or professional (postal address, phone number, fax, email address, personal website).  Education, professional information: Education, employer, job title/function with an organization, previous affiliation, short biography, curriculum vitae (CV), description of current work, scientific publications.  Your picture: Photos, video, voice. B. Users of JRC e-services To provide you with access to the e-service the JRC.D.2 collects the following personal data, either through a dedicated on-line registration form, email communication or through the European Commission Authentication Service (EU Login):  Contact Information: Title, first name and last name, alias, personal and/or professional (postal address, phone number, email address, personal website).  Demographic information: Date and place of birth, city, nationality, country, preferred language, default language, gender.  Education, professional information: Education, name of employer/organisation, place of work, position and/or job title/function within an organisation, previous affiliation, short biography, curriculum vitae, description of current work, scientific publications.  User Content: Fields of interest, content of communications, comments, feedback, and other information you send to us when you contact us or that you post via our e-services (including information in alerts, notes, and shares of content), information distribution format desired (e-mail or not), documents, scientific publications, and contributions to discussion fora.  Your picture: Photos, video, voice.  Your device: Internet Protocol (IP) address. C. JRC e-services administrators: The personal data collected are: Name, surname, affiliation, EU login username and email. D. Additional information In the case of EU Login the Commission personnel number, a unique key and group membership may be collected. A username and password could also be set up at the first registration. By logging in and accessing your account, you are indicating your consent to the use of the data as described in this privacy statement. The e-service may collect the following additional data about each user: 4  Date and time of, o Most recent successful and unsuccessful authentication. o Last change of password. o Last password reset.  Number of good logins and failed attempts.  Account status (whether active, inactive etc.)  Recent passwords – to make sure you follow the prevailing security policy regarding password re-use.  Security data/log files. Cookies are managed according to the Commission corporate policy. The provision of your personal data is not mandatory, but we need them in order to grant you access to the specific e-service provided by the STECF, DCF (DataCollection), DCallnet, Fishreg, Aquagen, FishPopTrace, FishTrace.

In order to carry out this processing operation the Joint Research Centre, Communication Unit JRC.01 collects the following categories of personal data:  JRC Board of governors: name, last name, organisation, address of organisation, position in organisation, country.  JRC staff on person pages: name, last name, (academic/ job) title, function, personal bio and CV, publications, JRC unit, work email address, work phone number, personal picture and any other information the data subject choses it publish.  JRC staff providing a consent form (PDF) to use personal data on the website. 4  JRC senior management as well as staff working in the field of external communication or staff assigned to a particular activity / project / task / event for which communication via the internet is required and other staff if communication on their achievements or contribution to JRC activities includes the publication of their personal data: name, last name, email address (by default it is recommended to use functional mailboxes (FMB) rather than individual email contact.  Representatives of organisations, self-employed individuals and their collaborators/employees present at meetings with the JRC Director General (transparency): name, last name, organisation.  Any other person who is related to the JRC work and may therefore be reference in JRC publication and content on the SH. The provision of personal data is not mandatory, except for the provision of personal data related to the JRC activities and its organisation, which are mandatory for an open and transparent communication of the JRC work and structure.

How long do we keep your personal data?

A. Personal data published on the JRC websites Your personal data are kept for a maximum of 4 years, starting from the date you submit your consent, via email or specific authorisation form, to publish your personal data on JRC websites. For retention after that period, a renewed declaration of consent from the data subject is required. B. Personal data kept in the JRC e-services:  Your personal data are kept for as long as is necessary to meet the purposes for which they were collected. We will delete your personal information if it is no longer needed, and in any case at the latest after two years of continuous inactivity or upon email request to the Data processor. Additional data collected that are related to your interaction with a JRC e-service include:  Security data/Log files, Internet Protocol (IP) address, date and time of authentication, change/reset of password or account status: Stored for a maximum of 1 year. In the context of investigations related to security incidents, personal data could be further processed following notification DPO-3783-2 DIGIT Cybersecurity operations, where a different retention period applies. Registered users have password protected direct on-line access to their profile and can update their information, cancel their registration or request to unsubscribe from specific interest groups or communications. Time limits of the retention of data in the EU Login authentication service are defined in the privacy statement of the European Commission's Identity & Access Management Service (DPREC-03187.1). C. JRC e-services administrators: The JRC.D.2 only keeps your personal data for the time you will be working in the STECF, DCF (DataCollection), DCallnet, Fishreg, Aquagen, FishPopTrace, FishTrace as administrator. Your personal data will be deleted when you will no longer work on these activities/under this specific role.

The Joint Research Centre, Communication Unit JRC.01 only keeps your personal data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of collection or further processing, namely for: the duration of the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or until data subject requests deletion. In particular:

• Personal data of the JRC Board of governors: until the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or duration of individuals service as member of board of governors;
• Personal data of the JRC staff on person pages: until the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or duration of service in the JRC or for a maximum duration of 6 years or until data subject requests deletion of personal profile, person page;
• Personal data of JRC senior management as well as staff working in the field of external communication or staff assigned to a particular activity / project / task / event for which communication via the Internet is required and other staff if communication on their achievements or contribution to JRC activities includes the publication of their personal data: until the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or duration of service in the JRC or until data subject requests deletion of personal profile, person page;
• Personal data of the representatives of organisations, self-employed individuals and their collaborators/employees present at meetings with the JRC Director General: until the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or until data subject requests deletion;
• Consent form of JRC Staff (PDF) to use personal data on the website: until the need to communicate and provide the publication of personal data via the Internet or duration of service in the JRC or for a maximum duration of 6 years or until the data subject requests deletion of the data on the website. 

How do we protect and safeguard your personal data?

All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of data, etc.) are stored either on the servers of the European Commission or of its contractors. All processing operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.

The Commission’s contractors are bound by a specific contractual clause for any processing operations of your data on behalf of the Commission, and by the confidentiality obligations deriving from the transposition of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU Member States (‘GDPR’ Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

In order to protect your personal data, the Commission has put in place a number of technical and organisational measures in place. Technical measures include appropriate actions to address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing operation.

Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?

Access to your personal data is provided to the Commission staff responsible for carrying out this processing operation and to authorised staff according to the “need to know” principle. Such staff abide by statutory, and when required, additional confidentiality agreements.

In case you gave consented to the publishing of your personal data on this web site, this data is accessible to any website visitor.

The information we collect will not be given to any third party, except to the extent and for the purpose we may be required to do so by law.

What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

You have specific rights as a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in particular the right to access, your personal data and to rectify them in case your personal data are inaccurate or incomplete. Where applicable, you have the right to erase your personal data, to restrict the processing of your personal data, to object to the processing, and the right to data portability.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, which is lawfully carried out pursuant to Article 5(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on grounds relating to your particular situation.

You have consented to provide your personal data to the JRC for the present processing operation. You can withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the Data Controller. The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.

You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor. Their contact information is given under Heading "Contact information" below.

Where you wish to exercise your rights in the context of one or several specific processing operations, please provide their description (i.e. their Record reference(s) as specified under Heading "Where to find more detailed information" below) in your request.

Contact information

• The Data Controller

If you would like to exercise your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, or if you have comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please feel free to contact the Data Processor, JRC-AQUAFISHec [dot] europa [dot] eu.

• The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission

You may contact the Data Protection Officer (DATA-PROTECTION-OFFICERec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DATA-PROTECTION-OFFICER[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)) with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

• The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

You have the right to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) to the European Data Protection Supervisor (edpsedps [dot] europa [dot] eu (edps[at]edps[dot]europa[dot]eu)) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the Data Controller.